Even for health systems and healthcare organizations that don’t have their own venture fund or accelerator, there is still an interest in being part of a larger network that offers an easier, vetted pathway to collaborate with innovative startups. Boston-based investment firm LRVHealth, formerly known as Long River Ventures, has partnered with eight national healthcare systems and Innovation Institute and other industry groups to raise and deploy $100 million in venture capital.
The new fund is the firm’s fourth. Among the firm’s investments are Intelycare, a Boston-based nurse staffing solution, and automated patient check-in service Phreesia.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
In a phone interview with Keith Figlioli, who recently joined LRVHealth after serving as senior vice president of healthcare informatics at Premier Inc., he discussed how the investment model in healthcare has been evolving.
“Although there’s Ascension Healthcare and Cleveland Clinic Innovations, there a lot of health systems that are not thinking about innovation and disruption. But what we are seeing now is not only those health systems that want to do this alone and direct but also health systems that want to be part of a partnership. We’re a hybrid group that provides direct investing but with national sourcing capabilities.”
In one respect they are investors that want to make a return, but they also want to have an operational impact, Figlioli said. One example of what this might look like in practice is finding out from partners that they want to optimize part of their revenue cycle, such as patient access. The fund could help identify 20 to 30 companies around the country that are trying to innovate in that area.
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