Health IT, Hospitals

Emory Healthcare and Sharecare create innovation hub

Through the Emory Healthcare Innovation Hub, which is slated to launch September 1, the health system and Sharecare will develop tech solutions targeted at solving unmet patient needs.

Two Atlanta-based organizations — Emory Healthcare and Sharecare — have teamed up to form an innovation hub, which will officially launch on September 1.

Called the Emory Healthcare Innovation Hub, it brings together Emory’s experience as a health system and Sharecare’s mission of helping patients manage their health. Sharecare’s digital platform gives users access to healthcare professionals, information and programs catered to their needs.

More specifically, the hub will pinpoint unmet user needs and develop, test and implement technology solutions. Its ultimate goal is to improve clinical outcomes, as well as reduce costs for patients and Emory.

Scott Boden, vice president of business innovation for Emory Healthcare and CMO and chief quality officer of Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital, said in a press release:

As the U.S. healthcare system shifts from fee-for-service to value-based care, it is critical that we not only understand the evolving needs of patients and providers but also address those needs in ways that maximize technology to both enable the best possible care and engage patients throughout the entire care journey. Our shared commitment to studying, creating and implementing digital health technologies will drive greater value to our patients in ways that will help them live their healthiest lives.

In a statement, Sharecare co-founder and CEO Jeff Arnold noted that the hub “enables us to tap into Emory’s robust environment, ideally positioning us to identify and solve healthcare system challenges right at the source.”

In addition to the hub, Emory has become Sharecare’s lead research partner. Plus, the health system has joined the Sharecare Movement, which seeks to improve the overall health of Georgia residents.

As of late, Emory has also made moves with a certain retailer: Walmart. Last month, the two entities joined forces to create an accountable care organization, which enables Walmart employees at 55 Walmart, Sam’s Club and Walmart Distribution Center locations in metro-Atlanta to choose the Emory Accountable Care Plan as their primary health plan. Workers have been able to enroll since January 1 of this year.

Photo: phive2015, Getty Images

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