NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Using conversational artificial intelligence to improve care management and leveraging patient experiences to incentivize patients in their own health journey are among the innovative solutions being developed by the four North America-based finalists selected for the Accenture HealthTech Innovation Challenge.
Attracting more than 2,000 startup applicants in its first three years, the Accenture HealthTech Innovation Challenge ― part of Accenture’s broader HealthTech Innovation program ― brings together leading-edge startups with prominent health and life sciences companies to tackle some of the world’s greatest health challenges, including access, quality and affordability-of-care options. The four North America-based finalists, selected by a panel of leading executives from some of the world’s largest health and life sciences companies during the regional event held recently in Boston, are:
- Ayasdi – Based in Menlo Park, Calif., Ayasdi builds enterprise-grade intelligent applications for the healthcare industry to solve key challenges, including clinical variation management, population risk assessment, claim denial management and fraudulent claim detection.
- b.well Connected Health – Headquartered in Baltimore, b.well provides an integrated platform that connects consumers with a single, curated digital experience to manage all aspects of their health. With b.well, users can access their own medical records, receive personalized services, manage insurance and financials, and be encouraged to engage in their own health journey - all in a way that is convenient and simple.
- Newtopia – A precision health company for habit change and disease prevention based in New York City and Toronto, Newtopia focuses on preventing the onset of chronic disease for individuals currently at risk of developing obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
- NowPow – Chicago-based NowPow, whose name is a play on “knowledge is power,” provides a multi-sided referral platform that includes a local community resource directory, social determinants of health screenings, resource matching algorithms, closed loop referrals, and more. NowPow connects referral senders to referral receivers to better support a community’s entire network of health and social resources to help people get well and stay well.
The final round and awards ceremony will take place at the StartUp Health Festival in San Francisco during the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference on Jan. 7, 2019. The judging panel will comprise executives from globally recognized health and life sciences companies, providing the 10 finalists ― including those from similar events held in Dublin, Tokyo and Sydney ― with exposure and access to industry-leading companies to help bring their ideas to market. Accenture is the Lead Innovation Partner of the festival, which brings together more than 2,000 of the world’s leading healthcare innovators and investors.
“All the regional rounds are complete, and we’re looking forward to the final round and awards ceremony in San Francisco, where the finalists will present to an exclusive panel of judges,” said Stuart Henderson, who leads Accenture’s Life Sciences practice globally. “We predict that these bold and inspiring startup finalists will disrupt today’s healthcare and life sciences industries. It’s exciting to work with these talented entrepreneurs because, like Accenture, they are innovating to create a future where technology improves the lives of patients by making healthcare more affordable and simple.”
Brian Kalis, managing director of digital health and innovation services at Accenture, said, “This year’s crop of applicants has been truly astounding, bringing fresh thinking and sophisticated capabilities to tackling some of the toughest challenges in healthcare. As healthtech startups depend on a broad set of ‘actors’ to gain momentum and scale, we are proud to harness our market position to connect startups from the Accenture HealthTech Innovation Challenge with clients and industry players across the globe.”
The Accenture HealthTech Innovation Challenge, from Accenture’s Health and Life Sciences practices, is tied to Accenture Ventures, which is focused on accelerating the adoption of early stage enterprise technology innovations.
About Accenture
Accenture (NYSE:ACN) is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions — underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network — Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With 469,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.
Accenture Disclaimer
Accenture’s support of the selected companies will help them as they further develop their solutions and products. In supporting such initiatives, however, Accenture is in no way promoting or intending to market any one particular solution or product or otherwise offer or market a medical device or clinical solution. Each company uses its own operations to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.