ViVE wisely returns to Nashville and marks the third time “Music City” hosts this conversational community.  The city can rightly declare itself the nation’s capital of health provider service innovation.  Home to more than 900 health-related companies, including giants like Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Meharry Medical College, and LifePoint Health, and investment firms such as Cressey & Company, Nashville is a beacon of digital health and provider transformation, and ViVE, making the “Health Hub” home base is an added proof point.  

Rich Scarfo, president of HLTH, spoke about ViVE 2025 and Nashville: “We’re excited that ViVE is back in Nashville because I think it’s sort of a testament not only to our city’s ability to host conferences of that scale but really our status as a healthcare hub and our growing concentration of healthcare technology companies.”

Nashville: The Nation’s Health Powerhouse

These statistics underscore the pivotal role of Nashville in the US health eco-sector:

• Economic Impact: The health industry contributes nearly $68 billion annually to the local economy, reflecting its significance as a primary economic driver.
• Employment: Healthcare is the region’s largest employer, supporting more than 332,000 jobs and 167,916 direct positions annually.
• Global Reach: Nashville-based health companies operate facilities across all 50 states and 20 countries, managing more than 500,000 healthcare beds worldwide, an estimated 34 percent of investor-owned hospitals in the US.
• Investment Magnet: In the past decade, more than $1.6 billion in venture capital has been invested in Nashville health-sector enterprises, fueling continuous innovation and growth.

The Genesis of Nashville Health Provider System Leadership

The city’s ascent as a national health-sector hub is rooted in its commitment to medical innovation and role-model leadership:

Founding of HCA Healthcare: In 1968, Dr. Thomas F. Frist Sr. and his son Dr. Thomas F. Frist Jr., both physicians and visionaries, together with businessman Jack C. Massey, co-founded the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) in Nashville. This pioneering venture introduced a new model of hospital management, leading to the establishment of the world’s largest private operator of health facilities. Their philosophy has also fueled countless other enterprises in Nashville that support the national health system.

Early Medical Institutions: The city’s commitment to healthcare dates back to the early 20th century. In 1916, Dr. John Henry Hale and his wife, Millie E. Hale, established the Millie E. Hale Hospital, providing essential medical services to the Black-American community during segregation. The hospital closed in 1938 when Dr. John Henry Hale was appointed the chief of surgery at Meharry Medical College.

Educational Foundations: Institutions like Meharry Medical College have been instrumental in training Black American physicians and dentists since the 19th Century. While Nashville is its home, it contributes to the well-being of all Americans. It is built on the foundation of training exceptional physician leaders, advocating for continued health access, and tirelessly addressing health disparities.

National Health-Sector Leaders: The Frist family has impacted national health beyond creating HCA and spin-off entrepreneurial enterprises.  Frist Sr., son Willian (Bill) Frist, MD, trained as a cardiothoracic transplant surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital and Stanford University School of Medicine and later founded the Vanderbilt Transplant Center. From Nashville, he went on to champion the Medicare Modernization Act as a Senate Majority Leader.   

Today, Former Senator Frist is a Special Partner with Cressey & Company and Chairman of the firm’s Distinguished Executives Council, where he continues to influence Nashville’s reputation as a health innovation hub.

Nashville’s concentration of national health leaders includes Meharry Medical College President James E. K. Hildreth, MD, a global infectious disease expert. Dr. Hildreth is renowned for his HIV/AIDS research and leadership in public health. He was the first African American to become a full-tenured professor in basic research at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Jeffrey R. Balser, MD, PhD, is among the significant Nashville leaders whose vision and voice steer US health. As the President and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and the Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, VUMC has expanded its role as one of the nation’s top academic medical centers, excelling in clinical care, research, and education. Dr. Balser is recognized for his transformational influence on digital transformation and community health initiatives.

ViVE 2025: Innovation and Collaboration

ViVE comes to Nashville at a critical time in public health and health innovation.  The new Administration is going through a significant DOGE-driven cost-cutting initiative.  Billions are being slashed from the nation’s National Institutes of Health research budget – sometimes without fully considering what is at stake for the nation’s health and well-being.

There are sweeping suggestions that indirect institutional support costs are unneeded or that funds are being used inappropriately. Can this be determined as quickly as one month into the new White House administration? Research requires laboratories, equipment, and staff. Claiming that these institutions are fat cats fleecing the system and disregarding taxpayer dollars likely sends the wrong message that knowledge and innovation – the fabric of US global competitiveness – are overrated. Will this challenge to US health innovation be part of the ViVE conversational vibe?

Attending ViVE – Look for These Discussions

• Will science and medical advancements grind to a painful halt, and if research programs are cut, what is lost that translates into better access and care? 
• Can the US lose its global leadership in biomedicine?
• When high-paying science jobs are cut, economic strength is compromised in places like Nashville, which is among the region’s largest health employers; what trickle-down impact does it have on jobs?

In the shadow of research budget cuts, a system that spends $4 trillion on health and is sorely needed to address information fragmentation, ViVE and Nashville are at the right time and place. Building upon the success of previous years, ViVE 2025 is poised to be a transformative event that fosters collaboration and conversation among health leaders, investors, and digital health pioneers when needed most.

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The sessions (and meals) – positioned around the exhibit floor were meaty – and welcomely unscripted, offering plenty of time for real-world reflections on the state of health delivery.  Afterward, speakers would mingle on the exhibit floor to answer questions and continue the conversation.  Whether an intended benefit for attendees or not, the meeting structure was a great hit and strengthened ViVE as a go-to community where people can interact and discuss challenges and possibilities. 

The number of attendees was right-sized, where meeting and exchanging thoughts is a priority and at a time when the economy and health system are under a magnifying glass.  The system is broken. That’s a collective given. However, where we go next remains a mystery.

Some 6,000 people were in Nashville for this four-day CHIME intensive, and the schedule of events – official and unofficial – offered plenty of opportunity – need – to catch up.  There were specialty Start-Up, Interop Now, and Cybersecurity Pavilions for the ever-curious and Speed-Connection Forum for deal makers and plenty of action on the exhibit floor.

Some of the add-on gatherings included: the Start-Up Health Transformers Session, UC Davis and FINN Partners Summit on Innovation and the timed release of the Galen Growth Digital Health Report on US Health Provider Systems, the Nashville Entrepreneur Center Evening Meet-Up, and the always fun and welcome Pinksocks Get-Together at the famed Springwater.

MAGIC AROUND THE EXHIBIT HALL

The everyday magic centered around the exhibit hall – home to the mainstage presentations, provided meals, pop-up post-5 PM receptions, and varied entrepreneurial hubs.  That offered plenty of opportunities to connect with innovators who reserved exhibitor space. 

The themed location of exhibits also supported a deep dive for conversation with people looking to improve the flow of information within health systems, better utilize information for preventive care or harness the power of smart tech and wearables.  Most importantly, there was a general acknowledgment from the speakers and vibe that our health system doesn’t lack innovation – it is sorely in need of structural healing. 

ADDRESSING HEALTH ECOSYSTEM PAIN POINTS

In this way, the range of companies appearing on and wandering the exhibit floor made the meeting well worth the time investment.  Many of the companies present at ViVE are worth following (those here are in alphabetical order).  These are among the enterprises that are addressing pain points of the health ecosystem and rallying to pressing patient needs:

• AssureCare, a population-health company connecting payers, providers, pharmacies, and government-sponsored healthcare programs across the US, is taking the long-awaited patient-centric approach using technology to generate better insight through health information. This company is working to converge pharmacists’ and pharmacy data into a bigger population health picture. AssureCare hopes to break down silos in healthcare data sharing from specialty pharmacies to national chains.

• Babson Diagnostics is doing what over-promoted Theranos failed to deliver. Babson is reimagining the diagnostic blood testing experience making routine blood testing less invasive, more convenient, affordable, and empowering people to take charge of their health. The holy grail of patient testing has been to bring it into the retail pharmacy setting using technologies that require one-tenth the sample blood volume of traditional venipuncture methods without sacrificing quality, accuracy, or menu breadth and pushing these diagnostic tests into a well-known setting where convenience corresponds to patients’ upcoming physician visit is in itself a big step in the right direction.

• CereCore® is elevating hospital operational effectiveness.  Its systems are already based in top-performing US hospitals, enabling this health IT enterprise to improve processes, data security and clinical applications. Hospitals remain the most expensive points of care within the US health ecosystem.  Generating insights and learning to mine and apply data earlier in the patient engagement process is key to improving care and reducing costs.  Hospitals cannot go it alone; tapping into a well-proven system is a smart starting point.

• CPSI has combined several companies under its corporate umbrella focusing on health solutions and services for community hospitals, clinics, and post-acute care facilities. These are the health systems that are known to struggle as more and more systems look to align with other, larger entities. The path to system-wide health has been to ensure a better patient care experience, improve financial operations and offer community hospitals and affiliated clinics EHR solutions that can accurately code assignments for reimbursement. While many companies in the field are looking to “innovate,” sometimes the greatest care advances are in strengthening the care system’s capacity to be economically viable.

• eVideon uses smart-room technology to streamline clinical workflow and transform the patient room into an immersive environment. This company enables hospitals and long-term care clinics to integrate EMR and other installed technologies to display real-time information through the in-room Smart TV, digital whiteboard, digital door sign and bedside tablet. The platform is streamlining clinical workflow and reducing the technology burden on clinicians. This system even features in-room surveys and video chat so the patient has a greater real-time voice.

• Harmony Healthcare IT is the data management firm that moves and stores health organizations’ patient, employee and business records. Among the category of veteran players, it continues to pioneer health IT tech in many ways.  Founded in 2006, this company works with more than 550 clinical, financial, and administrative software in the US and Canada.

• HCTec provides services to more than 1,500 academic medical centers, health systems, community hospitals, critical access hospitals, and healthcare provider organizations. While patients are supposedly the health system’s priority, it’s vital to remember that if the care locations are poorly staffed and lack infrastructure, their mission will be severely hampered.  At a time when hospital systems are integrating, getting their staff and EMR systems connected is a mega – even life-saving priority. 

• Interwell Health is a kidney-care management platform in a field that has become one of the most pressing health sector needs.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 37 million Americans are affected by kidney disease, and most are unaware of their progressive condition.  With kidney disease reaching near-epidemic levels, how physicians care for patients and help them navigate a fragmented reimbursement environment is a monumental task. The cascade of care – from diagnosis to dialysis – requires access to practice knowledge and reimbursement.  Learning about an illness is the start of a process and getting the care essential to keeping people on track to prevent additional medical risks is where medical outcomes are judged.

• ixlayer is partnering with payors, retail pharmacies, direct-to-consumer brands, biopharma, health systems, and telehealth providers to create quick and easy diagnostics for common conditions where reducing cost is possible – before an illness is much more severe. This platform “white labels” its tests for major customers with direct patient access and enables numerous testing options and seamless integration with its customers and lab partners. Like many innovation leaders, its goal is to shift engagement to earlier stages when a disease presents and its management has far more cost-effective treatment options.

• Juli was front-and-center at the American Telemedicine Association meeting in San Antonio earlier this year. The consumer-direct platform – available through a convenient app – supports people with chronic health conditions such as asthma, migraine, depression, bipolar disorder, hypertension or chronic pain through several evidence-based approaches. This consumer health empowerment tool integrates information that impacts health and awareness by tracking health responses to environmental data (e.g., weather, air pollution, pollen) through smartphones or popular wearables and aligning health.  The information can help shift the sick-care reactive system to a self-care preventive care approach.

• Lifepoint Health, the Nashville-headquartered provider, has, since its founding, become a national health system serving patients, clinicians, communities and partner organizations across the healthcare continuum.  A spin-out of the pioneering HCA, this system now includes more than 50,000 employees, 62 community hospital campuses, 50 rehabilitation and behavioral health hospitals – plus 200 additional care sites, including managed acute rehabilitation units, outpatient centers, and post-acute care facilities.  It was no surprise that Lifepoint Health was present at ViVE.

• Loyal is among the first companies to offer end-to-end digital and AI-powered solutions tracking the patient journey; its software solutions for improved care utilization can be found within the nation’s top health systems and hospitals. From selecting a provider best suited for treating a specific condition to closing a feedback loop on patient experience, they have demonstrated that feedback is desired and that people who engage their health networks tend to show greater loyalty.

• Sheba Medical Center was part of the expert conversation at ViVE – a surprise for some as Newsweek World’s Best Hospitals five years straight – this medical system sent representatives from more than 6,000 miles away to share insights on how it maximizes technology across its care systems.  Its acute-care hospital, rehabilitation center, research and training programs, medical simulation center, center for disaster response, and the ARC Innovation Center for redesigning global healthcare all tap into the full range of digital and health technologies. At ViVE, its head of innovation spoke about the importance of looking for innovation from within its walls and the benefits of sharing best practices around the globe.  

• Teladoc Health appears to be about accessing care from many locations, but the pandemic demonstrated that the platform could provide much more to improve people’s well-being.  Now, telemedicine has become a given and has shown its value in patient adherence, management of chronic conditions such as diabetes, checking in with people enrolled in clinical trials and dealing with senior care needs.  In post-acute hospital care, telemedicine can support the outpatient process and keep people healing at home.  This global leader in delivering whole-person virtual care – including primary care, mental health, chronic condition management, and more – is the category must-watch innovator.

WHAT’S UP NEXT FOR HEALTH INNOVATORS?

The success of ViVE had many looking forward to April and HIMSS in Chicago, and CNS Summit in Boston this November.  For health innovators planning for 2024, mark your calendars for ViVE February 25 – 28, 2024, in Los Angeles.  If you have already marked your calendar for those dates, it’s a sure sign that #ViVE2023 was a hit!

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Surprised? You’re not alone! But the numbers are a tune you won’t forget.  The music industry is a significant contributor to the Nashville economy.  The Country Music Association reports that the music industry generates $10 billion in economic impact annually for the city.  That includes revenue from live music events, music tourism and recording studios.

But even if you add in the sales from hotel reservations and souvenirs, health wins hands down over music when it comes to economic impact. According to the Nashville Health Care Council, the city’s health industry contributes more than $67 billion annually to the region’s economy and employs 325,000 people. This includes health providers, medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and healthcare IT firms. The health industry is also responsible for nearly 40% of all jobs in the Nashville region.

Nashville is a Given When it Comes to Hosting ViVE

Unsurprisingly, ViVE Events chose Nashville for its second gathering – a city quietly making its mark on the nation’s health system. Nashville is the perfect place for ViVE Events. It attracts change agents and digital health innovators known for their collaborative nature and seeking a friendly setting to exchange ideas and learn from each other.

“This is only the second year for ViVE and the conference is emerging as a big draw. Last year’s event attracted 5,000 people, and this year, ViVE is expected to draw around 7,500,” says Keith Fraidenburg, CHIME executive vice president and chief operating and innovation officer. CHIME is the main driver behind the ViVE gathering, centering around digital health and health information.

“Music City” is home to some of the most prestigious healthcare organizations in the United States, including HCA Healthcare, Meharry Medical College, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Community Health Systems. These institutions provide world-class medical care to patients from across the country and world and, much like Cambridge, MA, with its proximity to academic medical centers, universities and service supports, serve as engines of innovation for the health innovation sector.

In addition to leading healthcare providers, Nashville is home to a vibrant ecosystem of start-ups and entrepreneurs focused on health innovation. Many companies are spin-offs of HCA Healthcare, which long encouraged staff to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.  Now, the community is supported by local incubators and accelerators like the Nashville Health Care Council, Lifepoint Health, and Frist Cressey Ventures, which all provide resources, connections, and mentorship to help start-ups grow and thrive.

The iconic Tommy Frist Sr., who co-founded HCA Healthcare, and was a longstanding investor in entrepreneurial ventures, helped fuel Nashville’s growth as a national health hub.  “Nashville’s healthcare industry is a critical economic driver for the region, employing tens of thousands of people and generating billions of dollars in economic activity,” said Frist Sr, who died in 1998 and created the foundation for Nashville to be a national health system force: “As a lifelong Nashvillian and founder of one of the region’s leading healthcare companies, I am proud of Nashville’s role in advancing healthcare innovation and improving patient care.”

The concentration of healthcare providers and innovators in Nashville has attracted significant investment, with venture capital firms, legal powerhouse firms such as Waller and private equity groups recognizing the region’s potential for growth and innovation. This investment has super-charged the development of innovative technologies, therapies, and patient care approaches, transforming the healthcare industry.

Nashville’s position as a center for health innovation and provider services is critical to the future of healthcare in the United States. With a collaborative ecosystem of healthcare providers, academic institutions, start-ups, and investors, Nashville is well-positioned to drive new advancements in patient care and access. Its unique combination of expertise, resources, and quality of life makes it an ideal destination for healthcare professionals and entrepreneurs looking to impact the healthcare industry positively.

Start-Up Health Kicks Off at ViVE 2023

Some 100 company leaders were on-hand for the Start Up Health Transformers Unite! 2023 Health Transformer Workshop hosted by Steven Krein, co-founder and managing partner, and Jamey Edwards, chief platform officer of Start-Up Health.  Start-Up Health is a unique model for entrepreneurs seeking the support of an accelerator. 

A community with the rigor of an academy, Start Up Health offers health IT, health tech and wellness entrepreneurs a structure and curriculum to help them navigate the unique challenges – addressing everything from mindset to positioning to raising money to navigate the fragmented health ecosystem.  Now Start Up Health is working to ensure companies accepted into its supportive hive succeed in their missions to build sustainable growth businesses. 

According to Founder Unity Stoakes, “In a world full of limited-scope, short-form, quick-hit business advice, we’re building Health Transformer University with long-term transformation in mind. That means being stage agnostic, unbound by time, and globally connected.”

The ViVE 2023 gathering conversation centered around a clear development model by translating Maslow’s hierarchy of success into four steps for “Achieving Health Moonshots.”

1. Mission & Mindset
2. Rhythm & Progress
3. Relationships & Brand
4. Capital & Impact

The portfolio companies – all impressive – are hand-picked for receiving the time and attention of a leadership team that has graduated successfully from the Start-Up Health incubator community. The approach is working well for those accepted into its program.  Valera Health, offering mental health services, has also received support from Cigna. Another, Avanlee Care, has teamed up with Walmart to apply its technology to support millions of unpaid caregivers. Athelo Health, led by Jessica Thurmond, is pioneering long needed efforts in women’s health. Taking on long-neglected conversations around diagnosis, information access, treatment approaches, the company has launched a biometric-anchored virtual coach for women with breast and gynecologic cancers.

Start Up Health catalyzes long-awaited changes in the global health system.  Here are two profiles among the scores of companies participating in their incubator/accelerator community:

Vigilant Software is working to eliminate one billion common medication errors by digitizing hospital-based drug delivery. In a system still dominated by hand-written medical orders or patient charts – where faxes are still deployed to transmit vital medical information – there are bound to be mistakes – sometimes deadly.  Caring for patients on the floors is one thing.  But, when critical care is needed, analog data shouldn’t be considered a go-to system. Health information technology can be deployed to address urgent care speed.

This Start-Up Health-supported company seeks to help critical care nurses by eliminating workflow steps that often involve translating – or misinterpreting – handwritten instructions. Its automation platform –a proprietary barcode scanner and label printer – eliminates manual calculations so that IV infusions and injections are safer and, by reducing workflow, returns time to patient care.

Vigilant demonstrated that its digital health system could save some 4,000 hours of critical care nursing time annually in a typical American hospital. As hospitals shoulder the burden of nurse staffing shortages and nurse burnout, reducing drug-interaction risks, and automating tasks, have several clear benefits – from saving lives to strengthening staff retention.

equalityMD is changing how the LGBTQ+ community perceives and receives health services. The Start Up Health-guided company has evolved through the years.  First launched in January 2015 as an LGBTQ+ multimedia and marketing company called Q Media, it shifted into an LGBTQ+ consumer behavioral data analytics company. But the pandemic – the pressing need for health services within the LGBTQ+ community – pushed it into its current form as a life-sustaining and saving medical matchmaker. Its founder and CEO, Justin Ayars, JD, a former trial lawyer, recognized a long-standing health equity need and transformed the company into the first virtual LGBTQ+ inclusive healthcare platform.

Using a proprietary machine-learning matching algorithm, equalityMD connects the LGBTQ+ community with culturally competent primary care and mental health providers nationwide. The system seeks to create a safe space on what is likely the virtual first platform where this community can be their authentic selves and receive the care required. Providers complete LGBTQ+ cultural competency training through a third-party ACCME provider and are then invited to onto platform, enabling them to be matched with people seeking care. As an added benefit, providers can receive Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits by participating in these training programs.

equalityMD is certified both as a Benefit Corporation (B-Corp) and LGBT Business Enterprise (LGBTBE) – a National LGBT Chamber of Commerce supplier diversity status, is now strengthening ties with Blue Cross Blue Shield, CVS/Aetna, and Cedars-Sinai so that its business model is enduring, scalable and demonstrates outcomes.

Model for Health Innovation Collaboration in a Welcoming City

The CHIME ViVE 2023 model draws in collaborative partners such as Start Up Health. The InteropNow! and Cybersecurity Pavilions, as well as welcoming others such as UC Davis and Galen Growth to use the gathering to share breaking insights (watch for the following ViVE 2023 report), centered around a city of hospitality, fun and health innovation is the perfect medicine for health transformers looking to learn and apply.   

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