ViVE was a great success in almost every way people seek to leverage a health-industry meeting – from soaking in the mainstage content to connecting with colleagues to engagement on (and off) the exhibit floor.  This gathering differed from its larger HLTH counterpart, where leaders fly in for their mainstage chat and zip off.  People came and largely remained throughout the meeting’s duration.  Plus, ViVE offered far greater value for people in the thick of the herculean task of transforming the splintered care system.

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!