CLEVELAND, Ohio – Several organizations are coming together to host the city’s first Medical Capital Innovation Competition in April touting $100,000 in prizes as incentives for professionals and collegiate teams to participate in the “All Things Data in Healthcare” two-day event.
The April 25-26 event, held at the HIMSS Innovation Center in downtown Cleveland, plans to focus on a major shift in healthcare innovation. An industry that used to be dominated by medical devices and pharmaceutical advancements is now being driven by healthcare IT and software services, especially with advancements made in the Internet of Things, health-tech wearables, tele-health and electronic medical records.
Organizers say they’re seeking innovators who are focused on the collection, management, analysis and optimization of health data. And aside from monetary prizes, winners will be awarded with mentoring, and access to business advisors, including world-class healthcare systems and collaborators.
Ideas will be judged by industry experts using specific criteria, including, but not limited to, commercial and technical viability and the strength of the team.
“Cleveland – the medical capital – continues to build upon the strengths of its health IT, biotech and medical device assets,” Aram Nerpouni, president and CEO of BioEnterprise, said in a written statement. “Our region celebrates entrepreneurialism and healthcare innovation, and the Innovation Competition catalyzes continued advancements in patient care and privacy, hospital operations, financial performance and cybersecurity.”
The Global Center for Health Innovation (GCHI), Cuyahoga County, BioEnterprise, and HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) are hosting the competition and event that’s expected to draw about 250 participants. The organizations are expecting about 50 teams – hopefully equally divided among the professional and collegiate divisions.
Organizers said they’re hosting the competition because the healthcare industry generates massive amounts of data, and the industry is only beginning to scratch the surface of managing it all.
Emerging trends, including Internet of Things (IoT) and Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD), magnify not just the volume of data, but also the number of sources and formats. Innovations that turn raw data into actionable tools will produce monumental change in the landscape of healthcare.
According to a mid-year report put out by BioEnterprise in 2016, Healthcare IT, software and services sectors outpaced the biotech and medical device sectors — the first time since the organization began compiling this report in 2005.
Since then, a growing number of Cleveland-based healthcare IT companies, including Explorys, Hyland Software, CoverMyMeds, and COMS have made national headlines as a result of their contributions in the ongoing battle with big data.
“In Cuyahoga County we are laser focused on job creation and attraction,” said Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish in a written statement. “Hosting this unique competition in the county’s Global Center for Health Innovation will attract and support startup businesses as we continue to grow into the medical innovation hub of the world.”
For more information and to apply: www.MedicalInnovationCompetition.org.
