The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is hosting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other federal agencies today as part of an initiative by Washington to connect with local entrepreneurs and startups around the country. The meetings are designed to find innovation in the health and government technology sectors and the ATDC is one of eight cities across the country to host the agency and the “Startup Days” tour.
“Health and Human Services, through its HHS Idea Lab, is always trying to find new ways to interact and engage with entrepreneurs in the technology and health spaces,” said Kirk Barnes, ATDC HealthTech catalyst. “We are excited to help facilitate connections between HHS and Georgia’s technology ecosystem and we’ve expanded this initiative to include several federal agencies that have an interest in HealthTech innovation.”
Edward Simcox, the HHS chief technology officer, will be among the officials present as part of the tour. Simcox has had a long career in the private healthcare sector which has provided him some perfect background for evaluating startups and what they can contribute to HHS. “Innovation is critical for organizations to improve and evolve,” say HHS on their Startup Day website. “Technology is changing at a rapid pace and HHS must be ready to evolve and improve at the same pace. At HHS we think about innovation everyday. We seek to create new solutions to address some of the most complex public health crises like the opioid epidemic or to streamline and modernize government through new processes to perform as a high-performing organization.”
The Startup Days program was born out of the HHS IDEA Lab, a part of the Office of the Chief Technology Officer. The IDEA Lab was established to encourage and enable innovation at HHS. It’s the Department’s “go-to resource to solve complex problems with innovative approaches and best practices.”
Besides HHS, other federal agencies participating in the program include:
· U.S. Food and Drug Administration
· U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
· National Institutes of Health
· Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
· Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
The sponsor of the program is NASCO, a subsidiary of Blue Cross and Blue Shield. It is one of the healthcare industry’s largest and most efficient single-system claims processing solution. It provides seamless benefit management, eligibility, membership, billing and claims processing support for Blue Plans. This allows Blue Cross to provide healthcare products across federal, state and multi-state markets for nearly 25 million members. Collaboration and innovation are a major part of their strategy, looking for shared solutions and finding cost advantages – always handy for federal programs.
To learn more about the Startup Day program straight from HHS, see here: https://www.hhs.gov/idealab/startup-days/
For more about the program at ATDC: https://atdc.org/blog/advanced-technology-development-center-and-nasco-to-host-atdc-federal-healthcare-innovation-summit/
