Amazon exec says new startup accelerator class can boost hospitals, healthcare

Amazon Web Services has picked 10 startups for its accelerator program focused on health equity that a top executive told Becker's can not only help reduce disparities but boost hospitals and the healthcare system as a whole.

Over the four-week program, the startups will receive business and technical mentorship from Amazon Web Services and KidsX, a digital health accelerator from Children's Hospital Los Angeles, as well as up to $25,000 in Amazon Web Services computing credits. 

"Many of the accelerator efforts out there in the market right now focus either on technology or on business — we actually bring the best of both of those," Jeff Kratz, Amazon Web Services general manager of worldwide public sector partners, told Becker's. "In areas like [artificial intelligence] and machine learning, how do you price your solution? We assist on ideas ranging from cash-flow topics to ensuring that they meet, exceed and understand their commitment to HIPAA compliance and the security that needs to be done proactively."

Mr. Kratz said the idea is to improve the health of underserved communities, which could in turn save the medical system a lot of money. He pointed to an analysis that found disparities lead to an estimated $93 billion a year in excess healthcare costs in the U.S. He said these types of startups can ultimately help hospitals and providers — from streamlining the intake process to imaging and diagnostics.

The 10 startups chosen from a total of 250 applicants are:

  • Clinify Health, based in Chicago, is a value-based care enablement company.
  • ClosedLoop.ai, based in Austin, Texas, is a healthcare data science platform.
  • CognitiveCare, based in Milpitas, Calif., has developed a maternal and infant health solution using AI and machine learning.
  • Harmony Health, based in Pleasanton, Calif., provides an engagement platform.
  • Kinetik, based in Long Island City, N.Y., provides products and application programming interface solutions for healthcare transportation.
  • Pair Team, based in San Francisco, connects underserved communities to tech-enabled care teams.
  • Samaritan, based in Seattle, is a support platform that helps people without a home reach housing and health goals.
  • SameSky Health, based in Los Angeles, uses analytics to spot disparities and barriers to care.
  • Vincere Health, based in Boston, is a tech-based provider of smoking cessation.
  • Zócalo Health, based in Seattle, is a virtual family medicine platform designed for the Latino community.

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