New Smart Health Innovation Lab to Accelerate Technology That Improves Patient Care, Lowers Costs

Lancaster –  Smart Health Innovation Lab, a new health care technology center, has announced plans to open this summer in downtown Lancaster. The innovation lab is set to be the only facility of its kind in Central Pennsylvania, where technology innovators, an insurance company, and a health system will offer companies an efficient path to test health care innovations, ultimately making them available to consumers faster.

Smart Health Innovation Lab is currently finalizing plans for its Lancaster facility, which will be located in Lancaster Square at 100 N. Queen Street. Four Central Pennsylvania-based organizations have founded the organization, each bringing their unique expertise to the lab: Aspire Ventures, Capital BlueCross and its wholly owned subsidiary Geneia, Clio Health and Lancaster General Health, a member of Penn Medicine.

“Technology companies often struggle to become integrated into the complex health care system,” said Dan Mitchell, vice president of corporate development for Aspire Ventures. “Smart Health Innovation Lab will be a vehicle to help companies overcome common obstacles to bringing technology innovations to market. The four organizations that are collaborating in the lab understand that rapid and strategic injection of technology into our health care system is another powerful way to increase patient satisfaction while lowering costs.”

Smart Health Innovation Lab will seek to accelerate products that advance health care technology in four categories: improving population health; improving the patient experience; lowering costs; and improving the provider experience.

The lab will house simulated environments such as clinical office space, patient care space and home settings. After an initial review process, participating companies will be able to use these simulated environments to test their technology.

Examples of technology that the Smart Health Innovation Lab will help companies accelerate include wearable devices such as diabetic monitors and orthopedic products. One such company is Biogaming, which is developing a digital health platform to engage, assess, train and monitor physical therapy patients. By using the lab for product testing, Biogaming will be able to integrate its technology into real-world systems and payor reimbursement models.

“Our core mission at Clio Health is to deliver exceptional value to our patients, physicians, third-party payers and the community-at-large,” said Joe Frank, CEO of Clio Health. “The Smart Health Innovation Lab will be essential to identify and perfect clinical breakthroughs which will enable us to deliver on our core mission.”

“Advancing the health and well-being of our customers is core to our mission,” said Gary D. St. Hilaire, president and CEO of Capital BlueCross. “Smart Health Innovation Lab will help turn ideas into powerful new products faster, so that our customers and the broader community can benefit from better health care outcomes and lower costs.”

“We look forward to sharing our expertise with innovators and entrepreneurs who are equally passionate about enhancing health care and our community’s well-being,” said Jan Bergen, president & CEO, LG Health. “Our physicians and clinicians know first-hand the vital role technology plays in developing ways to improve access, lower costs and successfully partner with consumers to improve their health.”

For more information, visit www.smarthealthinnovationlab.com

About Aspire Ventures
Aspire Ventures, an Aspire Universal Company, is a private equity firm focused on transforming industries and impact investment. Aspire Ventures leverages its capital, intellectual property and domain expertise to help bring breakthrough technologies to market faster and more cost effectively for the benefit of people worldwide.

Aspire Ventures has developed A2I, an adaptive artificial intelligence platform, to help its portfolio companies offer innovative technologies in the areas of mobile, cloud, machine learning, and big data analytics for a variety of industry sectors, most notably healthcare. Aspire Ventures is leading several initiatives in healthcare designed to break down silos, foster innovation and integration, and effect revolutionary change, and the company’s vision for healthcare is a patient-centered model that is focused on creating a better patient experience through precision medicine.

About Capital BlueCross
Capital BlueCross, headquartered in Harrisburg, Pa., is the leading health solutions and insurance company in Central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley. A partner in the community’s health for nearly 80 years, Capital BlueCross offers health insurance products, services and technology solutions that provide peace of mind to consumers and promote health and wellness for our customers.

More than a health insurer, the company delivers innovative solutions through a family of diversified businesses that is creating a healthier future and lowering health care costs. Among these solutions are patient-focused care models, leading-edge data analytics, and digital health technologies. Additionally, Capital BlueCross is growing a network of Capital Blue stores that provide in-person service and inspiration to help people reach their health goals. Capital BlueCross is an independent licensee of the BlueCross BlueShield Association. For more information, visit capbluecross.com.

About Clio Health
Clio Health Lancaster, an Aspire Ventures affiliate, is a smart healthcare facility focused on transforming the patient experience and improving health outcomes at lower cost through innovative processes, a cutting edge technology ecosystem, and strategic collaborations. The campus, due to open early 2018, will include a specialty surgical hospital, physician offices, and ancillary services. The Lancaster campus is the first phase of a broader initiative by Clio Health to impact healthcare with innovative facilities across the U.S.

About Lancaster General Health
Lancaster General Health (LG Health), a member of the University of Pennsylvania Health System (Penn Medicine), is a 663-bed not-for-profit health system with a comprehensive network of care encompassing Lancaster General Hospital, Women & Babies Hospital and the Lancaster Rehabilitation Hospital (in partnership with Kindred Healthcare). Our membership in Penn Medicine brings together the strengths of a world-renowned, not-for-profit academic medical center and a nationally recognized, not-for-profit community healthcare system. Outpatient services are provided at the Downtown and Suburban pavilions, along with additional outpatient centers and Express and Urgent Care locations throughout the region. Lancaster General Health Physicians is a network of nearly 300 primary-care and specialty physicians, at more than 40 offices throughout the region.

Contact: Kimberly Ireland Director, Smart Health Innovation Lab 717-869-5238