The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), the longest-running state-sponsored startup incubator in the country based at Georgia Tech, has been chosen as one of eight stops on a national “Startup Day” tour for federal government heath officials to connect with tech startups.
The ATDC Federal Healthcare Innovation Summit, which will be held September 12, will allow entrepreneurs and technologists to connect with representatives from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HSS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
The federal government spends more on healthcare than any other single entity in the country, about 28.3 percent of the total national health expenditure in 2016. That’s compared to 28.1 percent spent by individual households, 19.9 percent by private businesses and 16.9 percent by state or local government. Those hundreds of billions present a massive market opportunity for startups to make operations more efficient and streamlined with new technologies.
The capstone of the day will be a Shark Tank pitch event where startups can share their products and services with HHS officials, including the agency’s Chief Technology officer Edward Simcox, for feedback.
“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 ATDC’s HealthTech catalyst Kirk Barnes. “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.”
The event is being co-hosted by NASCO, a health IT firm owned by payer Blue Cross Blue Shield. Earlier this summer, NASCO became the first sponsor of ATDC’s newly-launched health technology vertical. At the time, ATDC’s Interim General Manager Jane McCracken told Hypepotamus that about 40 of the program’s 180 current portfolio companies were healthcare-related.
“There are some very specific things in the healthcare industry — things like regulation, whether that’s the FDA or HIPAA-compliance. It’s an industry that has a lot of legacy products and an industry that’s been slow to adopt new things,” McCracken told Hypepotamus. The HealthTech program hosts workshops, educational events and more to help startups crack that regulatory barrier.
You can register for the event here.
