Hartford HealthCare’s Evolving Innovation Ecosystem

The Digital Health “Sandbox”

The virtual assembly of the following key strategic innovation assets serve as a “sandbox” to accelerate transformative products and business development opportunities.

The “sandbox” concept serves as a differentiator and recognizes that a vibrant integrated healthcare delivery system such as HHC can afford a remarkable opportunity to early and late stage companies.

Innovation Ecosystem

Key Innovation Assets

Acute Care Hospitals

With 36,000 colleagues, Hartford HealthCare’s unified culture enhances access, affordability, equity and expertise. Its care-delivery system includes two tertiary-level teaching hospitals, an acute-care community teaching hospital, an acute-care hospital and trauma center, three community hospitals.

The Center for Education, Simulation and Innovation (CESI)

CESI is one of the country’s premier simulation centers and would be available as a resource to Israeli companies, helping them pressure-test proposed advancements in healthcare and healthcare administration before finalizing their minimum viable products.

Care Logistics & Access Center

The Hartford HealthCare Transfer Center connects patients to the right care at the right place and the right time with a single phone call. Every call is answered by an experienced Registered Nurse who understands the patients’ needs and will initiate the appropriate transfer quickly and efficiently.

HHC Community Network

The HHC Community Network is the largest home care nursing and hospice agency in CT. As part of a coordinated population health plan, home care is ripe for innovative digital and virtual health strategies. Experts from this unit will help emerging companies understand the specific needs of at-home patients and how to adapt technology for a non-acute care clinical environment, in order to maximize benefit to patients and providers.

Information Technology & Informatics

HHC has made significant capital investments in information technology (IT) and analytics including an integrated electronic health record (Epic) and in advanced next generation analytic capabilities (artificial intelligence, predictive and prescriptive). The analytics and IT teams are available as potential collaborators for startups to provide the critical interface between technology platforms and high quality effective and efficient patient care.

Research

HHC’s Research Administration program is organized to provide optimal services and oversight to conduct medical research at its institutions. The goal is to support and facilitate the growth of research and offer patients access to new and novel treatment options. To that end the program has developed a centralized infrastructure to meet the needs of research investigators across the HHC system including an Institutional Review Board.

Clinical Institutes

HHC has developed a patient-centered approach to delivering care, focused on clinical institutes. Physicians of multiple sub-specialties come together in the Institutes to provide cutting-edge coordinated care, which enhances quality, safety and the patient experience. The Institutes are charged with investing in continuous innovation and research in order to advance care and will be ready to serve as key sources of clinical feedback for emerging startups looking to improve patient outcomes. These Institutes include:

  • Heart and Vascular Institute 
    A national leader in cardiovascular disease prevention, treatment, surgery and research.
  • Bone and Joint Institute 
    Offering an unparalleled network of coordinated services for patients with musculoskeletal disorders and orthopedic injuries.
  • Ayer Neurosciences Institute 
    Our comprehensive care model, unique in the region, allows us to move nimbly and collaborate routinely. This spirit is rooted in thorough clinical reviews that encourage innovative ways to help our patients.
  • Cancer Institute
    Wherever you go within the Cancer Institute, a team of medical and radiation oncologists, surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, nurses and researchers oversee each patient's care.
  • Tallwood Kidney and Urology Institute 
    Our highly skilled physicians have advanced sub-specialty training, and are backed by a full team of interdisciplinary medical and surgical specialists.
  • HHC Behavioral Health Network
    The largest provider of mental health services in Connecticut

Hartford HealthCare Medical Group (HHCMG)

HHCMG is a multi-specialty group encompassing physicians in more than 30 specialties in convenient offices across Central and Eastern CT.

Integrated Care Partners (ICP)

ICP is a physician-led, clinically integrated healthcare network whose mission is to assist its members in providing the highest quality care at the most reasonable cost for their patients in the current, rapidly changing healthcare environment.

HHC Pharmacy

The HHC Specialty Pharmacy Program is an outpatient pharmacy program dedicated to providing patients with the support necessary to manage complex medication regimens. Pharmacists and liaisons work with an individual’s healthcare providers to ensure his/her specialty medication needs are delivered accurately and on time with the goal to provide the patient with fully integrated pharmacy services and the highest quality care.

Digital Health CT Accelerator

HHC is the anchor institution/partner in a CT grant-funded initiative, Innovations Place, to foster innovation, economic development and job growth in the Hartford Region, focused on MedTech innovation. A digital health accelerator has recently been launched as part of this public/private initiative in partnership with Trinity College, in Hartford, and the UConn School of Business and the Tech Commercialization Services Division.

CarePartners of Connecticut

This is a not-for-profit Medicare health insurance company formed by HHC and Tufts Health Plan.

The Ecosytem is key to achieving our goals.

HHC recognizes that a vibrant entrepreneurial and innovative healthcare ecosystem, involving multiple stakeholders (academic and teaching institutions, government, entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, corporate, and risk capital), is key to achieve our goals.