One of the toughest hurdles for health IT start-ups is getting in front of customers. Doctors are reluctant to pay, and sales cycles at hospitals can take months. Entrepreneurs often inspired by a negative personal experience, and moved to fix the problem, find later that their product doesn’t fit the hospital’s “workflow,” or offers no incentive for doctors to adopt it. The NYDHA helps health IT entrepreneurs address those issues.
The accelerator’s mission is very focused, answering the needs of the state and health care providers. Start-ups need to have a product that addresses care coordination, patient engagement, analytics, or message alerts. New York is moving away from a fee-for-service system for Medicaid patients suffering from chronic illnesses, to one based on patient outcome. That involves coordinating care among different health care providers to prevent the likelihood of hospitalization. NYEC also oversees the state’s health information exchange which allows hospitals and doctors to electronically transmit patient records; it is looking to build applications on top of its network.
(Source: Forbes.com)