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55 INNOVATION General Catalyst, WellSpan Health collaborate on digital health, innovation By Giles Bruce Y ork, Pa.-based WellSpan Health is collaborating with General Catalyst on digital health and innovation, the fourth such partnership for the venture capital firm that's rapidly expanding into healthcare. The two sides aim to improve the quality, value and equity of care through technology. "Our collaboration with General Catalyst provides a seat at the table with other like-minded change-makers from innovative organizations across the country to share ideas and collaborate on initiatives that drive transformation," Roxanna Gapstur, PhD, RN, president and CEO of WellSpan Health, stated in an Aug. 29 news release shared with Becker's. "With more direct access to the newest start- up ideas, trends and advances in technology through General Catalyst, we can focus our attention on originative opportunities to improve the care and experience of our patients." General Catalyst has had similar alliances with Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare; Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health; and Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare. Earlier this month, the company hired former Intermountain President and CEO Marc Harrison to run a healthcare investment platform, weeks after launching a $670 million fund dedicated to healthcare. Daryl Tol, head of the health assurance ecosystem of General Catalyst and the former CEO of Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth, stated that the firm aims to "work as a true strategic partner to all different types of health systems and bring the best of tech innovation to healthcare — ultimately, changing the way founders and health systems innovate together." "We don't want a Silicon Valley disruptive mindset. We want to partner with the industry," stated Hemant Taneja, CEO and managing director of General Catalyst. "If we are going to transform the healthcare system and make health assurance a reality, we need to make it more affordable and valuable and build together with that intentionality and focus." n RWJBarnabas Health opens innovation center to study promising digital health tools By Giles Bruce N ew Brunswick, N.J.-based Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School have opened a Center for Innovation that will focus initially on digital health and cardiovascular disease. e center, part of West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health, will bring together clinicians, researchers and industry professionals from a variety of disciplines to develop new technologies, with the hope of completing clinical trials. e concept and design came from Partho Sengupta, MD, the Henry Rutgers Professor of Cardiology at the medical school and chief of cardiology at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. "It is exciting to imagine what we can create to improve the health of our communities and to change the course of the health of our vul- nerable populations," hospital President and CEO Bill Arnold said in a Sept. 14 health system news release. e digital transformation team will be led by Naveena Yanamala, PhD, the medical school's director of artificial intelligence and data science for cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Technologies in the works include earbuds that gather heart rhythm metrics, a med- ical vest that detects heart attack symptoms through sensors, and a mobile electrocardiogram device to replace stethoscopes. Clinical trials are already underway to study remote cardiac ultra- sound technology and wearable sensors that collect data from pa- tients with high blood pressure or early-stage heart failure. n Image Credit: Healthcare Finance News