UHC Names Winner of 2013 Startup Challenge

CHICAGO, Oct. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- UHC and AVIA announced that HealthLoop is the winner of the inaugural UHC Startup Challenge: Innovation Delivered. The Startup Challenge was a live competition held at the UHC Annual Conference 2013, "Pulse," on October 18, in Atlanta, Ga. HealthLoop will receive a $10,000 grand prize and advisory support from UHC and AVIA for one year.

HealthLoop was among five digital entrepreneurs in the health care field that participated in the Startup Challenge. Each company was allotted 10 minutes to present its idea or product to the more than 1,500 health care professionals attending the conference, who were able to vote for their favorite concept in real time, and to a panel consisting of three expert judges. HealthLoop was selected after presenting its cloud-based platform that automates follow-up care using evidence-based protocols.

"We congratulate all of the participants. Each presented cutting-edge technologies that made it a very difficult decision for our panelists and members," said Irene Thompson, UHC's president and chief executive officer. "Innovative solutions are a must in today's health care environment, and I applaud HealthLoop for presenting a compelling presentation with an inventive product. I look forward to this partnership and fostering the development of a new solution that will contribute towards the goals of our member academic medical centers and leading health care providers."

Tom Main, partner at Oliver Wyman, moderated the session. The expert panel that judged the presentations included:

• Steve Lieber, president and chief executive officer, HIMSS Worldwide
• Kavita Patel, MD, managing director at the Brookings Institution and practicing primary care internist at Johns Hopkins Medicine
• Glen Tullman, managing partner at 7wire Ventures and former chief executive officer at Allscripts

In addition to the grand prize, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) will offer HealthLoop a featured role at the Venture+ Forum at HIMSS14, which includes a speaking opportunity during the conference.

"Innovative technology is at the core of transforming health delivery and HealthLoop's presentation fully exemplified an innovative solution to improve health care processes," said H. Stephen Lieber, president and chief executive officer, HIMSS Worldwide. "HIMSS is focused on helping new solutions move ahead and we look forward to having HealthLoop present at HIMSS14 in February."

UHC, a Chicago-based consortium of 118 leading academic medical centers and nearly 300 of their affiliated hospitals, announced its collaboration with AVIA in September to offer the first Startup Challenge. UHC's conference is held annually and is attended by members from more than 100 member organizations.

For more information about the Startup Challenge, visit www.uhc.edu/55258.htm.

About UHC
UHC is an alliance of the nation's leading nonprofit academic medical centers, which are focused on delivering world-class patient care. Formed in 1984 and based in Chicago, Ill, UHC fosters collaboration with and among its 118 academic medical center and 299 affiliated hospital members through its renowned solutions in the areas of performance improvement, comparative data and analytics, supply chain management, strategic research, and public policy. UHC helps its members achieve excellence in quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness. UHC's membership includes the leading nonprofit academic medical centers in the United States. For more information, visit uhc.edu.

About AVIA
Founded by Abundant Venture Partners in 2012, AVIA is a Chicago-based innovation accelerator that helps healthcare providers successfully navigate the emerging and rapidly expanding field of technology-enabled products and services. AVIA's mission is to advance healthcare providers' innovation goals while conserving time, resources, and capital. By providing business development and operational support, AVIA helps members' executive teams identify, evaluate and implement the best solutions to power their innovation priorities. AVIA connects the power of the healthcare provider with the promise of the entrepreneur. For more information, please visit: http://aviahealthinnovation.com.

SOURCE UHC