Venture+ Forum to Kick Off 2013 mHealth Summit, Connecting Mobile and Wireless Health Innovators With Investors

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, technology experts and healthcare industry leaders will gather at this year's Venture+ Forum, a one-day event on Sunday, December 8^th at the 2013 mHealth Summit in Washington, DC. The Venture+ Forum will showcase the hottest mobile health and health IT technologies for improving healthcare delivery, patient outcomes and consumer engagement and will feature live pitches from selected new, emerging and early stage companies.

The Venture+ Forum, featuring a keynote from Qualcomm Life Fund Director Jack Young, will kick off the 5^th Annual mHealth Summit, the largest global conference and expo focused on the intersection of mobile/wireless and healthcare delivery, running from December 9-11, 2013. The Summit convenes 5,000 attendees from 60 countries across every sector – including health and technology influencers, developers, policy makers, business leaders and key stakeholders and is the industry's leading event around the mobile health ecosystem and the future of innovation.

The Venture+ Forum, presented at the mHealth Summit by HIMSS Media in strategic partnership with Springboard Enterprises, StartUp Health and UP Global, will feature expert speakers and moderators including: 

• Eric Koester, Co-Founder, Zaarly – named one of the world's Fifty Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company in 2012 and Co-Founder and COO of Data Collateral
• Elliot Menschik, MD, PhD, Managing Partner, DreamIt Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm and accelerator program investing in pre-seed and seed-stage tech startups
• Lorren Pettit, HIMSS Analytics Vice President, Market Research
• Patricia Salber, MD, Founder and CEO of Health Tech Hatch, a resource for healthcare entrepreneurs offering crowdfunding support as well as concept testing and feedback
• Amita Shukla, Healthcare entrepreneur, innovator and Founder and CEO Vitamita
• Lisa Suennen, Co-Founder and Managing Member of Psilos Group, a healthcare-focused investment firm with approximately $600 million under management in medical device, healthcare IT and healthcare services sectors
• Christopher Wasden, EdD, PricewaterhouseCoopers Managing Director, Healthcare Strategy and Innovation Practice and leader in the field of digital and consumer health innovation
• Jack Young, Director, Qualcomm Life Fund (Keynote)

"It is clear that funding for digital health is experiencing huge growth. Institutional and corporate investors have built up portfolios, incubators and accelerators around the world are churning out more companies and crowdfunding sources are enamored with personal health devices – but is this sustainable?" asks Jack Young, Qualcomm Life Fund Director and Venture+ Forum keynote speaker. "During my keynote, I'll explore the overall viability of the digital health funding boom and share my thoughts on where investment dollars will go in the coming years."

Eleven of the most promising new and emerging companies will present their new innovation in mobile health and health information technology to an expert panel of judges, including:

• Howard Burde, Howard Burde Health Law, LLC Principal
• Andrew Farquharson, InCube Ventures Managing Director and VentureHealth Co-Founder
• Valeria Gaydos, Capital Growth, Inc. President and Angel Venture Forum Founder
• Amy Millman, Springboard Enterprises President

The full list of selected startups can be found here: http://www.ventureplusforum.com/presenting-companies and overall program agenda can be found here: http://www.mhealthsummit.org/program-details/program-agenda.

"The Venture+ Forum, which is focused on bringing the newest, most promising innovations to light, is the perfect way to start off the Summit," said Rich Scarfo, Vice President, Events at HIMSS Media and Director of the mHealth Summit. "In keeping with the innovative spirit of the Forum, this year's Summit will also host several other opportunities for investors and innovators to connect, including the new Innovation Zone – a sponsored startup pavilion on the exhibit floor featuring live demos from the mobile healthcare startups.  It will also include free consultations with law experts and other business-building service providers, as well as several keynotes and fireside chats focused on entrepreneurship."

Registration for the Venture+ Forum is now open: http://ventureplusforum.com/registration. Follow @HITventure for the latest Forum updates and join the conversation using #Venture+. Summit registration can be found here: http://www.mhealthsummit.org/registration. Additional speakers and special events will be announced leading up to the Summit; keep up with Summit news @mhealthsummit and join the conversation using #mHealth13.

About the mHealth Summit
The 2013 mHealth Summit, the global convener of the expanding mobile health ecosystem, explores the disruptions, challenges and opportunities of the expanding integration of mobile and wireless technologies into the healthcare system, and in consumer and patient engagement, for the delivery of better health outcomes. The 5^th Annual mHealth Summit will take place December 8-11, 2013 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in the Washington, D.C. area. The mHealth Summit is presented by HIMSS, in partnership with the National Institutes of Health, the mHealth Alliance and the Foundation for the NIH. For more information, visit www.mhealthsummit.org; and follow at @mhealthsummit or #mHealth13.

SOURCE mHealth Summit