AWS Launches Healthcare Accelerator for Public-Sector Startups | Healthcare Innovation

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is launching a healthcare accelerator, a four-week technical, business, and mentorship accelerator opportunity open to U.S.-based healthcare startups or international healthcare startups that have existing U.S. operations.

A group of 10 healthcare startup companies with an established product-market fit with existing customers and revenue, who seek to use AWS to help solve the biggest challenges in the healthcare industry, will be selected to participate in this new program, according to Sandy Carter, AWS’ vice president of worldwide public sector partners and programs, who made a blog post announcement on June 21.

The program is specifically tailored to accelerate growth in the cloud, with a focus on solutions like remote patient monitoring, voice technology, analytics, patient engagement, and virtual care.

In her post, Carter stated the motivation to starting the accelerator, noting, “the healthcare industry is still faced with addressing a growing aging population, a widening workforce gap, and a proliferating volume of healthcare data. Healthcare organizations, from hospital systems to public health agencies, have been turning to technology solutions to help them quickly adapt and respond to these challenges and rapidly innovate with data-driven and compliant solutions.”

She further pointed out that during the first 10 weeks of the pandemic, the CDC reported an overall 42 percent reduction in emergency department visits in hospitals. “This places healthcare startups in the unique position of being able to quickly provide turnkey solutions that can use data and analytics to identify high risk patients, create a platform to remotely engage and deliver care for patients, or even pivot from their existing functionality to meet the needs of public sector healthcare.”

Carter noted that the goal of the AWS accelerator “is to cultivate and promote innovative startup solutions that achieve the Quadruple Aim of improved patient experience, improved clinician experience, better health outcomes, and lower cost of care. In seeking out compliant data-driven healthcare solutions, AWS will support public sector healthcare enterprises to accelerate their digital transformation.”

AWS will deliver the first cohort of the AWS healthcare accelerator in collaboration with KidsX, which officials say is the world’s largest digital health accelerator dedicated exclusively to pediatrics. KidsX is a global ecosystem of innovators, anchored by a consortium of over 50 children’s hospitals from North America, Europe, and Australia, focused on early-stage digital health companies designed to transform pediatric care.

The accelerator program will be open to healthcare startups targeting any patient population, with KidsX bringing their network of healthcare organizations and experience in delivering accelerator programs.

Applications will be judged on several factors, including: the innovative and unique nature of the project, the overall value the solution will bring to the healthcare industry, the creative application of AWS to solve problems, and the team’s ability to deliver on an identified opportunity.

Selected startups will receive AWS promotional credit, potential proof of concept opportunities with public sector healthcare customers, specialized AWS training, mentoring from healthcare domain and technical subject matter experts, business development and go-to-market guidance, and investment guidance, the blog post stated.