As the HIMSS conference in Las Vegas got rolling March 5, the HIMSS organization announced it was acquiring Healthbox, a company that started out seven years ago as a health tech startup accelerator and evolved into a consulting and venture fund management firm.
In a blog post on the HIMSS web site, Neil Patel, Healthbox’s president, said Heatlhbox would operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of HIMSS and would continue to serve its clients and partners.
Patel describes Chicago-based Healthbox as working “inside organizations to develop programs that engage employees — from the front lines of care to the administrative offices — and to assess the commercial potential of projects whose creators saw opportunity in the face of challenge. We help organizations implement and invest in solutions that are transforming the service and delivery of care.”
Healthbox has partnered with more than 160 healthcare technology start-ups around the globe. Patel said it would continue to play a role in the start-up ecosystem through its Studio Program.
Healthbox also partnered with Intermountain Healthcare to build “The Foundry,” an entrepreneurship program for caregivers. Since the program’s launch in 2014 it have worked with 16 employee-led “start-ups.” And since its inception in 2015, the Intermountain Innovation Fund has invested in seven startups in the areas of interoperability, precision medicine, patient access, and artificial intelligence.
