News from Mass Digital Health - July 2021
Baystate Health's New Platform Deal with Cerner
Digital Health Tools Will Deliver Improved Services, Care Delivery
for Western Mass Patients

Baystate Health in Springfield continues to stay at the forefront of digital health innovation with the recent announcement of a new partnership with Cerner to introduce a “digital health platform to integrate care delivery and financing systems for a more consumer-focused approach to patient care.”

Joel Vengco, Baystate Health’s senior vice president, chief information & digital officer touted the impact the new platform will have on the system’s patients across Western Mass and beyond.

“The healthcare that our patients and communities deserve will be accessible, orchestrated and personalized. We will be working with Cerner and their many partners to deliver a digital and data-focused approach that advances our care delivery and enhances our patients’ lives.”

Cerner will work closely with TechSpring, Baystate Health’s digital innovation hub and a member of the Massachusetts Digital Health Sandbox Network, to “lead development, adoption, and optimization of Cerner tools at Baystate Health and collaborate to support other third-party innovators to integrate with the digital health platform.”

"Baystate Health and Cerner are seeking to build an industry-defining collaboration," said Donald Trigg, president, Cerner. "Baystate Health has a compelling plan to grow key specialties, deliver consumer-friendly access to their provider health network, and innovate around value-based care. Our collaboration will deliver the products and technology platform needed to advance those strategic goals.”

The July 16th news release was covered by Becker’s Hospital Review and EHR Intelligence.  
Digital Health Investment Reaches Record Highs
Digital health investment continues its upward trajectory, a fact borne out by a host of mid-year funding reports from some of the leading analysts and investors in the sector.

  • Rock Health’s recently released research highlighted the meteoric rise in digital health investment, with $14.7 billion in new funding announced in the first half of 2021, a number that eclipsed the total funding in 2020 ($14.6B)! 

  • The recent midyear funding report from Startup Health highlighted Boston’s continued prominence in global investment (chart below). The report showed Boston was the 3rd third most active city in the world for ‘health innovation’ investment, measured both by total deal volume and deal size. One Medical’s acquisition of Boston’s Iora Health was the 3rd largest health innovation acquisition in 2021, according to the report.

  • A separate study from Mercom Capital Group, covered by Fierce Healthcare, corroborated the huge upswing in digital health deals, spotlighting that telehealth led the way, “accounting for almost 30% of the funding raised in the first half of 2021.”
HLTH 2021 Sails into Boston - October 17-20, 2021
This fall, Boston will play host to one of the largest digital health conferences in the country: HLTH 2021!

The conference will take place October 17-20 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in the Seaport District.

We're excited to promote this national conference, which will provide a stellar platform to promote the #MassDigitalHealth ecosystem.


Interested in attending? Find out more on the HLTH 2021 website.

Interested in being part of a coordinated presence for the MassDigitalHealth ecosystem at HLTH 2021? Complete our HLTH 2021 survey and email Paul Bosco at the Massachusetts eHealth Institute for more info.
Healthcare Robotics Focus of New Partnership
Boston-based MassRobotics and FESTO are launching the Healthcare Robotics Startup Catalyst program to “advance healthcare robotics companies by providing the connections, guidance, resources they need to grow and succeed.”

The new program aims to bring together healthcare robotics startups with “customers, investors, suppliers, marketing and overall support.”

The Catalyst program is seeking robotics startups in the following areas:

  • Clinical care;
  • Public safety;
  •  Laboratory and supply chain automation;
  • Out-of-hospital care, quality of life, and continuity of work and education; and
  • Healthcare professionals training & support.

Applications for the program are due by August 31st.
Focus on Jobs
The MassDigitalHealth jobs board features over 2,300 open positions at 350+ digital health companies. Here are a few of the open positions that were added to the Jobs Board over the past week:


Find your next career stop at jobs.massdigitalhealth.org/.
Mass Digital Health Roundup

  • Newton-based Hospital IQ raised $25 million in a Series C Round, for their “predictive hospital operations and communications software” according to a press release.

  • Philips, which has its North American HQ in Cambridge, announced a strategic partnership with a startup and a global study to develop technology to address the treatment of strokes. The news was covered by MassDevice.


  • Lexington-based Fujifilm Medical Systems U.S.A. launched a ‘virtual hospital’ to educate website visitors about their innovative “robust portfolio of…diagnostic, treatment and research technologies…”. Read more in their release.

  • BostInno noted a new licensing agreement between Boston surgical robot startup Zeta Surgical and Brigham & Women’s Hospital for a new clinical study as it works toward FDA approval. Zeta was founded by two grads of Harvard University.

  • Boston-based Cake, the “world's largest online platform for end-of-life planning and navigating mortality,” raised $3.7M according to a recent press release.
Upcoming Events
NE Healthcare Executive Network's
11th Annual Virtual Summer Social with Lightning Pitches
Date & Time: Monday, August 2, 2021 - 8:00am
The NE Healthcare Executive Network presents the 11th Annual Summer Social Networking Event, including Lightning Pitches and Keynote Speaker Jack Derby, CEO, professor, entrepreneur, venture investor to present on "Sales and Marketing in a Post-COVID World."
Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge: Improving Access to Care
Application Deadline: August 6, 2021
Johnson & Johnson announced their seventh Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge together with the American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) and the Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN). This Challenge is focused on “Improving Access to Care."
Mass. Healthcare Provider Cybersecurity Monthly Call
Date & Time: Thursday, August 12, 2021 - 10:00 am
These calls will continue to occur on the second Thursday of every month with the next call in the series occurring on Thursday, August 12 at 10 am. The August call will focus on current threats and ransomware at large.

The second call in the Healthcare Cybersecurity Monthly series, hosted on July 8th by the Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI) and the MassCyberCenter in collaboration with local healthcare provider associations, saw attendance more than double from the inaugural call in June. Fifty-eight representatives from across the Massachusetts provider landscape came to hear from discussion leaders Ron Ford, Cybersecurity Advisor for CISA New England, Sergeant Brian Gavioli of the Massachusetts State Police, and Commonwealth Fusion Center; and Stephanie Helm, Director of the MassCyberCenter.

If you have any questions on the series, please contact Paul Bosco: Bosco@masstech.org.
Advantages of Digital Paper for Clinical Information Exchange
Date & Time: August 24, 2021 - 12:00 pm
HIMSS New England Chapter hosts this upcoming event. Hospitals using Digital Paper signage have saved money while improving workflow efficiency and patient/clinician experience. Attendees will learn how to apply Digital Paper solutions in clinical settings to facilitate improved information exchange.
2021 Federal Wearables Summit
Date & Time: August 31, 2021 - 10:00 am
The 2021 Federal Wearables Summit is a broad effort supported by several federal agencies and intended to bring the discussion on wearable sensors for monitoring health and health quality closer to all people.
For more events, check out
This newsletter is curated by the Massachusetts eHealth Institute at MassTech as a coordinating entity for the Mass Digital Health Initiative, a public-private partnership building a stronger and more competitive digital health ecosystem across the Commonwealth. Learn more at massdigitalhealth.org.

If you would like to submit content for inclusion in future issues, email us at massdigitalhealth@masstech.org.  
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