American Heart Association Convenes Top Minds in Health Tech to Lead on Innovation

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Heart Association (AHA) today announced its inaugural Health Tech & Innovation Forum. Organized by the AHA's new Center for Heath Technology & Innovation (CHTI), the forum is part of an AHA initiative to bring together technology innovators with clinical experts in an effort to promote healthcare solutions and technologies that have the potential to improve outcomes, lower cost, and increase health engagement for patients and their families. The forum will be held on September 22-23 in San Francisco, CA and will bring together experts in medicine, technology, industry, research, and investment to discuss healthcare research, application, and technology.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160922/411038LOGO

The AHA's CHTI is focused on building and fostering health technologies and relationships in pursuit of innovative and scalable solutions across the healthcare market. The Health Tech & Innovation Forum will be the first of many CHTI efforts to drive positive change in the healthcare technology landscape. The forum will feature a cross-functional group of experts, including established corporations, innovative start-ups, researchers, and health administrators to share insights, research, and experiences that have the potential to drive innovation at the intersection of healthcare and technology. Attendees have the opportunity to network, discuss, and debate cutting edge developments in healthcare research and technology.

"The American Heart Association recognizes the critical importance of connecting individual consumers and patients with healthcare providers," said Nancy Brown, Chief Executive Officer of the American Heart Association. "We believe that by developing new solutions, whether to improve the delivery of care or to help individuals manage their own health, we can have a tremendous impact on health outcomes."

The healthcare technology industry has seen huge growth and consumer adoption in the past few years, fueled by increasingly sophisticated technology on a wide array of digital mediums including tablets, smartphones, and wearable devices. The technology provides an unprecedented opportunity to collect data, study, and find new solutions to improve the overall health outcomes of patients across the US.

According to the annual Kelton Pulse of Online Health study, almost two-thirds of Americans would use a mobile app to manage health-related issues, from tracking nutrition to medication reminders. The AHA has made awareness and advancement of mobile health and healthcare technologies a priority in its mission to foster appropriate cardiac care and reduce the risks of heart attacks and strokes.

A Collaborative Mission

As a part of the AHA, the CHTI provides strong association with the widely acknowledged and trusted AHA brand. As the nation's oldest non-profit organization devoted to fighting heart disease and stroke, the AHA is a trusted industry leader in education, innovation, and activism in the heart disease and stroke prevention and treatment field. Healthcare technology developers that join the CHTI as collaborators gain access not only to research and experts associated with the AHA, but also to a range digital health tools, programs and content.

The CHTI helps its collaborators in the healthcare technology field align and integrate their technology with AHA resources to encourage development and adoption of digital healthcare solutions. These companies can also participate in forums, integrate with research platforms, and potentially collaborate on innovative healthcare solutions with established companies and startups.

"Collaboration is essential to delivering health technology innovations that can make a meaningful difference in patients' lives, said Brown. "Combining our foundation of scientific knowledge with the technology and data management expertise of our partners is the most efficient pathway to achieving progress."

"Traditionally, the tech space has offered rapid innovation and disruptive technologies but lacked the scientific rigor and clinical research," said Dr. Eric Peterson, Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology and the Associate Director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute. "The CHTI seeks to bring tech and health science together so that each can benefit from the other's strengths."

Expert Knowledge for Industry Leaders

Attendees of the Health Tech & Innovation forum will participate in a variety of panels and sessions lead by leading experts selected for their knowledge on the various topics. Speakers include CEOs, clinicians, and researchers from a large variety of renowned companies, provider networks, and research institutions.

Speakers include:

• Nancy Brown, Chief Executive Officer, American Heart Association
• Vinod Khosla, Founder, Kholsa Ventures
• Mike McConnell, MD, MSEE, Head, Cardiovascular Health Innovations, Verily Life Sciences & Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University
• Lisa Suennen, Managing Partner, Venture Valkyrie LLC
• Christopher Koenen, MD, MBA, Head of Cardiovascular Medical, Bristol Myers Squibb
• Olivier Leclerc, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
• Robert Harrington, MD, Professor & Chairman of the Department of Medicine, Stanford University
• Eric Peterson, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center.

Learn more at www.ahahealthtech.org.

About The American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – America's No. 1 and No. 4 killers. The AHA teams with industry leaders and expert in healthcare and research, as well as millions of volunteers, to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health awareness, and provide lifesaving tools and information on treatment and prevention. The Dallas-based association is the nation's oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke, and is committed to finding innovative and effective solutions to reduce risk and improve health outcomes for all patients. To learn more visit heart.org.

Media contacts:
Brooks Lancaster, AHA
Email

Edward Yang, Firecracker PR
Email 
(888) 317-4687 ext. 702

SOURCE American Heart Association

Related Links

http://www.ahahealthtech.org