UHC Selects AVIA As Innovation Partner

CHICAGO, June 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- AVIA – an organization dedicated to helping healthcare providers select and implement emerging technology solutions ­– announced the extension of its partnership with UHC, an alliance of 120 academic medical centers and 302 of their affiliated hospitals representing the nation's leading academic medical centers.

With a mission of creating knowledge, fostering collaboration, and promoting innovation to help members succeed, UHC strengthens its commitment to AVIA's growing Healthcare Innovation Network in order to proactively source new, disruptive technologies and bring solutions forward to UHC's alliance.  Additionally, UHC seeks opportunities to embed these innovative solutions into UHC's own products and services in order to execute its innovation strategies and tactics more efficiently.

"UHC is an impressive organization that will draw strength from our deep well of experts and advisors – all of whom are committed to reducing risk and scaling emerging solutions on behalf of healthcare providers," said Eric Langshur, chief executive officer at AVIA. "We greatly value our relationship with UHC, and look forward to creating great value together for UHC members."

In addition to providing UHC with the opportunity to evaluate strategically sourced tech-enabled products and services, AVIA will also support UHC's Annual Conference "Revolution," this October in Las Vegas, Nevada, which will harness the creativity, technology, and performance improvements taking place across the health care continuum and create the connections needed to advance innovation.

"In strengthening our relationship with AVIA, we will provide UHC members knowledge about what's important in the market and bring forward opportunities to our membership," said Irene Thompson, UHC's president and chief executive officer. "AVIA will help us gain a firmer foothold on the national innovation landscape as well as scan for, monitor and vet new solutions to help us improve the overall effectiveness of healthcare delivery."

About AVIA
AVIA is a provider-led innovation accelerator. AVIA addresses healthcare's most pressing challenges by working with provider organizations to identify and implement the best emerging tech-enabled solutions, at scale. AVIA's Innovator Network offers providers a higher probability of success and a quicker path to impact. For more information, please visit: http://aviahealthinnovation.com.

About UHC
UHC is an alliance of the nation's leading nonprofit academic medical centers, which are focused on delivering world-class patient care. Formed in 1984 and based in Chicago, Illinois, UHC fosters collaboration with and among its 118 academic medical center and 299 affiliated hospital members through its renowned solutions in the areas of performance improvement, comparative data and analytics, supply chain management, strategic research, and public policy. UHC helps its members achieve excellence in quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness. UHC's membership includes the leading nonprofit academic medical centers in the United States. For more information, visit uhc.edu.

SOURCE AVIA