Advocate Aurora Health — the health system formed through the recent merger of Downers Grove, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care and Milwaukee-based Aurora Health — entered into a collaboration with Matter, a healthcare incubator and innovation hub in Chicago.
As part of the collaboration, the Advocate Aurora Health and Matter will explore various emerging health IT tools, including telehealth, patient portals, clinical decision support, wearables and artificial intelligence.
The first initiative under the collaboration is a nationwide competition, dubbed the Health Tech Venture Challenge, which invites health IT startups to address challenges in primary care delivery, such as expanding access to care, improving consumer experience and reducing the cost of care.
The Health Tech Venture Challenge will offer the winning startup a $10,000 cash prize and opportunities to connect with subject matter experts in the field. Advocate Aurora Health may also explore other projects with the contest's finalists.
"Technology and innovation will drive the future of health and wellness, and this collaboration helps to accelerate the development of a health tech ecosystem that is reimagining care delivery," Jim Skogsbergh, president and CEO of Advocate Aurora Health, said in a news release. "This gives entrepreneurs an opportunity to partner with our health system in ways that will directly benefit the healthcare consumers we're so privileged to serve."