Yesterday, CMS announced a bold and ambitious plan for the transformation of healthcare delivery to our patients, families, and communities.  HHS Secretary Burwell has outlined a set of goals for what many will call a cataclysmic shift in the reimbursement structure for hospitals and providers.  In effect, value will soon trump volume in real-time and fade as merely a topic of conversation or prognostication. Unless political forces cause stagnation, this is potentially bigger than the Affordable Care Act itself.

‘Tap Into TechSpring’ is off to a strong start! On Thursday January 8, we had our monthly open house event with networking and informal discussions of change in healthcare. The group included representatives from Baystate Health leadership, clinical and IT staff, as well as a Boston digital health start-up, local and national entrepreneurs and technologists.

2014 has brought many positive changes to Springfield, and it is clear that Main Street is getting a makeover! Cities can turn around when people are moving in the same direction.  Change happens when governments, civic groups, nonprofits, colleges, universities, hospitals and industries unite.

Five things you should know about the Massachusetts Life Sciences Milestone Achievement Program (MAP) in order to apply for funding.

This is a great opportunity for Massachusetts companies that we at TechSpring central do not want you to miss!  

In Downtown Springfield, Baystate Health’s TechSpring To Ignite Healthcare Innovation, Economic Development

Representatives from companies that are developing new products to improve healthcare joined leaders from Baystate Health, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and elected officials today to celebrate the opening of TechSpring, a collaborative initiative based in Springfield’s emerging Innovation District that will match private enterprises with partners and expertise from Baystate to take on some of healthcare’s most difficult challenges.

With the seismic changes in healthcare, those of us who work in this industry can see the many hurdles ahead as we move into the next chapter of healthcare and attempt to improve the health of our populations while reducing the cost of the care we deliver. Needless to say, this is not going to be easy. But the silver lining is that there are a number of potential solutions being envisioned and developed by an ever-growing movement of passionate technology innovators across the globe. The major roadblock, however, isn’t so much coming up with the idea or building a prototype, but it is taking a good idea and developing it into a great solution. When I was working at GE Healthcare, this was the single biggest problem we encountered in product development. How do you prove out that a product or solution you are developing has the intended value and impact? When I arrived at Baystate Health in the summer of 2012, I immediately realized that Baystate Health was the perfect health system in a perfect environment to do just that. Baystate Health could be the vehicle for launching innovations into healthcare.

The Clinical Engineering Team at Baystate has been nominated as our first Innovation Hero. Their resolve to tackle problems, in a low cost, effective and timely fashion has inspired us to create “Innovation Heros” to celebrate everyday innovators. These are people dedicated to improving the lives of others whether big or small. Here are a few examples they sent us:

At the end of the day, TechSpring is about bringing together technologist and healthcare professionals in a tighter collaboration and mutual understanding. Help us celebrate “Innovation Heroes”: named or unnamed engineers or healthcare professionals that demonstrate brilliant insight, creativity, collaboration improving some big or small detail in healthcare.

CarePort Health is an early-stage startup that was one of the first companies to participate in TechSpring Insights and TechSpring Projects programs. The CarePort innovation success story is an example of how Baystate’s dedication to innovation and willingness to share resources and facilities with TechSpring Innovation Partners has enabled the development of ideas and products that add proven value to healthcare professionals and patients.