Massachusetts has launched the Digital Healthcare Council, a comprehensive public-private partnership that will advise the administration on the future of the Commonwealth’s digital healthcare industry. The role of the council will primarily be to provide recommendations and gather feedback from local healthcare industry participants.
The council’s first meeting was held yesterday at the Massachusetts General Hospital Museum of Medical History and Innovation. The Council will be co-chaired by Katie Stebbins, Assistant Secretary of Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship at the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, and Dr. Jeffrey Leiden, Chairman, President and CEO of Boston-based Vertex.
The digital health market is estimated to grow to $32 billion over the next decade and Governor Baker says he wants the Commonwealth to maintain its leadership role in the industry. The digital health market spans a number of technologies Massachusetts is an established leader in, including the life sciences, electronic health records, consumer wearable devices, care systems, payment management, big data analytics, and telemedicine.
The council is an outgrowth of the Massachusetts Digital Health Initiative, launched in January 2016. The initiative is a project of Governor Baker designed to improve local competitiveness. As part of the initiative the city of Boston, Massachusetts eHealth Institute at MassTech (MeHI), and MACP announced the establishment of a digital health innovation hub. The hub will provide space, programming and a strong industry network for digital health startups. Programming through the hub will be managed and operated by MassChallenge.
Governor Baker has designated the Massachusetts eHealth Institute at MassTech (MeHI) as the state’s implementing agency for these projects. Established in 2008 by the Legislature as a division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, an economic development agency, MeHI works to promote and accelerate the use of digital healthcare, such as electronic health records and health information exchange.
The Massachusetts Digital Health Council will meet at least four times per year, and will be supported by the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development and the Massachusetts eHealth Institute at MassTech (MeHI).
