We CHALLENGE people from all areas, industries and backgrounds to identify problems
in health care.
Our Center for Health Care Innovation (CHI) enhances the lives of people we serve through disruptive innovations and initiatives that transform healthcare delivery
We CHALLENGE people from all areas, industries and backgrounds to identify problems
in health care.
We COLLABORATE with clinical and non-clinical individuals to identify, foster and scale healthcare innovation.
We CHANGE patients' lives through creative, innovative problem solving designed to improve the delivery of care.
Innovators and entrepreneurs now have a new channel to explore the next big innovation in the healthcare space. CHI acts as a catalyst for health innovation. We focus on novel approaches in digital health, medical devices and care delivery. To enhance success, we have assembled knowledgeable leaders and decision makers to guide the strategic evaluation, investment and development of initiatives to ensure that your idea receives proper attention and resources.
CHI welcomes innovation proposals from individuals outside of health care along with those employed across Yale New Haven Health, Yale University and all affiliates.
Innovation can’t be pigeonholed. The best problem-solvers come from every walk of life. Together we will improve health care – one inventive solution at a time.
As leaders in providing expert clinical care and breakthroughs in research, Yale New Haven Health and Yale University, including its world-renowned School of Medicine, have established a unified lighthouse for creating, identifying, fostering and scaling healthcare innovations. Together we create a culture of innovation and ingenuity, which are paramount to who we are as an organization.
Innovators are encouraged to submit proposals in the categories:
Pharmaceuticals and Biosimilars are out of scope.
Do you have a solution that would advance health care innovation or address a clinical pain point? We’re here to talk about immediate issues, the big vision, product market fit and to be a sounding board for your idea. Our team of subject matter experts is available to offer live feedback, coaching and resources through our office hours program, which are generally held on the second Friday of each month.
Feel free to contact us at [email protected]
The IEC comprises leadership from both Yale New Haven Health and Yale University. The committee has oversight of the YNHHS Center for Health Care Innovation and stays abreast of system-wide innovation activities.
CHI is governed and advised by the Innovation Executive Committee Leadership in partnership with clinical service lines and key business units at Yale New Haven Health. The IAC has oversight of CHI and stays abreast of system-wide innovation activities.
Led by the Center for Health Care Innovation, the Innovation Awards seek to provide much needed funding to accelerate and scale the most promising ideas in our ecosystem. The Center for Health Care Innovation launched the YNHHS innovation awards in 2022 to identify the best ideas and technologies that have the potential to transform our health system while delivering the greatest value to the patients and communities that we serve.
The Health AI Championship is a competition that challenges innovators at health systems in Connecticut to develop transformative applications of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Bringing together leaders from health systems, academia, and technology, the event fosters collaboration and innovation to address critical healthcare challenges. Participants compete for awards of up to $100,000, driving forward groundbreaking ideas and shaping the future of health AI.
The Health AI Symposium and Championship took place in May 2025. The inaugural event, hosted by Yale New Haven Health System (YNHHS), convened national thought leaders, startup innovators, and healthcare executives to explore the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in healthcare. The event was structured to advance discussion across three tiers: health system-level innovation, startup innovation, and national AI policy and governance.
The symposium aimed to foster cross-sector collaboration, promote responsible AI development, and highlight implementable innovations across academic health systems in the state of Connecticut.
Learn moreThe Center for Health Care Innovation will invest time and resources in disruptive innovations including digital health, diagnostics, devices and medical technology. Capital investments in healthcare focused on early-stage start-ups and venture funds, with the goal of anticipating industry disruption, understanding trends, and creating new revenue streams.
Acuity Health |
CBIT |
Clarium |
Connecticut Innovations |
DreaMed |
Elm Street Ventures |
Latent Health |
LRV Health |
Lucy Rx |
RxLightning |
SilverCloud by Amwell |
SpinTech |
STAQ Pharma |
Yale Ventures |
Define Ventures |
The Center for Health Care Innovation holds all information and details related to your company, research, technology or idea shared during office hour sessions as confidential and not a public disclosure.
Office hours conversations depend from innovator to innovator and vary based on the stage of the project. Usually we try to talk through whatever is the most urgent question or upcoming task for your venture, and how the Center for Health Care Innovation can best work to support. We provide advice on what we think the innovator should do next, build first, and how to launch. We also encourage innovators to sign up for more than one office hour to share updates and milestones and whiteboard on how to solve the next most urgent question.
The Center for Health Care Innovation is here to help walk alongside you on your innovation journey, and help your company grow and scale:
Yale New Haven Health is proud to be affiliated with the prestigious Yale University and its highly ranked Yale School of Medicine.