Skip to main content
Find a DoctorGet Care Now
Skip to main content
Search icon magnifying glass

Contrast

Contact

Share

Donate

MyChart

Help

Better patient care through challenge, collaboration and change.

Our Center for Health Care Innovation (CHI) enhances the lives of people we serve through disruptive innovations and initiatives that transform healthcare delivery

1a

We CHALLENGE people from all areas, industries and backgrounds to identify problems
in health care.

2a

We COLLABORATE with clinical and non-clinical individuals to identify, foster and scale healthcare innovation.

3a

We CHANGE patients' lives through creative, innovative problem solving designed to improve the delivery of care.

 

About CHI

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.

Our Network

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.

Focus Areas

      
care anywhere
Care Anywhere
generative ai
Generative AI
care delivery
New Care Delivery Models
big data
Big Data
health equity
Health Equity

Innovators are encouraged to submit proposals in the categories:

      
digital health
Digital Health
diagnostics
Diagnostics
medical devices
Medical Devices

Pharmaceuticals and Biosimilars are out of scope.

Let's connect

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] 


Leadership

Innovation Executive Committee

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.

Innovation Advisory Committee

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.

 

Fueling Innovation

Funding opportunities

YNHHS Innovation Awards

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.

Health AI Championship

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.

Programming

Health AI Symposium

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.

symposium
ai symposium 

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 more 

Strategic Partnerships

The 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.

 

Our Partners

Acuity Health
Acuity Health focuses on AI-powered clinical decision support and ambient intelligence for healthcare providers.


CBIT
Catalyzing innovators across Yale to make novel healthcare solutions in data science, diagnostics, and devices a reality.

XXX

Clarium
Our mission is to create intuitive technology for healthcare to unlock value through increased visibility, collaboration, and trust..

XXX

Connecticut Innovations
For Biotech, IT & more. Connecticut's venture capital arm, the leading source of financing and ongoing support for innovative, growing companies.

XXX

DreaMed
FDA Cleared AI Powered Decision Support System. Transforming diabetes management, for everyone – everywhere.

Elm Street Ventures
A seed and early stage venture fund, backing Yale faculty doing cutting edge research on some of the world’s largest problems.


Latent Health
Faster prior authorizations, better outcomes. Building the next generation pharmacy platform with leading health systems


LRV Health
Venture capital platform connecting leading healthcare organizations with entrepreneurs addressing the industry's biggest challenges.


Lucy Rx
A prescription care partner combining AI-powered insights, human support and radical transparency to lower costs and improve outcomes — nationwide.


RxLightning
Partnering with stakeholders across the industry to improve access and affordability for specialty medications.


SilverCloud by Amwell
Evidence-Based, Digital Mental Health. Empowering individuals to think and feel better, faster.

XXX

SpinTech
Achieve clearer MRI brain scans. Maximize efficiency. Increase diagnostic confidence.


STAQ Pharma
A 503B outsourcing partner backed by hospitals, dedicated to combating drug shortages and supporting healthcare providers nationwide.

XXX

Yale Ventures
Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Partnering with Yale innovators to Translate university research into new ventures that benefit society.

XXX

Define Ventures
One of the largest funds focused on early-stage health tech companies.

 

FAQ

Does attending office hours constitute a public disclosure?

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.

What happens during office hours?

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.

What resources does the Center for Health Care Innovation have available for internal innovators?

The Center for Health Care Innovation is here to help walk alongside you on your innovation journey, and help your company grow and scale:

  • Our team of subject matter experts is available to offer live feedback, coaching, resources through our office hours program. We’re here to talk about immediate issues, the big vision, product market fit, and be a sounding board and accountability partner for your idea.
  • We’ve curated a list of tools to help you systematically plan, think through, and advance your idea. Leveraging these tools will help you save time, energy, and up to date with critical trends in healthcare innovation.
  • The Center for Health Care Innovation has select innovation grant funding of up to $5,000 for promising projects to advance their idea. Please schedule a time to learn more about project qualifications.
Yale School of Medicine

Yale New Haven Health is proud to be affiliated with the prestigious Yale University and its highly ranked Yale School of Medicine.