Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health on Oct. 19 joined 14 other health systems in investing in Xealth, a digital health startup spun out of Renton, Wash.-based Providence in 2017.

Jefferson Health tapped General Catalyst to serve as its innovation partner, helping the Philadelphia-based health system tackle digital transformation initiatives, including modernizing tech platforms and diversifying its revenue streams, according to an Oct. 18 news release. 

Healthcare has been working on transforming the patient experience for years, but the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the transformation of one key area: the digital front door, the collection of digital touchpoints between patients and healthcare organizations. Digital front door is not a technology; it is a strategy for engaging patients at every touchpoint through an integrated, optimized ecosystem.

This year has been ripe with opportunities to improve healthcare delivery through digital innovation. Below, 10 executives from health systems across the country share the project they've been most proud of in 2021.

In the past four weeks, three centers focused on healthcare innovation have been established and plans to build another three centers have been announced.

Two New Jersey hospitals — Edison-based Hackensack Meridian and West Orange-based RWJBarnabas — and two of the state's schools — Princeton University and New Brunswick-based Rutgers University — broke ground Oct. 14 on a hub for research, innovation and medical education.

The biggest healthcare deals in the third quarter of 2021 were for companies focused on mRNA drug discovery, digital care and cybersecurity, according to CB Insights' third-quarter venture capital report.

Justin Swant became Laguna Health's chief business officer, the digital home care company said Oct. 13.

Two of the nation's biggest healthcare providers are leading a new innovation coalition focused on transforming healthcare delivery outside of the four walls of a hospital. 

Oregon hospitals and GE Healthcare partnered to launch the nation's first automated statewide hospital bed management tool.

The teaching hospital division of Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic teamed up with Boston-based Northeastern University to offer an online master's management degree in digital healthcare transformation, the schools said Oct. 12.

Devoted Health, which was founded by Todd Park, who founded Athenahealth with Jonathan Bush, and Ed Park, a former COO and executive vice president of Athenahealth, hit $1.15 billion valuation in a Series D funding round.

Cambridge, Mass.-based Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard partnered to enhance research innovation with major speed increases, cost reduction for genomic workloads on Google Cloud

Here are eight recent health IT vendor contracts and go-lives accelerating digital transformation efforts at healthcare organizations. 

5G networks have the capability to enhance everything connected to the internet, from remote heart surgeries to cutting the cord of traditional internet routers, The Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 11.

In rural New Mexico, where many patients must travel 250 miles or more for care, clinicians in remote areas are relying on a new technology that bridges the gap between patients and specialists.

Lawmakers are concerned with the rocky rollout of the Department of Veterans Affairs' dollar supply chain modernization effort as the United States’ largest healthcare system simultaneously struggles with its $16 billion Cerner EHR implementation, according to an Oct. 5 Federal News Network report.

Digital health startups raised $21.3 billion in the first three quarters of 2021, marking the sector's three highest-funded quarters ever, according to a report released Oct. 4 by Rock Health, a venture fund dedicated to digital health.

Graphite Health, a nonprofit focusing on healthcare interoperability challenges, was launched Oct. 5 by Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare, St. Louis-based SSM Health and Albuquerque, N.M.-based Presbyterian Healthcare Services.

Employees report spending about five hours each week hunting for fragmented information across a sea of apps meant to improve productivity, according to a recent report by Ithaca, N.Y.-based Cornell University and Qatalog.