New Orleans, April 19, 2018 -- Caleb Murphy won the ACP Innovation Challenge grand prize today during Internal Medicine Meeting 2018, the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Physicians (ACP). ACP awarded $20,000 to Murphy, an MD/MBA candidate at University of Minnesota Medical School Twin Cities, for “High-Value Technology: Developing Electronic Medical Record Capabilities to Promote High-Value Clinical Practice.”
Sumun Khetpal, an MD candidate at Yale University School of Medicine, was also awarded a $5,000 audience choice prize for “Ride Health - Driving Access to Care.”
Murphy and Khetpal were among 61 contestants in ACP’s fourth annual “Shark Tank”- styled competition to showcase the best and brightest ideas from practicing physicians, fellows, residents, and medical students that have the potential to transform the practice of internal medicine. The theme for the 2018 competition was “Re-imagining the Practice of Internal Medicine.”
ACP also announced today the formation of its new Startup Advisors Network, a free service connecting digital health startups to experienced ACP members who can offer real-world input on product development.
“Digital health technology is offering an explosion of solutions aiming to transform how medical care is delivered,” said ACP President Dr. Jack Ende. “ACP encourages members to join our Startup Advisors Network so they can provide entrepreneurs with a real-world perspective to help them develop products that will improve the effectiveness of medical care and design solutions that work for physicians and patients.”
ACP plans to collaborate with incubators, digital health accelerators, and startup advisors to identify startups to join the network. Philadelphia’s University City Science Center is the first collaborator in this program. Participants in its technology commercialization programs, such as Phase 1 Ventures, the Digital Health Accelerator, and the Global Startup Accelerator, will benefit from the collaboration.
Startups often have access to only a limited range of physicians and practice settings for feedback and concept testing. The internal medicine profession covers a diversity of generalists and subspecialists practicing in a wide variety of practice settings. Through the Startup Advisors Network, ACP members will bring their varied expertise to bear on the development of new solutions to improve the lives of patients and physicians. Participating in the Startup Network is free for both advisors and startups. ACP will screen applications from startups for relevance to internal medicine before being accepted into the program.
About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 152,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter and Facebook.
