Impact in Healthcare

Carlotta has a passion for pediatric health care. She used her IDIF to focus on mental health for children and adolescents — 50% of mental diseases start before the age of 14 and 75% before the age of 24. She strives to increase access to mental health resources and therapies for children and adolescents in Germany. Effective solutions for this underserved and vulnerable population are key for a sustainable impact on the mental health crisis.

Coming from a global health and development background, Austin was looking to gain practical experience in investing. The Impact Fund was a perfect fit for that: a forum to stay plugged into social innovation and an opportunity to try out early-stage venture investing. He is convinced there are immense opportunities for social innovation to improve people's health worldwide. He says, “Beyond the core skills of sourcing early-stage companies, I've gained a profound appreciation for the difficulty (and opportunity!) of measuring and comparing the impact of organizations, especially across sectors."

During the summer between his MBA1 and MBA2 year, Tyler took advantage of the SMIF program, and he interned at Rock Health, the first venture fund dedicated to digital health. Organized as a nonprofit, Rock Health provides early-stage funding to digital health companies that are moving digital health, and health care in general, forward. He evaluated numerous early-stage digital health ventures, and two of the companies that he wrote investment memos for — Avive and Marigold Health — were approved and invested in by Rock Health. He enjoyed the opportunity to work with an incredible team and meet entrepreneurs from all over the world. This exposure allowed Tyler to bring together venture and social impact as he continues his career in digital health as co-founder and CEO of Health Data Movers.

CoachMe Health’s mission is to reduce the health disparities facing low-income Americans. Yaritza interned with CoachMe with her fellowship. During the summer, she built a new remote patient monitoring product that captures key patient metrics from low tech literacy clients to drive data-driven coaching by exploring new ways of increasing health literacy remotely and in a culturally sensitive manner. In addition, she worked closely with the founder to identify new partners and pitch opportunities for CoachMe to expand its reach and impact.

Produced by the Stanford GSB Health Care Club, the annual conference brings together 1,000+ attendees with backgrounds ranging from leading health care executives, clinicians, public policy specialists, and scholars.

Merck CEO Ken Frazier discussed improving the global health care system, the opportunity gap in the U.S., and the importance of leaders providing dynamic mentoring.

COVID-19 has put substantial stress on every aspect of the U.S. health care system, from hospitals to insurers, to the medical supply chain, to employers responsible for the wellbeing of their employees. Watch a panel discussion on the U.S. health care system and COVID-19.