Barcelona Health Hub is organizing Digital Health Open Doors, an event that has been created to ensure the leading digital health projects and startups, and the sector’s entire ecosystem, still have a forum.

Barcelona, 19th February 2020. – Next Tuesday (25 February) Barcelona Health Hub (BHH), together with ECH Alliance, Healthio and the Santa Creu i Sant Pau Private Hospital Foundation, is organizing Digital Health Open Doors at the BHH’s headquarters on the Sant Pau Hospital art nouveau site. Although it has been put together very quickly, working against the clock, the event, open to the whole digital health community, is already fully booked. Following the cancellation of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) last week, it has become the leading platform for various meetings already organized for the 4 Years From Now (4YFN) strand of the MWC. 

According to Luis Badrinas, the CEO of Barcelona Health Hub, there is a strong digital health ecosystem in Barcelona. BHH is a non-profit private health association that now has 170 members all over the world, including startups, hospital institutions and organizations, universities and companies from the health sector. It helps promote this global ecosystem all over the world.  

As a vital part of the digital health ecosystem in Barcelona and throughout the world, BHH was planning to go to the MWC, specifically to the well-known 4YFN segment, which offers a framework for more than 40 startups to present themselves; meet investors, partners, and the general public; and establish the relationships they need to develop. “As a result of the cancellation of 4YFN, there is now a need to offer a platform where all or some of the planned activities can be carried out. As an organization whose mission is to establish interconnections between these companies, it is our obligation and duty to ensure all those involved in the digital innovation ecosystem in the health sector can have a forum, whether this is at the MWC or somewhere else. That is why we are transferring what we had planned for 4YFN to our own headquarters, on the Santa Pau art nouveau site, adjusting and adapting the format and the structure to the new situation,” said Luis Badrinas.

Seeking solutions

After the announcement a few days ago of the cancellation of the 2020 Mobile World Congress, which came as a serious blow to the innovation and enterprise sector and to startups, the whole city of Barcelona has joined forces based on spontaneous organization to find a way to provide forums for all the industries that meet at this global congress, particularly 4YFN. “The way so many segmented initiatives came forward in just a few days – almost a matter of hours – to respond to needs that had been left without a forum or infrastructure is admirable. Ultimately, it is a reflection of the fact that this powerful ecosystem exists and that Barcelona is undoubtedly one of the capitals for innovation and the health sector and for all these startups and entrepreneurs in the sector,” added Badrinas, the CEO of BHH. 

Barcelona Health Hub has organized this Digital Health Open Doors event aimed at the entire digital health community. Although the finishing touches are still being put to the programme, the names of some of the startups going to the event are already known and it has already reached maximum capacity. 

Apart from the special forums for startups to present themselves, establish relationships and carry out activities, intended to offer a showcase in Spain and abroad for the importance of the latest technological advances in digitalizing health, there will also be two discussion panels: one, on Global Health, led by Dr Jordi Serrano, the founder of Healthio and promoter of various startups, will debate ways to democratize health using the available new technologies. The other, on integration and synergies for the industry in the digital health startup ecosystem, will be coordinated by Dr Frederic Llordachs, CEO of Doctoralia. 

“It is a titanic effort, but it absolutely reflects the spirit of BHH and of 4YFN, which chose its base in Barcelona because our city is recognized as a hub for talent in technology and, particularly, a hub for innovation, digital health, entrepreneurs and startups. The movement that has emerged is not surprising – it is part of the city’s DNA and the projects established here due to Barcelona’s international profile. Ultimately, Barcelona Health Hub exists to promote these initiatives and bring them together, offering a showcase for all this continually evolving, disruptive technology. So, what was going to be presented at the MWC and 4YFN will be presented at Digital Health Open Doors instead. However, the event cannot compare with the shop window offered by 4YFN and we are confident the real forum will be back next year,” concluded Luis Badrinas.

About Barcelona Health Hub

BHH is a non-profit association that was founded in 2018, the purpose of which is to accelerate the transformation in digital health, fostering the interaction between startups, health corporations and investors. The organization’s goal is to become an international reference center in digital medicine, attracting innovation and talent.

Within only 15 months, the association has more than 170 associate members (startups, corporates, hospitals, universities, health institutions and investors), both national and international, who enjoy and participate regularly in digital health events and networking activities.

The entity is located in the impressive architectural complex devised by the Luis Domenech i Montaner, which was the Santa Creu and Sant Pau Hospital for almost 100 years. It occupies more than 2000 square meters of the Sant Manel pavilion, combining Art Nouveau with the latest technology in coworking and showroom spaces.