We visit Barcelona Health Hub, technology association that promotes companies offering digital healthcare
Located in the historic Sant Pau complex, the Barcelona Health Hub (BHH) is home to a group of leading players in the digital healthcare sector. Surrounded by an entire health ecosystem, it is able to take advantage of the synergies between the digital healthcare sector and the entire healthcare system.
The Sant Pau Hospital, its own research institute, the UAB Faculty of Medicine, the Sant Pau University School of Nursing and other centers linked to this extensive health ecosystem are all located in the vicinity of the BHH headquarters.
Composed of a group of companies and startups from the technology, healthcare, and sustainability sectors, the aim of Barcelona Health Hub is to promote and disseminate knowledge and innovation in digital healthcare, both nationally and internationally.
BHH is the first technological association in the city to link up large corporations, emerging companies, and investors in order to promote innovation in the field of digital healthcare. The non-profit association was created in 2018 with the support of Barcelona Tech City and the Hospital Sant Pau. Its aim is to become a global center in digital medicine by attracting innovation and talent and positioning Barcelona as a leading city in the digital transformation of healthcare.
The BHH is made up of numerous companies and startups in the sector: Almirall, Bayer, Doctoralia, Openhealth, Elma, Bitac, Community of Insurance, DKV, HIMSS, Iomed, Marta Gaia Zanchi, Mediktor, Medtep, PharmaLex, Psious, or SocialDiabetes, among others.
Several BHH companies have received recognition for their innovation at the cutting edge of digital healthcare. In December, the 2020 Expansión Startup Awards recognized emerging and innovation-led companies that are making the greatest impact in their respective sectors; all those who won awards in the "Health and Biotechnology" category are members of the association.
In order to recognize the initiatives and innovation of companies in the health sector, Barcelona Health Hub, as a leading institution in the sector, also has its own awards: the Barcelona Health Hub awards, now in their second year. In October, numerous startups were awarded prizes for their work at the forefront of the field. This year’s prize for the best startup was awarded to Zensai for the creation of a daily respiration health app, while Doctoralia won the prize for best growth and Sanitas was awarded the prize for corporate initiative for its management of the Covid-19 crisis.
BHH durante la Covid-19
During the crisis caused by the global pandemic and together with more than 45 companies, startups, hospitals, health institutions, universities and other important institutions, BHH launched its pioneering project #YoPacienteDigital, a study on virtual doctor’s consultations—telemedicine—and its benefits for health systems.
In addition, the Barcelona Health Hub ecosystem companies also came together to present joint digital healthcare solutions and services. The initiatives carried out included chatbots, triage, symptom checkers, remote monitoring platforms and other initiatives to limit the spread of Covid-19.
