The latest in a growing line of accelerators for small digital health companies is distinct from many of the others in that it is backed in part by public money and the mentors are provider organizations seeking technological help in delivering better, more efficient care. It also claims to be the best-funded health IT accelerator in the nation, with an initial commitment of $4.2 million.

The New York Digital Health Accelerator, which announced its inaugural class of eight companies Monday, is backed by the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC), a not-for-profit funded with federal and state grants to promote health IT in New York state, as well as by the Statewide Health Information Network of New York (SHIN-NY) and the Partnership for New York City Fund, a private group promoting local economic development.

Funding for the eight companies comes from investors including Aetna, Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Healthcare Innovation, Milestone Venture Partners, New Leaf Venture Partners, the Partnership for New York City Fund, Quaker Partners, Safeguard Scientifics and UnitedHealth Group. Other public and private groups are providing operating capital for the New York Digital Health Accelerator.

"The accelerator provides much-needed, valuable tools for providers in support of New York State's Medicaid Redesign initiative," New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Nirav R. Shah says in a statement.  "The initiative, which promotes a shift from the costly fee-for-service model to a more effective and efficient managed care approach, is resulting in better care — at lower cost — for patients across the continuum of care. The accelerator is an essential first step to stimulate the market and nurture innovation within the entrepreneurial community," Shah adds.

These companies will be the first software vendors to gain direct access to the SHIN-NY platform, according to said David Whitlinger, executive director of the NYeC. Each will receive $300,000 and mentoring from executives at 22 providers across the state, including the New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., New York-Presbyterian Hospital, North Shore LIJ Health System, Catholic Health System, Adirondack Health Institute and Stony Brook University Medical Center.

In exchange, the companies have agreed to open offices in New York State. Accelerator officials believe the initial $4.2 million investment will create 1,500 jobs over the next five years and say the eight companies could attract as much as $200 million in additional venture capital as they grow.

Here is information about the companies, from the press release:

AdhereTx: KnowMyMeds web-based, interoperable software supports team-based medication management and reconciliation for high-risk patients at the point of care. KnowMyMeds enables healthcare practitioners to perform clinically validated, cost-effective medication review for high-risk patients, including "dual eligibles" and the chronically ill, to reduce their drug-related hospitalizations and readmissions. (www.adheretx.com)

Aidin: Aidin is a web-based referral platform for hospitals discharging patients to post-acute care.  Aidin collects hard data about how well post-acute providers perform and makes it easy for hospital staff to present that information to patients when they are choosing their post-acute provider - helping patients choose better providers for better outcomes. (www.myaidin.com)

Avado: Avado allows clinicians and patients to securely communicate, track, and manage health information. They centralize data from many EHR's and make it usable for all stakeholders.  Providers can take comfort knowing that Avado exceeds Meaningful Use requirements for patient engagement while also addressing requirements for medical homes and accountable models. (www.avado.com)

CipherHealth: CipherHealth helps hospitals avoid government penalties by reducing preventable readmissions, improving outcomes, better coordinating care, and creating a positive patient experience.  CipherHealth reaches out over the phone, through tablets, via email, text, or the web, better engaging patients in their care and building stronger relationships between patients and providers. (www.cipherhealth.com)

Cureatr: Cureatr will improve how healthcare providers communicate and coordinate patient care. Their lightweight, user-friendly HIPAA-secure group messaging system integrates with existing directory, scheduling and paging systems, making it easy to use while coordinating care within or between organizations. (www.cureatr.com)

MedCPU: MedCPU delivers accurate real-time clinical care advice through its revolutionary Advisor Button technology. It uniquely captures the complete clinical picture from clinicians' free-text notes, dictations and structured documentation entered into any EMR, and analyzes it against a growing library of best-practice content, generating real-time precise prompts for best care consideration. (www.medcpu.com)

Remedy Systems: Remedy Systems leverages the power of mobile to lower the cost and improve the quality of healthcare via its flexible care coordination platform that enables physicians and nurses to concentrate on delivering the highest quality of care possible while fostering engagement from patients and family/friends. (www.remedysystems.com)

SpectraMD: SpectraMD maximizes the value of data across the continuum of care with business intelligence solutions. Their FOCUS Actionable Analytics platform enables stakeholders in hospitals and ambulatory care settings to improve outcomes, increase revenues, succeed in quality-based initiatives including Reducing Preventable Readmissions and leverage analytics for the Health Home initiative. (www.spectramd.com)