Cleveland’s biomedical leaders are looking at how the private sector can help fight the opioid epidemic.
Local business development group BioEnterprise is teaming with the international consulting firm Accenture to help health care providers find ways to improve addiction treatment and prevention.
CEO Aram Nerpouni says while lawmakers and law enforcement have so far led the response to the opioid crisis, the private sector needs to assess its role.
He says the public sector is throwing money at the opioid crisis, but it's also worth asking, “Where are private investors investing money to address this challenge and where are private companies spending their time in terms of technology development, data collection, those kind of things, to address it.”
BioEnterprise has formed a working group of industry experts that will meet at the Global Center for Health Innovation in Cleveland to target areas for action.
The group is focusing on data analytics and technological solutions.
Nerpouni says the goal is to develop models that can be adapted to communities across the country.
Other participants in the initial briefing included: The offices of Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, and Attorney General Mike Dewine; Ohio Development Services Agency; Ohio Third Frontier; The Northeast Ohio Hospital Opioid Consortium (Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth, Northeast Ohio VA Healthcare System, St. Vincent’s Charity Medical Center and University Hospitals); Surescripts; Appriss Health; Groups Recover Together; Self Refind; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Health Velocity Capital; Cordata; Axial Healthcare; and The Dalton Foundation.
