LAUNCH Wake Forest University Center for Healthcare Innovations

LAUNCH is the Wake Forest University School of Medicine Center for Healthcare Innovation’s annual innovation incubator, competition and accelerator program. The weekend-long event brings together leading industry experts across the Atrium Health enterprise to not only compete for funding and personnel support on their project, but also to network and collaborate with individuals across the system.

First established in 2022, the main goals of LAUNCH is to identify and accelerate the development of solutions pertaining to various issues across the healthcare system. Each year, a theme is chosen that best fits both the efforts by the Center for Healthcare Innovation and its sponsors but also the larger enterprise.

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LAUNCH 2026

Sep 9- Sept. 11 in Charlotte, NC

Theme: To find innovative solutions and enablement strategies related to the Right Place of Care. The discovery/research should be focused on delivering care in the most appropriate setting—guided by clinical need, patient preference, and system efficiency—to improve outcomes, reduce waste, and enhance patient experience. Some suggested project focus areas include: 

Reducing PCP to Specialty Referral Leakage  

  • Improving closed-loop referrals between primary care and specialists
  • Increasing in-network specialty utilization without restricting patient choice
  • Reducing delays caused by:
  • Manual referral workflows
  • Lack of appointment availability transparency
  • Poor referral status tracking
  • Enhancing bi-directional communication between PCPs and specialists
  • Supporting eConsults / curbside consults to avoid unnecessary specialty visits
  • Aligning referrals with value-based care incentives
     

Avoidable Emergency Department (ED) Utilization

  • Identifying and redirecting low-acuity ED visits to:
    • Urgent care
    • Primary care
    • Virtual care
  • Real-time decision support for patients and clinicians at the point of care
  • After-hours and weekend care access solutions
  • Predictive identification of high ED utilizers
  • Addressing social drivers (transportation, housing instability, access barriers) that lead to ED overuse
  • Post-ED follow-up pathways to prevent repeat visits

Event Timeline

Sept 9-11, 2026: Launch Finals
Oct 2026 – June 2027: Launch 2024 Innovation Accelerator
July 2027: Launch 2026 Innovation Implementation

Launch 2024 Grand Prize 
The top two teams will be awarded funding and support to develop and pilot their idea. Representatives from the CHI will provide support for the teams as needed, with planned implementation of the project in July 2027.  

Questions? Send us an email at CHI@wakehealth.edu