Welcome to UC S.O.L.V.E. Health Tech
Welcome to UC S.O.L.V.E. Health Tech, the first health incubation partner dedicated to helping digital health companies design and enhance their products to better meet the needs of people and health systems that are often overlooked. By working directly with digital health innovators, patients, communities, and health systems, we integrate fairness and accessibility into every stage of the technology development process.
At UC S.O.L.V.E. Health Tech, we tackle critical challenges in digital health to ensure that innovation is not just groundbreaking, but also accessible, inclusive, and effective for everyone. We explore usability barriers in mobile health applications to ensure they work for diverse patient populations. We assess the readiness of safety-net care settings to adopt new technologies, collaborating with digital health companies to adapt their products for under-resourced communities. Our goal is to bridge the gap between digital health solutions and underserved communities.
As a university-based incubation partner housed within a safety-net healthcare system, we work with digital health companies to design, develop, implement, and evaluate technologies with a focus on community and population health. Our initiative spans across multiple University of California (UC) campuses—UC San Francisco (UCSF), UC Davis, and UC Berkeley. While we are based at UCSF, our impact extends far beyond these institutions. We are dedicated to ensuring that digital health solutions, once commercialized, are accessible, effective, and beneficial for all.
Our Mission
To advance digital health by collaborating with multi-sectoral partners to create inclusive solutions that benefit all individuals, especially marginalized communities.
Our Vision
A future where digital health technology is accessible, inclusive, and effective, empowering marginalized populations through innovative and fair solutions.
Our Core Values
Equity
Prioritizing fairness and inclusivity in all aspects of digital health, ensuring that all individuals, regardless of background, have access to the benefits of health technology.
Collaboration
Building partnerships across sectors to create holistic, community-driven solutions that meet diverse needs.
Integrity
Upholding transparency, accountability, and ethical standards in every initiative and partnership.
Innovation
Embracing creativity and forward-thinking to develop new, impactful solutions for digital health challenges.
Empowerment
Enabling individuals and communities, particularly marginalized populations, to take control of their health through accessible technology.
Sustainability
Committing to long-term, scalable solutions that create lasting impact for communities in need.
Our Story
In 2021, we saw $29.1 billion dollars invested in digital health. However, we have not seen a meaningful, sustained reduction in healthcare expenditures or health disparities. This is because the same patient populations that are disproportionately burdened by disease are the most likely to face barriers in health technology use, such as:
- Lack of appropriate content for diverse populations
- Products only available in English
- Usability issues that impede access to content for diverse populations
- Unsuccessful translation from pilot to real-world settings
- Significant misconception about market opportunity to serve Medicaid populations
Among adults in the U.S. older than 65 years, 35-40% do not own a smartphone or have home broadband access. Similarly, individuals with low income also face barriers to device and internet access, despite high interest in using technology to manage their health. We must design digital health tools with and for populations that have been marginalized and minoritized to begin improving health outcomes and reducing health care costs.
We started UC S.O.L.V.E. Health Tech to ensure that patients like ours are not left behind in the digital health revolution. We make digital health products more accessible for all patients, not just the technology enabled. By partnering with UC S.O.L.V.E. Health Tech, digital health will finally be able to move the needle towards reducing health care costs and improving health equity.
In the News
Learn more about our academic-industry collaborations in leading publications such as Harvard Business Review and the Health Affairs Blog.
California Health Care Foundation
Bridging the Digital Health Divide: How Providers and Plans Can Help Communities Better Adopt Digital Health Tools
Business Wire
UC S.O.L.V.E. Health Tech and AppliedVR Publish Research Assessing Virtual Reality Readiness for Treating Chronic Pain in Safety-Net Settings
Journal of the American Medical Association
A Continued Focus on Equity Through Pharmacoequity and Digital Health Equity: Two Current Viewpoints
American Hospital Association
Applying an Equity Lens to Digital Health, American Hospital Association
At UC S.O.L.V.E. Health Tech, we are dedicated to creating inclusive, accessible, and impactful solutions that transform digital health into a tool for empowerment for all. Connect with us!