Novel Program Connects Medical Students With Startups Focused on Social Determinants of Health

Purpose: Few avenues exist for medical students to pursue opportunities related to health equity outside of academic medicine, such as through entrepreneurship and business. To address this gap, we created the PennHealthX Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Accelerator program at the Perelman School of Medicine, which pairs students with startups focused on health equity. To our knowledge, this is the first program of its kind nationally. Approach: Founded in 2021, the SDOH Accelerator matches medical students with startups focused on SDOHs for a 4-month-long internship, free of charge to startups. The program is led by 2 medical students, who recruit both students and startups. Interested startups apply, which consists of a work plan outlining key deliverables suited for a medical student intern, and then meet with the program leads to modify the plan for feasibility. Internship applications are sent to the medical student body, and the 1 to 2 student(s) with background and skills best suited toward each specific opportunity are paired with each selected startup. Progress updates are gathered from students every month. Feedback is gathered through open-ended questions every 4 months from students and startups. These questions explore the value of project deliverables and potential improvements for future interns, startups, and the program. Program outcome measurements are collected annually from student interns through presentations to their classmates, highlighting their accomplishments and learnings. Outcomes: Ten medical students (8 preclerkship and 2 postclerkship, including 1 MD/MBA student) were matched with 6 companies, with 40% of students working individually and 60% working in pairs. Students had varied backgrounds, including management consulting, journalism, and digital health. Startups were sourced through personalized outreach (online searches, cold outreach, and networking connections) and broader marketing efforts (website creation, Penn Medicine Magazine article, and presentations to alumni council). Participating startups were all early stage (i.e., 2–10 employees) and addressed different SDOHs, such as increasing knowledge sharing among Black women during pregnancy through an app, creating social media accounts for pediatricians to combat online misinformation, and working with payers to provide on-the-go health services (e.g., mammogram in a van) at laundromats. Student projects were specifically tailored to startup needs and medical student-specific skills. For example, 2 students translated emerging clinical literature about the company’s product into digestible patient education articles. Another student interviewed individuals at laundromats to understand their health-related needs and worked with clinicians to compile and vet relevant local resources, while another completed grant applications for academic and industry research funding. Students and startups rated their experiences highly. Students said that they “were exposed to new ways to tackle SDOH” and “learned about the challenges and creativity associated with running a startup by working 1-on-1 with founders.” The key learnings that emerged from starting this type of program are that (1) companies must undergo an application process so students have clear deliverables in advance, (2) ongoing conversations during the internship with companies and students are necessary to ensure goals are aligned, and (3) timing of internships should be flexible based on company needs and student availability. Significance: We discovered that a program centered around student engagement with entrepreneurship in SDOHs can be successful and has the potential to be scaled. Our current initiatives include partnerships with venture capital firms to more efficiently source startups and grow the program. Future work will focus on scaling this program both at our and other medical schools. The SDOH Accelerator program has successfully matched students interested in SDOH with startups focused on health equity. Its value was bidirectional—students developed business strategy skills and connections within the entrepreneurial space, while social impact-focused startups gained clinical perspectives key to improving health equity.

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