Dr. Mehmet Oz was recently in Nashville to talk about health care at the Center for Health Care Market Innovation (CHMI) at Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management Third Annual Health: Further Festival. The event was held at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

With more than 140 speakers, multiple networking sessions, live musical performances and a pitch competition, the Health:Further event spans industries and ideologies to find new ways to create the future of health.

The TV host and health advocate said Nashville is the health care capitol of the country, and he should know.

Oz is focused on disease management and patient coaching. He said he wants to start a discussion about what people need and find solutions to health care issues across the country.

He added we need to take matters into our own hands when it comes to health.

“If you’re worried about health care policy in America, forget about Washington. We won’t win it there. We will win it in our homes, living rooms and workplaces,” Oz said.

“The future of healthcare will be determined by consumer choice, not Washington policy,” said Larry Van Horn, associate professor of management and executive director of Health Affairs for the Owen School.

In 2016, the Council and NCN released a comprehensive report on the local venture capital marketplace. The report found that more than $1.6 billion in venture capital funds had been invested in 300 different Nashville-based companies since 2005. Nearly $1 billion of this venture capital money was invested in health care companies. The report also showed that venture capital investment in Nashville health care IT companies grew from $2 million in 2009 to a peak of $62.5 million in 2014. Venture investment in health care IT companies surpassed that of health care services companies in 2012 and now represents the largest share of venture capital investments in Nashville health care companies.

Oz is one of the founders of a firm known as Sharecare. They have offices in Franklin.