The U.S. Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Health 2.0 conference are soliciting applications for a competition that will award grants to developers of healthcare IT software.
The first award is designed to help software developers create Web browser-based applications that allow patients or their family members to access critical information before discharge. The challenge encourages teams to build upon the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' discharge checklist, a paper-based discharge tool, and develop a digital version that enables patients to easily transmit data to another care provider such as a nursing home, home care agency, hospice, specialist, or another physician. Submissions are due by November 16.
The second challenge is to help create a system that enables patients to easily record adverse events associated with implanted medical devices and other medical devices used in the hospital, clinic, or home setting. The software would enable recorded adverse events to prompt alerts to the patient's physician, who would then be able to submit an adverse event report through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database. The application should support the exchange of healthcare data with existing electronic healthcare record (EHR) and HIS networks. Submissions are due by December 2.
In each category, several levels of prizes will be awarded totaling $40,000, and the winner will receive $25,000 and the chance to showcase their application at a major healthcare conference.
The awards are part of the Investing in Innovation (i2) initiative, a collaboration between the Obama administration and Health 2.0 to use prizes and challenges to facilitate innovation in healthcare IT.
