Health 2.0 and ONC on Monday launched competitions to develop new health IT apps aimed at easing the transition from hospital to home and reporting medical device adverse events.
The competitions, which are now open for submissions, are part of the Investing in Innovation Initiative (i2) and are managed by Health 2.0 through its Health 2.0 Developer Challenge program.
"The i2 initiative is ONC’s first step into the health IT market using the model of combined private and public sector engagement to foster innovative technology development,” said Wil Yu, special assistant of innovations and research at ONC. “Our team will identify the challenges and goals of i2 and let the market – the innovators and entrepreneurs – uncover new ways to address the most critical issues within the healthcare industry.”
The "Ensuring Safe Transitions from Hospital to Home" challenge, conducted in collaboration with the Partnership for Patients, tasks multi-disciplinary teams with creating browser-based applications that allow the patient – or authorized family members – to access critical information needed prior to discharge. The challenge encourages teams to build upon the CMS Discharge Checklist, a paper-based discharge tool. Through the application, patients should be able to easily transmit that data to another care provider such as a nursing home, home care agency, hospice, specialist or another physician.
“The winning application for the ‘Ensuring Safe Transitions from Hospital to Home’ challenge will help hospitals fulfill the requirements of healthcare legislation such as the Affordable Care Act by contributing to the reduction of costly hospital readmissions and medical errors through patient education, defined care transition processes and better care coordination between hospitals and community providers post-discharge,” said Indu Subaiya, MD, co-chairman and CEO of Health 2.0.
“The goal of these competitions is to produce novel solutions that increase patient care quality and safety while reducing healthcare costs, and we are confident that the innovators will supersede our expectations," she added.
The submissions, which are due by Nov. 16, 2011, will be judged on their innovation, ease-of-use and design, as well as on their potential for improved patient outcomes after hospital discharge. The prizes will total $40,000 and the winner will receive $25,000 and the chance to showcase their application at a major healthcare conference. Click here for more information about the challenge.
The “Reporting Device Adverse Events” challenge is designed to 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. Recorded adverse events should prompt alerts to the patient’s physician who can then use the data to submit a high quality adverse event report through the FDA’s MAUDE (Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience) database. The system should support the exchange of healthcare data with existing electronic health record systems and other hospital information systems.
“Adverse events related to medical devices are significantly underreported given the difficulty of reporting data in real time,” added Subaiya. “The winning entry in the ‘Reporting Device Adverse Events’ challenge will improve the reporting of adverse events via Internet-ready devices such as mobile phones, tablets and PCs. This functionality will boost patient engagement, data quantity and data quality, all of which further enhances patient safety, care and medical research.”
Submissions for the “Reporting Device Adverse Events” are due by Dec. 2, 2011, and will be judged on data tracking efficacy, usability and design, interoperability with existing EHRs and other data sources, and overall display of creativity and innovation. Several tiers of prizes will be awarded, totaling $40,000. The first prizewinner will receive $25,000 and be invited to demonstrate the winning system at a major healthcare conference.
Click here for more information about the challenge.
