VA Shark Tank competition winners announced

At the 2023 VA Innovation Experience, 15 VHA Shark Tank competition finalists pitched their innovations to a panel of VA leaders for the chance to spread their innovation to another VA facility.

The competition hosted over 350 in-person attendees and was livestreamed at VA facilities nationwide. The 10 winning practices provide innovative solutions that aim to improve health care quality and experience for Veterans. One winning practice, Virtual Waiting Room, addresses a lack of formalized real-time check-out processes for Veterans using VA Video Connect for telehealth appointments.

Other practices support preventing Veteran suicide, such as RAVEE: Reaching all Veterans at Every Encounter and Suicide Risk Screen Follow Up Monitor, while Therapeutic Carbohydrate Reduction (TCR) Aspire supports Veterans with diabetes through whole health coaching.

Pitch of the Day

During the competition, attendees also voted for the Pitch of the Day, a people’s choice award that recognizes one of the finalist practices. This year’s Pitch of the Day was the Pap Hub and Spoke Program from Minneapolis VA, which aims to optimize cervical cancer screening participation and follow-up after an abnormal result.

Sharks will select a representative from their facility to join the innovators of the winning practices as part of their team. The 10 winning practices will spend the next year refining their projects and developing implementation plans to replicate their solutions.

Learn more about VA Innovation

To learn more about the finalists and winning practices, visit the VHA Shark Tank Competition page.

Want to learn more about innovation at VA? Visit our website, read the 2023 State of Innovation Report, scan Diffusion Marketplace, subscribe to our weekly newsletter, and explore VA Pathfinder to learn more about our opportunities.