On April 10-12, the VA Center for Innovation is collaborating with Forge Health on the Health Innovation Challenge 2015 hosted by the Atlanta VA Medical Center. We’re bringing together inventive, forward-thinking minds to change the status quo of health care for our nation’s Veterans and their supporters. If you are a Veteran, caregiver, engineer, entrepreneur, clinician, designer or scientist, then come get involved and help drive much-needed innovations to influence VA healthcare and healthcare more broadly.
So, how does a health innovation challenge work anyways? This event is modeled after similar initiatives called ‘hackathons.’ It kicks off with speakers to help define the problem space and identify specific challenges to solve throughout the weekend. Following the speeches, participants “pitch:” they present different problems or need areas that impact the delivery of healthcare services to Veterans and other healthcare system stakeholders. We encourage all participants to pitch at the start of the event because it will help ignite the formation of teams around real need areas that impact our ability to serve our nation’s Veterans.
Article photos by Lina Colucci.
Participants will then have 36 hours to build solutions during an intense, non-stop, innovation sprint. To help build upon their ideas, teams get access to collaborative workspace, APIs, and software development kits. Experts and thought leaders serve as mentors as well. By weekend’s end, teams will have created initial demonstrations of their solutions, taking their first steps towards disrupting health care. Past teams at events just like this one have gone on to implement their innovations and found companies. They’ve accelerated new approaches and paradigm shifts in the delivery of healthcare services. If you want to see a similar healthcare innovation challenge event in action, check out this video from MIT Hacking Medicine.
So what are you waiting for? Apply to the hackathon now!
Interested in working with us on this event or future events? Email innovation@va.gov.
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U know this pass yr i have getting a run around nonstop pain!!!! Nonstop excuses from nurses& doctors, and clinics refused to cc me, because I refused to take any zombie antidepressant drugs….. They give me a negitive feeling, does more harm to me, sends nerve ending like a shock head to toes, my burn area (scar tissue) it feel like ring of fire!!!!! It happens every day 24/7, the pain clinic know sending me to pt specialists deal with pain, is he/she train? It new position, ??????? Due to demand had someone, in va told them make this position, a cover up who know, it just another road block????? For veteran to send too??? Are pt person qualified??? I thought I seen one past feb, to recheck my PT , will will CCC, why can’t veteran get narcotics for pain. They have police a doc can but the veteran needs cc doctor monthly. But they still refused give out. Doctor recruiting take 4-5 yrs for specialist in other clinic on top 4-5 yrs they been in. Last yr madison va 5 Dr, retired short notice. They have not been replace by nurse what a be doctor, they cancel all pain meds!!!! And give antidepressants drugs out…..!!!!!