New ONC, Health 2.0 Developer Challenges Offer Cash Awards for Medical Apps

Conference organizer Health 2.0 and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have launched two new developer challenges for health care: "One in a Million Hearts" and "PopHealth Tools Development."

The challenges are part of the Investing in Innovation (i2) program, which was formed under the American Competes Reauthorization Act of 2010. The act authorizes federal agencies to create challenges to further innovation, Wil Yu, special assistant for innovations and research at ONC, told eWEEK. NASA and the Defense Department have formed similar challenges.

ONC plans to run 30 challenges over the next two years, Yu said. He hopes to bring collaboration among developers and medical students. "The development communities will be new sources of creative thought in the health care space," Yu said...