Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE NEW IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Digital Health
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • Special Reports
    • Innovations
  • Data/Lists
    • Rankings/Lists
    • Interactive Databases
    • Data Points
  • Opinion
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Awards
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
    • Women in Healthcare
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
    • - Leaders to Watch
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Women Leaders
    • - Women to Watch
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Transformation Summit
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Strategic Marketing
    • - Virtual Health
  • Listen
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • MORE +
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Information Technology
April 03, 2020 11:45 AM

Hackathons challenge developers to tackle COVID-19 with tech

Jessica Kim Cohen
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Modern Healthcare Illustration / Getty Images

    Health groups and technology companies are teaming up to challenge developers to apply their skills to problems linked with the novel coronavirus.

    Datavant last weekend hosted more than 2,000 engineers, software developers, data scientists and other technology folks to develop tools that help those in the health sector better understand or mitigate the spread of COVID-19. It was part of the healthcare data company's hackathon event, which it called the Pandemic Response Hackathon.

    Datavant unveiled 18 so-called "spotlight projects" on Wednesday evening, selected from 232 submissions in total.

    A hackathon, or "hacking marathon," typically describes an event where engineers and designers gather to create a functioning technology project within a limited about of time, usually capped at just a few days. That took a virtual twist in Datavant's event, with opening remarks given via a Zoom video call and participants using Slack to collaborate.

    It's the first time Datavant's hosted a hackathon, according to company CEO Travis May. The idea was born out of a desire to help link up technologists who want to help during COVID-19 with public health organizations and others who understand the challenges on the front-lines.

    "Right now's a moment where there's thousands of people trying to figure out what they could do to be helpful," May said.

    Other organizations have held COVID-19 inspired hackathons too. The World Health Organization and the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub—a not-for-profit research center funded by Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg's Chan Zuckerberg Initiative—provided guidance for the #BuildforCOVID19 hackathon that kicked off last week. That event included participants from Facebook, Microsoft Corp. and Twitter. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Friday launched two virtual hackathons tackling different aspects of COVID-19—one focused on helping health systems, and another focused on protecting vulnerable populations—with support from Partners HealthCare Innovation, Universal Health Services and the Veterans Affairs Department.

    Technology groups have found other ways to step up in the wake of COVID-19.

    Each year, MIT's Solve program hosts four challenges for technology innovators focused on a different social problem, such as health, education or sustainability. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Solve last month added a fifth challenge for 2020 focused on health security and pandemics. Solve hopes developers will submit projects that help track the spread of outbreaks, analyze data to support clinical decisions or protect healthcare workers.

    While the MIT program usually develops challenge themes over three months, the health security and pandemics challenge came together more quickly.

    "We designed it in four days," said Pooja Wagh, lead for health community at Solve. "We knew that we wanted to be really responsive, and we knew that tech innovators had a really strong role to play."

    For Datavant's Pandemic Response Hackathon, healthcare industry experts curated the four project themes: public health information-sharing, epidemiology, keeping health workers safe and social impact. They also selected the event's final spotlight projects.

    HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology also got involved in the Pandemic Response Hackathon.

    "ONC's role in this hackathon has essentially been participatory with staff sharing their expertise from similar community-led projects over the years," an ONC spokesperson said in an email.

    The ONC also shared resources with hackathon participants, such as COVID-19 projects submitted to its Interoperability Proving Ground, an open platform where the agency encourages developers to share projects related to healthcare data-sharing.

    Ed Simcox, chief strategy officer at precision medicine software company LifeOmic and former chief technology officer at HHS, said his role on the Pandemic Response Hackathon's steering committee dovetailed with his experience at the agency. His office had hosted "startup days" to encourage more communication between startups and the department. He's hopeful hackathons can spur innovation and plans to reach out to some participants to support or collaborate on their projects.

    "This is a way for people to find use of their talents in a very active and altruistic way," Simcox said.

    Are you or someone you know innovating to make healthcare better? Nominations for Modern Healthcare's Top 25 Innovators award program are being accepted.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    technology
    Task force to review standards for ONC-certified tech
    Needle in a haystack: Providers find the value in patient-generated health data
    Needle in a haystack: Providers find the value in patient-generated health data
    Sponsored Content
    Health IT Strategist (HITS) Newsletter: Sign up for the latest IT and medical technology news delivered 3 days a week (M, W, F).
     
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Digital Health
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Data/Lists
      • Rankings/Lists
      • Interactive Databases
      • Data Points
    • Opinion
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Awards
      • Nominate/Eligibility
      • 100 Most Influential People
      • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
      • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
      • Excellence in Governance
      • Health Care Hall of Fame
      • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
      • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
      • Top 25 Innovators
      • Diversity in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
        • - Leaders to Watch
      • Women in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Women Leaders
        • - Women to Watch
    • Events
      • Conferences
        • Transformation Summit
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Leadership Symposium
      • Galas
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Strategic Marketing
        • - Virtual Health
      • Webinars
      • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Listen
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • MORE +
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing