Video Challenge for Health IT and Cancer Care

In September 2009 President Obama outlined and initiated his Strategy for American Innovation. He called on agencies to “increase their ability to promote innovation by using tools such as prizes and challenges to solve tough problems.” The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) then issued the guidelines on challenges, contests, and prizes in March of 2010. The guidelines provide a policy and legal framework to guide agencies in using prizes to advance their missions through innovation. Challenge.gov was created as a platform for agencies to list, track, and promote their challenges.

It is fitting to end Breast Cancer Awareness month with the announcement of a new ONC challenge on cancer care. The Cancer Care Video Challenge wants you to share your story how using health information technology helped you meet a goal related to cancer care. For this challenge the ONC is working in conjunction with the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Of the eleven agencies that make up the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is one of them and the NCI is part of the NIH. The NCI was established under the National Cancer Institute Act of 1937. It is the primary Federal agency responsible for cancer research and training.

The ONC wants people to created videos that will “inspire and motivate others to become more engaged in their care”. And especially engaging by improving communication and collaboration with their providers for their cancer related care through the use of health IT tools and resources. Submissions will be accepted through December 12th. Public voting starts on December 14th and ends on December 19th. The winners will be announced on December 21st. Total prize money is $8,350 with first prize paying $3,000, second prize $2,000, and four additional prizes. Start this challenge by reading the official rules and creating your account.