Lansing, Mich., May 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Interoperability Institute (IOI), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization focused on scaling interoperability for the health information technology sector, today announced that it will host its inaugural Interop.WORLD Virtual Innovation Center (VIC) Challenge Event later this month.
This digital event will bring together healthcare IT organizations, entrepreneurs, and health IT professionals to collaboratively refine and accelerate the development of existing Longitudinal FHIR viewers. Participants will gain access to industry expertise, experiment with cutting-edge technologies, and tackle key challenges in this critical area.
Established in 2023 to combat fragmentation in healthcare IT, Interop.WORLD, a first-of-its-kind VIC developed by IOI and Amazon Web Services (AWS), utilizes the concept of Challenge Events to solve specific technology challenges. Comprised of five, highly-repeatable steps, Challenge Events convene sponsors, stakeholders and innovators in an open, merit-based competition to address a critical industry challenge. The five steps are:
- Identify and Define the Problem
- Identify and Define the Stakeholders
- Working Backwards Session(s)
- Build & demo events
- Final Event with Solution Evaluation
The unique format allows participants, including individuals, organizations, or companies that develop and implement technology-driven solutions, to test ideas, tackle industry challenges, and establish shared resources to solve relevant healthcare issues and catalyze innovation.
The inaugural VIC Challenge Event will focus on expediting the development of Longitudinal FHIR Viewers. These viewers play a critical role in enabling a more holistic view of patient data, ultimately leading to better care coordination and improved outcomes.
"Interop.WORLD's Challenge Events are specifically designed to stimulate innovation and drive advancements within health informatics," said Mary Kratz, Executive Vice President of IOI. "As healthcare transitions to a more holistic, patient-centric model, focusing on Longitudinal FHIR Viewers aligns perfectly with our goal of fostering better care coordination and improved patient outcomes. We're excited to convene some of the industry's leading minds to refine their solutions and collaboratively push the boundaries of healthcare IT for the collective benefit of the entire field."
Unlike traditional competitions, Interop.WORLD provides a unique, growth-oriented environment. Challenge events allow innovators to brainstorm, iterate and refine freely without the pressure of direct competition. To maximize the chances of success, participants will have the opportunity to work alongside subject matter experts and customers. This collaboration will provide constructive feedback that can be used to improve their solutions, identify areas for growth, and ultimately achieve greater market visibility.
“We believe that innovation thrives in collaboration, not just competition,” said Tim Pletcher, Executive Director of the Interoperability Institute. “Our VIC Challenge Events provide unique, growth-oriented environments. Developers gain a deeper understanding of real-world needs, subject matter experts can identify new applications for existing knowledge, and potential users can provide crucial feedback on the functionality and usability of emerging solutions. This cross-pollination of ideas accelerates the development cycle, leading to more robust and impactful solutions that address the pressing challenges in healthcare. Ultimately, this collaborative spirit propels the entire field of health IT forward, paving the way for a more connected and efficient healthcare system that benefits everyone."
The first VIC Challenge Event will begin on May 22 with a kick-off event and run through September. For each challenge issued by the IOI, AWS will provide up to $125,000 in AWS credits to offset use of AWS services in Interoperability Land™, IOI’s cloud-hosted HL7®FHIR®-based test bed.
To learn more or register for the event, click here. More information on Interop.WORLD and upcoming challenge events is available at https://interoperabilityinstitute.org/vic/.
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About Interoperability Institute
Interoperability Institute focuses on creating communities and environments that accelerate the adoption of interoperability in ways that result in greater health and more impactful delivery of human services through developing solutions and the next-generation workforce to enable organizations and communities to harness the benefits of interoperability at scale. The Institute is as a limited liability company with the Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN) as the sole member. For more information, visit https://interoperabilityinstitute.org/.
