Software Developers Invited to Create Applications for Improving Care by Sharing Health Data

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Advisory Board Company has launched the Patient Engagement Blue Button (R) Challenge and is accepting until August 6 software applications that help hospitals and health systems engage patients in improved health outcomes through secure sharing of key personal health data. 

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Aneesh Chopra, former United States Chief Technology Officer and current Senior Advisor, Health Care Technology Strategy at The Advisory Board Company, announced the Challenge on June 5 at the Health Data Initiative Forum III, also known as the Health Datapalooza.  The Challenge's grand prize winner will receive a $25,000 cash prize. 

"The Patient Engagement Blue Button (R) Challenge addresses a critical open data problem for health care providers," Mr. Chopra said.  "A key step toward increasing patients' management of their own care will be making it easy for patients not just to view and download their health data, but also to share it securely with providers.  Effective patient engagement is an essential component of health care provider strategy in this era of value-based purchasing, episode-of-care-based bundled payments, and shared savings programs."  

Blue Button (R) is a Web-based feature of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs through which patients may easily and securely download their health information from doctors, insurers, pharmacies, or other health-related providers.  The Blue Button (R) appears on the patient portals of more than one third of U.S. hospitals. 

The Advisory Board Company has launched the Patient Engagement Blue Button (R) Challenge in order to build upon these existing standards and help health care providers leverage data to form a new, more profound type of cross-network care management.  The goal is improvements in care quality and efficiency (measured in lower readmissions) and improved patient engagement (measured in such metrics as increased compliance with prescription regimens). 

The Challenge will identify and promote a consumer-focused application that will maximize the number of individuals sharing Blue Button (R) data with the more than 550 hospitals on The Advisory Board Company's Crimson(R) platform.  Software application entries should demonstrate ways in which a provider can encourage patients to upload Blue Button (R) data and give permission for its use.

The panel of judges who will choose the semifinalist software applications currently includes:

• John Halamka, MD, Chief Information Officer at CareGroup Health System, CIO at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, CIO and Associate Dean for Educational Technology at Harvard Medical School, Chairman of the New England Health Electronic Data Interchange Network, CEO of MA-Share, Chair of the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP), CIO at Harvard Clinical Research Institute, and a practicing Emergency Physician;
• Jeffrey DiLisi, MD, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Virginia Hospital Center, a Crimson member institution;
• Halle Tecco, CEO of startup accelerator, Rock Health;
• Aneesh Chopra, Senior Advisor, Health Care Technology Strategy, The Advisory Board Company; and
• David Chao, Chief Technology Officer, Crimson, The Advisory Board Company.  

A "community uptake" challenge among a pre-selected group of The Advisory Board Company's Crimson member hospitals and health systems will determine the winning application.  The software with the greatest institution participation and the most compelling feedback will be awarded the grand prize. 

"We are excited to see the innovative applications that will be created for the Patient Engagement Blue Button (R) Challenge," Dr. DiLisi said.  "One critical component of value-based care is patient adherence to recommended medical and preventive care regimens.  Active and informed patients are best able to manage this often-missing piece of the care continuum, and the Challenge will increase patients' ability to do so." 

Each of the Challenge's five semifinalists will receive $5,000 in cash.  Semifinalists will be announced September 3, and the winner will be named October 12. 

The Advisory Board Company is a global technology, research, and consulting firm partnering with 140,000 leaders in 3,700 organizations across health care and higher education.  Through its Crimson offerings, The Advisory Board Company collaborates with health care providers dedicated to strengthening hospital-physician alignment, coordination among care settings, and overall clinical performance. 

For more information on the Patient Engagement Blue Button (R) Challenge, visit The Advisory Board Company's booth No. 2 (West Salon) at the Health Data Initiative Forum III at the Washington Convention Center on June 6 or visit www.advisory.com/challenge. 

Challenge Application Guidelines
Initial prototypes are due by 11:59 pm EDT on August 6, 2012. Applications, which will be subject to the Challenge's standard terms and conditions to be set forth on The Advisory Board Company's website, should:

• Focus on patient populations that currently have access to Blue Button (R) data, especially Medicare data;
• Make data available on an ongoing basis through continual authentication;
• Allow providers to share data with appropriate third parties with minimal effort and in a legally compliant manner; and
• Enable providers to obtain, store, and transmit data without Protected Health Information by using methods that are compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. 

Special consideration will be given to applications that:

• Allow or facilitate beneficiary identification of primary care providers (e.g., pick list) and to enable making that information available to providers and appropriate third parties;
• Are easily introduced to patients (e.g., may be white labeled by a provider group); and
• Work on the greatest number of devices and operating systems.

"Blue Button" is a registered Service Mark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA"), an agency of the United States Government, and is used by permission of VA.  The Advisory Board Company's use of "Blue Button" does not imply endorsement, approval, or affiliation by the VA or the U.S. Government of The Advisory Board Company's Patient Engagement Blue Button (R) Challenge.

About The Advisory Board Company
The Advisory Board Company is a global technology, research, and consulting firm partnering with 140,000 leaders in 3,700 organizations across health care and higher education.  Through its innovative membership model, The Advisory Board Company collaborates with executives and their teams to elevate performance and solve their most pressing challenges.  The company provides strategic guidance, actionable insights, web-based software solutions, and comprehensive implementation and management services.  Through its Crimson offerings, The Advisory Board Company collaborates with health care providers dedicated to strengthening hospital-physician alignment, coordination among care settings, and overall clinical performance.  Combining business intelligence technology with best practice implementation, Crimson offerings are developed with hospitals, health systems, physicians, and other practitioners seeking improved alignment on key clinical, operational and strategic goals.  Crimson currently supports hospitals and health systems representing over 360,000 physicians.  For more information about The Advisory Board Company, visit http://www.advisory.com.

SOURCE The Advisory Board Company