{"id":215748,"date":"2024-07-03T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=215748"},"modified":"2024-07-03T14:34:18","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T14:34:18","slug":"hackathon-harnesses-ai-for-health-care-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=215748","title":{"rendered":"Hackathon harnesses AI for health care innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last month at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine<\/a> in Tampa, Florida, over 300 participants gathered at a hackathon to develop solutions address some of the most pressing health care challenges faced by Veterans.<\/p>\n

The Veterans Health \u2013 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Hacking Medicine 2024<\/a> was hosted by the James A. Haley Veterans\u2019 Hospital (JAHVH)<\/a> and made possible through a collaboration with VHA Innovation Ecosystem (VHA IE)<\/a>, Microsoft and MIT Hacking Medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The hackathon focused on three VA health care priorities: Connecting Veterans to the soonest and best care; preventing Veteran suicide; and hiring faster and more competitively. Supported by over 50 mentors and judges from diverse backgrounds, teams used Microsoft\u2019s artificial intelligence (AI) tools to rapidly develop groundbreaking solutions.<\/p>\n

Democratizing innovation and fostering community collaboration<\/h2>\n

A hackathon is a short, intense problem-solving and solutioning event designed to bring together diverse teams which compete to develop a solution addressing a set of identified problems. For Dr. Indra Sandal, chief of Innovation at Haley VA and the hackathon\u2019s founder, having an event that welcomes all skill levels and backgrounds was essential. \u201cOur goal was to make AI technologies accessible to every participant. This hackathon wasn\u2019t just for engineers and data scientists, but any frontline employee motivated to drive change.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf we can serve just one Veteran.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

A team of Microsoft engineers delivered an overview of AI and introduced participants to a suite of application-building tools designed to generate real outcomes during the event. This skill-building empowered participants to continue driving innovation in their work beyond the hackathon.<\/p>\n

The hackathon showcased the power of AI to democratize analytics and solution development, allowing more individuals to take their first step toward innovation. Mentors assisted teams of VA and non-VA employees from across the nation with technology development, one-on-one mentoring and solution testing. This approach ensured that participants could develop technical solutions regardless of their background. \u201cI learned so much and got to collaborate with people that I would not have had the opportunity to work with,\u201d said one hacker.<\/p>\n

John Couris, CEO of Tampa General Hospital, highlighted the importance of innovation and collaboration in health care. \u201cI\u2019m really impressed that this group is here looking at ways you deliver care to our Veterans because there is no more important population than those who have served us and sacrificed for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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