[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 190 (Friday, September 30, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60842-60843]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25295]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for ``popHealth 
Tools Development Challenge''

AGENCY: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information 
Technology, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 3719.

SUMMARY: The ``popHealth Tools Development Challenge'' tasks developers 
with creating applications that leverage the popHealth open source 
framework, existing functionality, standards, and sample datasets to 
improve patient care and provide greater insight into patient 
populations. Winning entries will extend the capabilities of popHealth, 
increasing its value to healthcare providers and EHR vendors.
    The statutory authority for this challenge competition is Section 
105 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-
358).

DATES: Effective on September 26, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
Adam Wong, 202-720-2866.
Wil Yu, 202-690-5920.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Subject of Challenge Competition: popHealth is a valuable platform 
for reporting Meaningful Use quality measures, as well as being a 
powerful tool for providers to analyze their patient populations. With 
additional functionality, popHealth can become even more essential, 
driving adoption among healthcare providers and EHR vendors. Developers 
have the leeway to create popHealth applications and extensions based 
on any or all of the following concepts: Help providers improve patient 
safety; help providers use the quality measure calculations to better 
engage with patients; help providers address disparities in the care 
they provide to their patient populations; help providers engage 
patients and families; aggregate data from across multiple sites to 
allow public health entities to develop a more clearly defined picture 
of the health status and risk factors within their communities; 
visualize information in

[[Page 60843]]

the popHealth system related to meaningful use measures; and/or target 
patients with high disease burden in need of early intervention.
    Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Competition: To be 
eligible to win a prize under this challenge, an individual or entity:
    (1) Shall have registered to participate in the competition under 
the rules promulgated by Office of the National Coordinator for Health 
Information Technology;
    (2) Shall have complied with all the requirements under this 
section;
    (3) In the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and 
maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the 
case of an individual, whether participating singly or in a group, 
shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States; and
    (4) May not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within 
the scope of their employment.
    An individual or entity shall not be deemed ineligible because the 
individual or entity used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal 
employees during a competition if the facilities and employees are made 
available to all individuals and entities participating in the 
competition on an equitable basis.
    Registered participants shall be required to agree to assume any 
and all risks and waive claims against the Federal Government and its 
related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any 
injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, 
whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from their 
participation in a competition, whether the injury, death, damage, or 
loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
    Participants shall be required to obtain liability insurance or 
demonstrate financial responsibility, in amounts determined by the head 
of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information 
Technology, for claims by--
    (1) A third party for death, bodily injury, or property damage, or 
loss resulting from an activity carried out in connection with 
participation in a competition, with the Federal Government named as an 
additional insured under the registered participant's insurance policy 
and registered participants agreeing to indemnify the Federal 
Government against third party claims for damages arising from or 
related to competition activities; and
    (2) the Federal Government for damage or loss to Government 
property resulting from such an activity.
    Participants must be teams of at least two people.
    All participants are required to provide written consent to the 
rules upon or before submitting an entry.

DATES: 
     Submission Period Begins: 12:01 a.m., EDT, September 26, 
2011.
     Submission Period Ends: 11:59 p.m., EDT, February 3, 2012.
    Registration Process for Participants:
    To register for this challenge participants should:
     Access the http://www.challenge.gov Web site and search 
for the ``popHealth Tools Development Challenge''.
     Access the ONC Investing in Innovation (i2) Challenge Web 
site at:
    [cir] http://www.health2challenge.org/category/onc/.
    [cir] A registration link for the challenge can be found on the 
landing page under the challenge description.
    Amount of the Prize:
     First Prize: $75,000.
     Second Prize: $20,000.
     Third Prize: $5,000.
    Awards may be subject to Federal income taxes and HHS will comply 
with IRS withholding and reporting requirements, where applicable.
    Basis Upon Which Winner Will Be Selected:
    The judging panel will make selections based upon the following 
criteria:
    1. Ability to integrate with popHealth system and build upon 
existing functionality.
    2. Impact on stakeholders.
    3. Usability and design.
    4. Creativity and Innovation.
    Additional Information:
    Ownership of intellectual property is determined by the following:
     Each entrant retains title and full ownership in and to 
their submission. Entrants expressly reserve all intellectual property 
rights not expressly granted under the challenge agreement.
     By participating in the challenge, each entrant hereby 
irrevocably grants to Sponsor and Administrator a limited, non-
exclusive, royalty free, worldwide, license and right to reproduce, 
publically perform, publically display, and use the Submission to the 
extent necessary to administer the challenge, and to publically perform 
and publically display the Submission, including, without limitation, 
for advertising and promotional purposes relating to the challenge.

    Dated: September 26, 2011.
Farzad Mostashari,
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2011-25295 Filed 9-29-11; 8:45 am]
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