[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 57 (Friday, March 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17060-17062]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6979]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for Beat Down Blood 
Pressure Challenge

AGENCY: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information 
Technology, Department of Health and Human Services.
    Award Approving Official: Jodi Daniel, Director, Office of Policy 
and Planning.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information 
Technology (ONC), in partnership with Million Hearts, an HHS initiative 
to prevent a million heart attacks and strokes in five years, announces 
the launch of the Beat Down Blood Pressure Video Challenge. This 
challenge is an open call for the public to create and submit short, 
compelling videos sharing how they use health IT or consumer e-health 
tools to manage high blood pressure. Health care providers are also 
encouraged to apply to demonstrate how they use electronic health 
records and other health IT to manage their patients' high blood 
pressure. This is the second in a series of Health IT video contests 
that will occur throughout 2012. The goal of this video contest series 
is to generate content that will be used to motivate and inspire others 
to leverage technology to be more engaged partners in improving their 
health and health care. Each challenge will be a call to action for 
members of the public to create a short video clip [2 minutes or less] 
on a particular theme, and will award cash prizes to winners in several 
categories.

DATES: Effective on March 21, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Poetter, Consumer e-Health Policy 
Analyst, [email protected] [verbar] 202.205.3310.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Subject of Challenge Competition

    We invite the general public to create short (<2 min long), 
compelling videos sharing how they use health IT or consumer e-health 
tools to manage high blood pressure. Videos will demonstrate how health 
IT is used to support blood pressure control through activities such as 
routine monitoring of blood pressure, taking blood pressure medications 
as prescribed, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle that helps lower 
blood pressure. High blood pressure (aka ``hypertension'') affects one 
in three adults in the U.S. and is sometimes referred to as the 
``silent killer'' because it damages the brain, heart, eyes, and 
kidneys while causing no symptoms. If left untreated, high blood 
pressure can result in strokes, heart attacks, and kidney failure. 
Fortunately there are steps that each of us can take to prevent or 
manage high blood pressure and change our future health for the better.
    Participants can demonstrate how they use health IT or consumer e-
health tools to monitor their blood pressure, take medication as 
prescribed to maintain low blood pressure, and/or make lifestyle 
changes that reduce your risks and enhance heart health. Participants 
may also discuss how they are partnering with their health care 
provider to leverage health IT to better monitor and manage their blood 
pressure.
    Health care providers can demonstrate how they use electronic 
health records and other health IT to manage their patients' 
hypertension, help them take their medications as prescribed, and help 
their patients adopt healthy habits that enhance control of blood 
pressure.

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 HHS;
    (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,

[[Page 17061]]

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.
    (5) Shall not be an HHS employee working on their applications or 
submissions during assigned duty hours.
    (6) Shall not be an employee of the Office of the National 
Coordinator.
    (7) Federal grantees may not use Federal funds to develop COMPETES 
Act challenge applications unless consistent with the purpose of their 
grant award.
    (8) Federal contractors may not use Federal funds from a contract 
to develop COMPETES Act challenge applications or to fund efforts in 
support of a COMPETES Act challenge submission.
    All individual members of a team must meet the eligibility 
requirements.
    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.

Registration Process for Participants

    1. During the Challenge Submission Period, visit http://
http://BloodPressure.Challenge.gov">BloodPressure.Challenge.gov and register (Registration is free) or log 
in with an existing ChallengePost account. After a Contestant signs up, 
a confirmation email will be sent to the email address provided. The 
Contestant must use the confirmation email to verify his or her email 
address. The registered Contestant will then be able to enter a 
Submission.
    2. On http://BloodPressure.Challenge.gov">BloodPressure.Challenge.gov, click ``Accept this challenge'' 
to register your interest in participating. This step ensures that you 
will receive important challenge updates.
    3. Create a video and ensure the following (please read the 
Official Rules on http://BloodPressure.challenge.gov for complete 
requirements):
    a. Your video shares ONE activity to prevent high blood pressure or 
monitor blood pressure.
    b. Your video demonstrates ONE technology used as part of or in 
support of the activity to prevent or monitor high blood pressure.
    c. Your video encourages viewers to visit www.HealthIT.gov.
    d. Your video is no longer than 2 minutes.
    4. Confirm that you have read and agreed to the Official Rules. A 
Contestant will be required to fill out the submission form on 
http://BloodPressure.Challenge.gov">BloodPressure.Challenge.gov and must provide:
     The title of the Video;
     A link to the Video on YouTube.com or Vimeo.com (the Video 
should be no longer than 2 minutes);
     A text description of an activity to prevent high blood 
pressure or monitor blood pressure and how technology is a part of or 
supportive of the activity;
     A transcript of the words spoken or sung in the video;
     Categories for the participant type (consumer/caregiver or 
healthcare provider), activity type, and the technology featured in the 
video; and
     Uploaded consent forms for everyone who appears in the 
video regardless of age.
    All individuals that appear in a Video must complete and sign the 
Video Consent Form. If a minor appears in the Video, the minor's 
parent/legal guardian must also sign the Video Consent Form. A 
Submission will not be considered complete and eligible to win prizes 
without a completed Video Consent Form being uploaded from all 
individuals that appear in the Video. All completed Video Consent Forms 
must include a handwritten signature, and be scanned, combined in to a 
single file (ZIP, PDF, or doc), and uploaded on the submission form on 
http://BloodPressure.Challenge.gov">BloodPressure.Challenge.gov.

                           Amount of the Prize
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                 Winner                        Prize         Quantity
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Consumer Monitoring Prize...............          $1,000               1
Consumer Taking Meds Prize..............           1,000               1
Consumer Prevention Prize...............           1,000               1
Provider Monitoring Prize...............           1,000               1
Provider Med Management Prize...........           1,000               1
Popular Choice..........................             500               1
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Basis Upon Which Winner Will Be Selected

    To be considered for a Category Prize, a Submission must meet the 
following award category requirements:

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             Category                           Requirements
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Consumer Monitoring Prize.........  Video must describe how a patient,
                                     consumer or caregiver engages in an
                                     activity to monitor blood pressure
                                     using health information
                                     technology.
Consumer Taking Meds Prize........  Video must describe how a patient,
                                     consumer or caregiver engages in an
                                     activity related to taking blood
                                     pressure medications as prescribed
                                     using health information
                                     technology.
Consumer Prevention Prize.........  Video must describe how a patient,
                                     consumer or caregiver engages in an
                                     activity related to maintaining a
                                     healthy lifestyle that supports low
                                     blood pressure and uses health
                                     information technology as part of
                                     or in support of the activity.
Provider Monitoring Prize.........  Video must describe how a healthcare
                                     provider (e.g. doctor, nurse,
                                     pharmacist, etc.) engages in an
                                     activity related to monitoring
                                     patients' blood pressure using
                                     health information technology.

[[Page 17062]]

 
Provider Med Management Prize.....  Video must describe how a
                                     professional healthcare provider
                                     engages in an activity to help
                                     patients manage their blood
                                     pressure medication using health
                                     information technology.
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    Submissions that meet category requirements will be evaluated by an 
internal panel of judges for Category Prizes based on the following 
criteria (to be equally weighted):
    1. Quality of the Idea (Includes elements such as the relevance and 
originality of your use of health IT)
    2. Implementation of the Idea (Includes elements such as the 
quality of the video content, narrative and visual appearance)
    3. Potential Impact on health IT adoption (Includes whether the 
video is compelling, instructive, and easy to follow so that others can 
perform similar activities using health technology)
    The one (1) Contestant whose Submissions earns the highest overall 
score in their respective category will win, respectively, the prizes 
identified below in Section 8. In the event of a tie, winners will be 
selected based on their score on the criteria described in (1), then 
(2), and finally (3). If there is still a tie then the winner will be 
selected based on a vote by the judging panel.

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 3719.

    Dated: March 16, 2012.
Erin Poetter,
Consumer e-Health Policy Analyst, Office of the National Coordinator 
for Health Information Technology (ONC), Office of the Secretary (OS).
[FR Doc. 2012-6979 Filed 3-22-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-45-P