[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 166 (Monday, August 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51805-51806]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-21023]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information 
Technology; Announcement of Requirements and Registration for Reducing 
Cancer Among Women of Color Challenge

AGENCY: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information 
Technology, HHS.
    Award Approving Official: Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator 
for Health Information Technology.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Disparities in prevention, early treatment, and final outcomes 
exist across the spectrum of cancer types and are often amplified in 
women's health when we look at breast cancer and gynecologic cancers--
primarily cervical, uterine, and ovarian cancer. With over 300,000 new 
cases combined and 68,000 deaths annually, the impact that these 
cancers have on the United States cannot be overstated. While the 
incidence and prevalence of these malignancies is as socially and 
geographically diverse as our nation, they strike minority and 
underserved women with a disproportionate lethality caused by many 
factors.
    In particular, the prevention strategies for these cancers cross 
the gambit of social and technical modalities from radiology (e.g., 
mammography) to advanced immunotherapy and vaccination (e.g., HPV 
vaccine). The clinical communities that treat and care for these 
patients is, likewise, among the broadest group of clinical disciplines 
that can be aggregated--from primary care and the surgical specialties 
to some of the most cutting-edge radiation oncology and medical 
oncology groups. But more importantly, any failure of our healthcare 
system to adequately prevent one of these cancers is most often a 
failure to address a myriad of social challenges, from education and 
access to health literacy and community support.
    The ``Reducing Cancer Among Women of Color Challenge'' is a call to 
developers to create a mobile device-optimized tool that engages and 
empowers women to improve the prevention and treatment of breast, 
cervical, uterine, and ovarian cancer in underserved and minority 
communities and interfaces with provider electronic health records 
(EHRs).
    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 August 23, 2012. Challenge submission period ends 
February 5, 2013, 11:59 p.m. ET.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Wong, 202-720-2866.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Subject of Challenge Competition

    This challenge is a multidisciplinary call to innovators and 
developers to create a mobile device-optimized tool that engages and 
empowers women to improve the prevention and treatment of breast, 
cervical, uterine, and ovarian cancer in underserved and minority 
communities and interfaces with provider electronic health records 
(EHRs). The tool will achieve the following:
     Provide general information regarding preventive and 
screening services for breast and gynecologic cancers--including, but 
not limited to, benefits, timing, scheduling, and location.
     Allow for the interface with patient health records or 
provider-sponsored patient portals to provide specific reminders and 
trigger electronic health record-based clinical decision support 
regarding the timing of preventive services.
     Support the storage, viewing, and exchange of complex 
patient care plans. In particular, the tool will help strengthen 
communication among provider care teams, possibly spread out across 
large geographic locations, to afford optimal remote follow-up (e.g., 
be able to send patient information to electronic health records via 
Direct).
     Support patient engagement and care giver support to help 
patients and/or their caregivers keep track of complex care plans, such 
as connections to community health workers, promotores de salud, or 
patient navigators.
     Be optimized for use on mobile devices.

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 the 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.

[[Page 51806]]

    (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 Office of the National Coordinator 
for Health IT.
    (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.
    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.
    Entrants must 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 my participation in this prize contest, 
whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or 
otherwise.
    Entrants must also agree to indemnify the Federal Government 
against third party claims for damages arising from or related to 
competition activities.

Registration Process for Participants

    To register for this challenge participants should either:

[ssquf] Access the www.challenge.gov Web site and search for the 
``Reducing Cancer Among Women of Color Challenge''.
[ssquf] Access the ONC Investing in Innovation (i2) Challenge Web site 
at:
    [cir] http://www.health2con.com/devchallenge/challenges/onc-i2-challenges/
    [cir] A registration link for the challenge can be found on the 
landing page under the challenge description

Amount of the Prize

[ssquf] First Prize: $85,000
[ssquf] Second Prize: $10,000
[ssquf] Third Prize: $5,000

    Awards may be subject to Federal income taxes and HHS will comply 
with IRS withholding and reporting requirements, where applicable.

Payment of the Prize

    Prize will be paid by contractor.

Basis Upon Which Winner Will Be Selected

    The review panel will make selections based upon the following 
criteria:
     Patient engagement
     Quality and accessibility of information
     Targeted and actionable information
     Links to online communities and/or social media
     Innovativeness and usability
     Non-English language availability
In order for an entry to be eligible to win this Challenge, it must 
meet the following requirements:
    1. General--Contestants must provide continuous access to the app, 
a detailed description of the app, instructions on how to install and 
operate the app, and system requirements required to run the app 
(collectively, ``Submission'').
    2. No HHS or ONC logo--The app must not use HHS' or ONC's logo or 
official seal in the Submission, and must not claim endorsement.
    3. Section 508 Compliance--Contestants must acknowledge that they 
understand that, as a pre-requisite to any subsequent acquisition by 
FAR contract or other method, they may be required to make their 
proposed solution compliant with Section 508 accessibility and 
usability requirements at their own expense. Any electronic information 
technology that is ultimately obtained by HHS for its use, development, 
or maintenance must meet Section 508 accessibility and usability 
standards. Past experience has demonstrated that it can be costly for 
solution-providers to ``retrofit'' solutions if remediation is later 
needed. The HHS Section 508 Evaluation Product Assessment Template, 
available at http://www.hhs.gov/od/vendors/index.html, provides a 
useful roadmap for developers to review. It is a simple, web-based 
checklist utilized by HHS officials to allow vendors to document how 
their products do or do not meet the various Section 508 requirements.
    4. Functionality/Accuracy--A Submission may be disqualified if the 
application fails to function as expressed in the description provided 
by the user, or if the application provides inaccurate or incomplete 
information.
    5. Security--Submissions must be free of malware. Contestant agrees 
that the ONC may conduct testing on the app to determine whether 
malware or other security threats may be present. ONC may disqualify 
the app if, in ONC's judgment, the app may damage government or others' 
equipment or operating environment.

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.

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 3719.

    Dated: August 20, 2012.
Farzad Mostashari,
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2012-21023 Filed 8-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-45-P