[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 69 (Thursday, April 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19910-19911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07985]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for ``Data 
Supporting Decisions Challenge''

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 3719.

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

DATES: Award Approving Official: Karen DeSalvo, National Coordinator 
for Health Information Technology.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: CMS data made publicly available for the first time in recent 
months has great potential to further the nation's understanding of 
health care spending and physician practice patterns. Because this data 
exists in raw forms that require interpretation and context, to make an 
impact on the average consumer it must be presented in ways that they 
can understand. Only then can consumers use the data to help make 
health choices that are the most appropriate for their specific, 
individual needs. This challenge seeks the creation of interactive data 
visualization tools that communicate complex data from multiple sources 
in ways that support consumer decision making for value based health 
care.
    The statutory authority for this challenge competition is Section 
105 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-
358).

 Phase I submission period: April 14-April 24, 2014
 Phase I finalist announcement: May 1, 2014
 Phase II development period: May 1-June 2, 2014
 Phase II live demo at Datapalooza: June 2, 2014
 Winners announced at Datapalooza: June 3, 2014

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Subject of Challenge Competition: These visualization tools should 
be created to be used by consumers, for the purpose of assisting in 
active decision-making processes, especially involving potentially 
expensive decisions such as referrals or whether to move forward with 
an intervention or procedure. The visualizations should be customizable 
by the user; for example, patients should be able to enter their own 
health and/or claims information, such as demographic features or 
clinical attributes, to support their decision-making.
    We are most interested in visualizations that use data about 
medical services and procedures physicians and other healthcare 
professionals provide in office and in facility settings, and payments 
and charges for these services, as they relate to helping consumer 
decision-making. Visualizations can help illuminate not just the most 
common medical procedures, but also the thousands of procedures and 
services that occur less frequently yet put together make up a 
significant percentage of total procedures performed. Detailed 
geographic information system (GIS) data can enhance analysis of 
physician payment and disbursement data from the national down to the 
hyper-local level. The combination of data from multiple sources, and 
quality measure data in particular, can be used to create tools 
providing deep insight into geographic variations in procedure costs, 
regional specializations in procedures, and many other uses yet to be 
uncovered.
    Value based healthcare means both the cost and quality of services, 
so participants are encouraged to explore a variety of data sets; 
http://data.cms.gov and http://healthdata.gov are just two of many. 
Participants may also use externally-developed technical tools such as 
the Bloom API, which updates weekly with CMS data.
    The challenge is broken into two phases:

--In Phase I, participants will submit a proposal of no more than 750 
words describing the use case for their visualization(s), how their 
approach will address the use case, and the data sources they intend to 
use. Participants are allowed to use privately-held data exclusive to 
their own organizations. Proposals may include wireframes, sketches, or 
other low fidelity designs to support the visualization proposal. 
Participants must also indicate whether or not they expect to be able 
to attend Datapalooza. A review panel will select up to ten finalists, 
which will advance to Phase II.
    When developing the use case, participants should consider what 
type of patient would be most affected by decisions based on value, and 
for what specific type of decision. For example, are they in an ACO or 
other capitated system? Does the patient have a healthcare savings 
account or high deductible plan? Is the patient undergoing a specific 
type of intervention, such as a total knee replacement?

--In Phase II, the finalists will build out their visualization tools 
to the most complete extent possible. If finalists choose to create 
live or static visualizations embeddable for use on the web, mobile, or 
print, they should be sure to include their name or organization and 
cite data sources used. Finalists are also free to publish an API for 
their visualization so that others can build on and extend the work. At 
Datapalooza, each finalist will demo live for the review panel, and the 
winner will be announced on

[[Page 19911]]

the main stage at the end of the conference.
    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.
    (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 can access http://www.challenge.gov and search 
for ``Data Supporting Decisions Challenge.''
    Prize:

     Total: $35,000 in prizes
     First Place: $20,000
     Second Place: $10,000
     Third Place: $5,000

    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:

Phase I (Proposal)

 Strength of use case for consumers
 How well solution will address use case
 Proposed use of data
 Quality of data sources

Phase II (Visualization Tools)

 Utility for consumers
 Interactivity and customization by user
 Use of data sources
 Visual appeal

    In order for an entry to be eligible to win this Challenge, it must 
meet the following requirements:
    1. Acceptable platforms--The tool must be designed for use with 
existing web, mobile web, electronic health record, or other platform.
    2. 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 are 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.
    3. No HHS or ONC logo--The app must not use HHS' or ONC's logos or 
official seals in the Submission, and must not claim endorsement.
    4. Functionality/Accuracy--A Submission may be disqualified if it 
fails to function as expressed in the description provided by the user, 
or if it provides inaccurate or incomplete information.
    5. Security--Submissions must be free of malware. Contestant agrees 
that ONC may conduct testing on the app to determine whether malware or 
other security threats may be present. ONC may disqualify the 
Submission if, in ONC's judgment, the app may damage government or 
others' equipment or operating environment.
    Additional Information: General Conditions: ONC reserves the right 
to cancel, suspend, and/or modify the Contest, or any part of it, for 
any reason, at ONC's sole discretion.
    Intellectual Property:
     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: April 3, 2014.
Karen DeSalvo,
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2014-07985 Filed 4-9-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-45-P