Tune-in to the COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge Webinar on 9/8 & More News...

Tune-in to the COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge Webinar 9/8

Catalyst is excited to announce the COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge Webinar, taking place on Tuesday, September 8th from 1-2PM ET. The webinar will provide the audience with a more in-depth explanation of the newly launched COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge, in which innovators are being asked to submit their novel analytic approaches to utilizing COVID-19 symptom data to improve situational awareness & early detection capabilities. Ultimately, following the two phases of the Challenge, a 1st place winner will be awarded $50,000 and a runner up will be awarded $25,000. 

The webinar, moderated by Catalyst, will feature our Challenge partners from the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, the Joint Program in Survey Methodology (JPSM), Carnegie Mellon University, and Resolve to Save Lives, focusing on the purpose of the Challenge, background on the data, public health implications, Facebook’s role in the challenge, Challenge logistics, and more! 

Don’t miss this opportunity, be sure to join on 9/8 to learn more! 

Register HERE! 
More about the Challenge: https://bit.ly/symptomdata

Announcing The COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge 

In collaboration with the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, Resolve to Save Lives, Carnegie Mellon University, and University of Maryland, Catalyst @ Health 2.0 is excited to announce the launch of The COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge. The COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge is looking for novel analytic approaches that use COVID-19 Symptom Survey data to enable earlier detection and improved situational awareness of the outbreak by public health and the public. 

How the Challenge Works:

• In Phase I, innovators submit their novel analytic approach addressing the challenge topic and using Symptom Survey public data (see challenge submission criteria for more). Judges will evaluate the entries based on Validity, Scientific Rigor, Impact, and User Experience and award five semi-finalists $5,000 each. They will present their analytic approaches to a judging panel and three semi-finalists will be selected to advance to Phase II. 

• In Phase II, finalists develop a prototype (simulation or visualization) using their analytic approach and will present their prototypes in an unveiling event, during which a first place winner and runner up will be selected. The first place winner will be awarded $50,000 and the runner up (second place) will be awarded $25,000 to further develop their analytic approach. 

The winning analytic design will be featured on the Facebook Data For Good website and the winning team will have the opportunity to participate in a discussion forum with representatives from public health agencies. 

Phase I applications for the challenge are due Tuesday, September 29th 2020 11:59:59 PM ET.

Learn more about the COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge HERE.

Indu Subaiya, co-founder of Catalyst @ Health 2.0 (“Catalyst”) sits down with Farzad Mostashari (@Farzad_MD), Challenge Chair, to discuss the launch of the COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge. Indu and Farzad walk through the movement around open data as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the challenge goals, partners, evaluation criteria, and prizes. Click HERE to watch. 

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER/WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Entry deadline September 29th, 2020 at 11:59:59 pm EDT. Open to legal residents US and worldwide who are at least the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence, excluding Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, or other countries or regions subject to U.S. export controls or sanctions. Void where prohibited by law. Participation subject to Official Rules. See Official Rules for entry requirements, judging criteria and full details. Administrator: Health 2.0 LLC. Sponsor: Facebook, Inc. Partners: Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Maryland, and Resolve to Save Lives.

Announcing: The COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge

In Partnership with the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, Resolve to Save Lives, Carnegie Mellon University, and University of Maryland, Catalyst @ Health 2.0 is excited to announce the launch of The COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge. The COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge is looking for novel analytic approaches that use COVID-19 Symptom Survey data to enable earlier detection and improved situational awareness of the outbreak by public health and the public. 

How the Challenge Works:

In Phase I, innovators submit a white paper (“digital poster”) summarizing the approach, methods, analysis, findings, relevant figures and graphs of their analytic approach using Symptom Survey public data (see challenge submission criteria for more). Judges will evaluate the entries based on Validity, Scientific Rigor, Impact, and User Experience and award five semi-finalists $5,000 each. Semi-finalists will present their analytic approaches to a judging panel and three semi-finalists will be selected to advance to Phase II. The semi-finalists will develop a prototype (simulation or visualization) using their analytic approach and present their prototype at a virtual unveiling event. Judges will select a grand prize winner and the runner up (2nd place). The grand prize winner will be awarded $50,000 and the runner up will be awarded $25,000.The winning analytic design will be featured on the Facebook Data For Good website and the winning team will have the opportunity to participate in a discussion forum with representatives from public health agencies. 

Phase I applications for the challenge are due Tuesday, September 29th, 2020 11:59:59 PM ET.

Learn more about the COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge HERE.

Challenge participants will leverage aggregated data from the COVID-19 symptom surveys conducted by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Maryland, in partnership with Facebook Data for Good. Approaches can integrate publicly available anonymized datasets to validate and extend predictive utility of symptom data and should assess the impact of the integration of symptom data on identifying inflection points in state, local, or regional COVID outbreaks as well guiding individual and policy decision-making. 

These are the largest and most detailed surveys ever conducted during a public health emergency, with over 25M responses recorded to date, across 200+ countries and territories and 55+ languages. Challenge partners look forward to seeing participant’s proposed approaches leveraging this data, as well as welcome feedback on the data’s usefulness in modeling efforts. 

Indu Subaiya, President of Catalyst @ Health 2.0 (“Catalyst”) sits down with Farzad Mostashari, CEO of Aledade, former National Coordinator of Health IT, and Challenge Chair, to discuss the launch of the COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge. Indu and Farzad walk through the movement around open data as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the challenge goals, partners, evaluation criteria, and prizes.

Video Transcript:

Indu Subaiya:

I'm delighted to be talking today with Farzad Mostashari about the COVID-19 symptom data challenge, in partnership with Facebook Data For Good, the Delphi Group at Carnegie Mellon University, and the joint program on survey methodology at the University of Maryland. So thank you for being here as we launch this challenge. Help us set the stage, because on March 7th of this year, you noticed something unusual going on in New York City. Tell us about that.

Farzad Mostashari:

I was part of the first group of researchers 20 years ago to say “There's all this data that is part of the universe floating around that we're not using for public health purposes. What if we did?” The urgency at that time was around pandemics and bio terrorism both.

Farzad Mostashari:

And we developed this whole field of what became known as “syndromic surveillance”, public health surveillance, real time epidemiology, where we were like, "What if you tap into what's going on and apply these new statistical methods?" So at that time, the stone that we polished was emergency room visits and saying, "Can we receive all these data about emergency room visits happening in New York City?” And now it's national. And be able to track, not diagnosed cases of anything, but syndromes. Is there a respiratory syndrome? Is there difficulty breathing? Is there influenza-like illness going on in the community?" And we set up these systems. And one of the other things we did in New York City, which a lot of other jurisdictions didn't do, was we created a public facing transparency tool view of that.

Farzad Mostashari:

So 10 years later, I was sitting in my basement like so many other people worrying about what's going on with COVID. And now at that time in New York City, there were two diagnosed cases of COVID. But there was a lot of concern. And I went on that website, and it's a public website, but people just didn't know about it. And I clicked through, and I saw that cases of people going to the emergency room with respiratory distress, with difficulty breathing, with cough and fever had doubled and tripled just in the past few days. And what that told me was there are not two cases of COVID in New York City. There are tens of thousands of cases and they're doubling every three days.

Farzad Mostashari:

It took two weeks between that realization and when the schools were shut down, when the city was shut down. The promise and the premise here is that if we trust those signals, if those are trusted signals, we don't have to have hundreds of thousands of people infected and tens of thousands of people die. We can intervene sooner. The public and policy makers can both make decisions based on data that is more timely.

Indu Subaiya:

It seems almost there are three requisite factors that play into this vision that you've really set up beautifully. And one is that you need open data. You need access to data that you've always evangelized for and built in New York City and other places. You need to have mechanisms for early detection and early warning. But there's something else you've always advocated for, which is the engagement of citizen scientists. So speak to how those underpinnings of the vision came together to design this challenge specifically.

Farzad Mostashari:

So I got to hear about this incredible effort that's underway that no one knows about (to a first order of approximation) which is that there are millions of surveys a week being done all over the globe, 70 plus countries, and in every state and territory in the US where millions of people every day, they go on Facebook, they see that there's an opportunity to take a survey about COVID from an outside university, Carnegie Mellon, or University of Maryland for the global data. They click on that and they leave Facebook and they go to this other webpage and they fill out a survey that asks questions around, "Have you had symptoms in the past 24 hours? Has anyone in your household? Do you know people [who have]? Do you wear masks? Have you been careful when you go outside?" And they're answering these questions and they're actually being statistically weighed so that it's not a convenient sample, it's not whoever happens to have a thermometer at home or whatever. It's like real time, reliable information. But it's not being used!

Farzad Mostashari:

Tom Frieden, my former boss and now leading Resolve To Save Lives (a wonderful global public health organization) and I were brought in to give our thoughts about this effort. And we were both like, "This is amazing. You should push it out." And they pushed out the data in an open API. Anyone can go to the Delphi CMU. And three months later, it's still not part of the Pantheon of data that we're using to assess what's happening with the COVID. Despite all the shortcomings in all the other data systems, people aren't using it.

Farzad Mostashari:

And I think to your point, the data is there, but the engagement on polishing the stone hasn't occurred. The validation of it hasn't occurred because we don't have enough eyes on it. And it is not integrated into people's understanding of what they should do. “Should I send my kid to school? Should I go to the store? Do I wear a mask this week?” These are real decisions that real people have to make every day, and we're not giving them the benefit of what might be something that could be a real game changer.

Indu Subaiya:

Well, we've seen firsthand in some of the early analyses with this data. Speak a little bit to just some of the insights that you've seen where symptom data can tell us something differently and earlier than case rates, death rates, the kinds of data inputs that we're currently used to seeing, for the ways that this can do better.

Farzad Mostashari:

Yeah. So theoretically, let's think about the advantages. Over the three major sources of data, if I said to you, a citizen scientist, "How do we know what's going on with COVID in our community? How do we know if an outbreak is occurring? How do we know if the outbreak is peaking? How do we know if it's coming down?" There's three sources of data that we are trying to look at. And all three are flawed. The first is obviously how many diagnosed cases we have. Case numbers, case positivity, lab tests. Well, the problem with that is we had a huge dearth of lab capacity early on. There are still parts of the country and parts of the world where there is not great lab capacity. And that lab capacity is changing. And even when we do the tests, they're delayed now by seven to 10 days.

Farzad Mostashari:

And the positivity can't necessarily be relied on either, because it depends on what population you're testing. If you turn on testing of a bunch of young people, you might have a different rate. If you start testing asymptomatic people, you might have a different rate. If the people follow the CDC's recommendation and they stopped testing asymptomatics, you can have an increase ... So it's very much dependent on testing behavior. You're seeing it through this lens of testing behavior and that lens can distort.

Farzad Mostashari:

The second source of data could be deaths. Deaths are highly reliable. They're still underdiagnosed. One of our scientific committee members, Dan Weinberger, and a group of other researchers and I published an article looking at excess deaths compared to COVID deaths. And there's actual discrepancies between those two, but death is a pretty hard data point. The problem is it's weeks delayed. If we waited until we saw deaths to say that we have a problem, the outbreak would have run wild through a city before we can even address it.

Farzad Mostashari:

And then the third source of now traditional surveillance are the syndromic surveillance, emergency room, hospitalization, syndromic data that we pioneered 20 years ago. And the problem with those is that the lens you're seeing those through is health seeking behavior. And if people change their likelihood of going to the emergency room, going to doctor's offices, it obscures that lens.

Farzad Mostashari:

So with all three of these, the symptom survey data presents unique advantages. Compared to deaths, it's much more timely. In fact, compared to any of the other data sources, you would expect it to be the first indicator. It's completely unrelated to health seeking behavior or testing availability. And if you think about, and particularly in the global context, there are many countries where the lab capacity is really challenged, and even death surveillance, mortality surveillance is really challenged. This could be a major tool.

Farzad Mostashari:

That all having been said, what we have now are very preliminary evidence that this could be useful. And what we're looking for are many, many more people to put eyes on the data and find ways to polish those stones, to have the highest-value ways, for society, of using this information.

Indu Subaiya:

So available to all the citizen scientists in the world as of today will be access to these datasets through APIs, through aggregate CSVs. And Farzad, what will be the primary challenge questions that they'll be able to engage with and tackle?

Farzad Mostashari:

The main question that we're asking is can you find a way to validate whether adding in the symptom data into all the other existing data sources we have can improve the sensitivity, the specificity, the timeliness of our ability to detect what's going on with the outbreak. What are the inflection points? When is it taking off? When is it flattening? When is it coming down? And to be able to provide useful information for policy makers and the public in guiding their decisions.

Farzad Mostashari:

So we're leaving it pretty wide open, right? Come with your methods, come with your visualization. Do you want to look at it on an age stratified basis? Do you want to combine it with lab data? Do you want to incorporate the mask wearing information? Do you want to think about the granularity of it in space? Do you want to look county level, HR level, state level? Do you want to look at it in terms of time? Do you want to look at it by week or by day? All of those, do you want to apply statistical methods, clustering methods? You figure it out.  But answer the question: “what is the best case to be made for how one would incorporate this data into the Pantheon of public health surveillance tools?”

Indu Subaiya:

And even though we have the academics, if you will, working on this, we're really looking for all comers.

Farzad Mostashari:

All comers.

Indu Subaiya:

Even if you're not a trained epidemiologist, but you have an interest in this data, we are making it available as of today. And contestants will have four weeks to come up with their analyses. And then we'll have some semifinalists that will present to the scientific committee. And at that point, up to five teams will be chosen to advance to a second round where they'll build visualizations and simulations, prototypes of this analysis in action. So as the contestants submit their analyses after the first four weeks, the scientific committee will be looking at certain criteria. What can people expect their submissions to be judged on?

Farzad Mostashari:

Well, I think it's kind of like having a special issue of a journal. We won't be as tough on the formatting and references as we would a real journal article, but we're basically doing the evaluation of the validity of the results.

 Farzad Mostashari:

How convincing is the evidence that's being presented in terms of the additional utility of adding the symptom data and how? What are the methods that are being used? The second is the rigor with which these analyses are done. Have they considered biases confounding, some of the other potential causes for false associations? What are the limitations of that? The third is impact.

 Farzad Mostashari:

If there's a method that's so complicated that it takes 20 days to run on every day's worth of data, well, that's not going to have as much impact. But what is the real likelihood of impact?

 Farzad Mostashari:

And related to that, but distinct, is the user experience. How easy is it to explain? How easy is it to visualize? How easy is it to make actionable those results from the analysis? These four criteria are going to be used in the first phase. And then when we do the presentations and then with the final result, when we select the grand winner of ... What is it, $50,000? That's huge!

Indu Subaiya:

That's right. And the second place gets $25,000.

 Farzad Mostashari:

$25,000! Those are the same criteria are going to be used for each of those levels.

 Indu Subaiya:

Fantastic. I also want to remind folks that outside data can be brought in as long as it's made publicly available so that we can continue to feed this repository of access to data, and hopefully really combat this epidemic together.

Indu Subaiya:

So Farzad, one of the ways that we can help contestants understand the data sets being made available is there's so many partners here. Where did these data sets come from, and how does privacy work given that people have taken these surveys?

Farzad Mostashari:

The surveys are suggested to folks who are on Facebook. But then when someone clicks on that banner ad that says 'do you want to take a COVID survey,' they leave the Facebook environment entirely, and they go off to the University of Maryland or Carnegie Mellon's website.

Farzad Mostashari:

I think it's important for people to understand where the data comes from is from those anonymous surveys that are done by the universities. There is no access to the line-level data for the folks at Facebook. They don't want it, they don't have it.

Farzad Mostashari:

But that micro data is actually available to university researchers. But there are extracts made from that, which are anonymized, minimum cell size at the various levels of granularity that are currently being made public through APIs and we will make a CSV download available as well.

Farzad Mostashari:

Those are fully anonymized, fully aggregated. No one's identity is obviously going to be impacted, just says “in this county this week, there were these many cases of people who complained of having recent cough symptoms” and so forth.

Farzad Mostashari:

This is part of the Facebook Data for Good project, and I certainly believe that this is data for good.

Indu Subaiya:

And Farzad, what is your hope as these teams come forward with these ideas? Where can these findings be deployed? And what is your vision for where it goes from here outside of the challenge?

Farzad Mostashari:

Our hope is that these become just a part of the, alongside deaths and cases and hospitalizations, it's just part of what people look at. So when you go to COVID tracking or COVID Exit Strategy or the Hopkins site or the CDC, or when states or cities or governors are looking at their data, this is one of the factors that they also consider. But also the public. As Tom Frieden likes to say, "When you check the weather to see if you should take an umbrella, you should be checking a website that tells you what's going on with COVID activity in your community”-  that can help guide many of the decisions that we have to make, unfortunately on a daily basis, until we have herd immunity or a vaccine, or both."

Indu Subaiya:

Absolutely. So some real, very impactful outcomes expected from this challenge. It's not just an academic exercise. Folks evaluating the finalists will be looking for how to adopt these algorithms and these visualizations into their public health dashboards, into their decision making processes. So it's a really incredibly exciting opportunity.

Indu Subaiya:

One of the things this challenge will be doing is inviting people to join a Slack channel so that they can communicate with each other. We don't see this as a one-time submission and then off you go, but really as a means to engage the community. That's always been at the forefront of what you've evangelized with the health technology community.

Farzad Mostashari:

None of us are as smart as all of us.

Indu Subaiya:

We'll go live today. And I just wanted to have a chance for you, Farzad, to share the vision behind it and what good looks like. So we're really excited to be helping support the challenge mechanism itself here at Catalyst. So thank you so much.

Farzad Mostashari:

And thank you and the team for helping sponsor this. And I hope the contestants will have a wonderful experience.

Indu Subaiya:

Thank you.

Participation subject to Official Rules NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER/WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Entry deadline September 29th, 2020 at 11:59:59 pm EDT. Open to legal residents US and worldwide who are at least the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence, excluding Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, or other countries or regions subject to U.S. export controls or sanctions. Void where prohibited by law. Participation subject to Official Rules. See Official Rules for entry requirements, judging criteria and full details. Administrator: Health 2.0 LLC. Sponsor: Facebook, Inc. Partners: Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Maryland, and Resolve to Save Lives.

Catalyst @ Health 2.0 Launches Rapid Response Open Call with Grapevine Health

Attention digital health innovators! Do you have innovative text message-based health tech solutions that can disseminate health-focused video content? Apply to the Grapevine Health Rapid Response Open Call! 

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the importance of health literacy and communication is more apparent than ever. Catalyst @ Health 2.0 is proud to host a Rapid Response Open Call (RROC) in collaboration with Grapevine Health. Five semi-finalists will receive $1k each and will have the opportunity to demo their technology. A grand prize winner will receive $5k and the opportunity to collaborate with Grapevine Health! 

Do you have a solution that can fit this need? Apply HERE today! Applications close 8/27.

About Grapevine Health

Grapevine Health is on the ground bridging health communication and demystifying health care for the community. Grapevine Health uses tech, videos, storytelling and collaborative conversations between community and health experts to improve health literacy and patient engagement.

Johns Hopkins Tech Startup, ROSE, Selected for Brigham and Women’s Hospital Pilot COVID-19 Program & More News...

Rapid Response Open Call Winner to Pilot with Brigham and Women’s Hospital 

Rose, a technology startup that provides a HIPAA-compliant mental health monitoring platform, announced a pilot program with Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) Emergency Department  to support healthcare professionals and their mental health during  COVID-19. The pilot program was facilitated through Rose’s participation in our Rapid Response Open Call, which sought provider-facing, text based platforms to help healthcare professionals self-monitor symptoms of coronavirus, report burnout, and access helpful resources. Following a 7-day application period, where Brigham and Women’s Hospital evaluated more than 80 quality submissions, Rose was selected as a semi-finalist and demoed their technology to the BWH team. 

Are you a health care provider looking to enhance your response to COVID-19? Catalyst @ Health 2.0 is continuing to hold open calls that connect providers with urgent needs to digital health solutions. APPLY here for consideration. 

AI LA, in collaboration with Catalyst @ Health 2.0 (“Catalyst”) is hosting “Digital Health During a Pandemic,” a virtual event that highlights innovative health tech responding to COVID-19 using augmented intelligence. The event aims to  highlight how the pandemic has affected health tech companies and their roadmaps for the future, ultimately providing the audience with clarity into COVID response in the field. The event will take place on August 20th from 12-2PM PT and will consist of a panel discussion, exciting Q&A and project demos with CA-based startups like Anchor Health, Syllable.ai, and Quantgene, and will be moderated by Catalyst’s co-founder, Indu Subaiya. Get your tickets today!

Innovaccer, Inc., a CA-based healthcare technology company, has launched a perioperative optimization solution for health systems. The solution will help optimize surgeries and ramp up volumes by identifying high-risk patients for pre-surgical intervention while also reducing the length of stay, readmissions, and cost, ultimately allowing hospitals to track their return on investment in real-time on a customizable dashboard.

At-Home Care Startup Plans Expansion with Humana & More News...

At-Home Care Startup Heal Plans Expansion with $100M Investment from Humana

Home healthcare provider Heal is expanding with $100 million in new funding from Humana. Humana will work with Heal to expand its footprint to new markets, including Chicago, Charlotte and Houston. Heal will also use the funds to expand the services that it offers, including potentially offering physical therapy and dermatology. Heal makes medical appointments more convenient, especially for patients with chronic conditions or other potential health risks.

Announcing the RWJF Emergency Response Challenge Semi-Finalists

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and Catalyst @ Health 2.0 are excited to announce the semi-finalists for their Innovation Challenges on Emergency Response for the General Public and Emergency Response for the Health Care System.

Emergency Response for the General Public Semi-Finalists:

• Fresh EBT by Propel- A technology tool for SNAP families to address food insecurity & economic vulnerability in times of crisis.   

• CovidSMS- CovidSMS is a text message-based platform providing city-specific information and resources to help low-income communities endure COVID-19.

• Front-Line Force- A platform that connects volunteers 1:1 with front-line healthcare workers to complete tasks for them in crises.

• Binformed Covidata- Binformed is a clinically-driven comprehensive desktop + mobile infectious disease, epidemic + pandemic management tool targeting suppression and containment of diseases such as COVID-19.

• Evva Health- Hub-and-Spoke model and A.I. Community Coordinator for individual and community-level personalization of support and resource coordination.

Emergency Response for the Health Care System Semi-Finalists:

• Qventus- Qventus is a patient flow automation solution that applies AI / ML and behavioral science to help health systems optimize resources for Covid, create effective capacity, and reduce frontline burnout.

• Path Check- Path Check provides privacy first, free, open source solutions for public health to supplement manual contact tracing, visualize hot spots, and interfaces with citizen-facing privacy first apps.

• Tiatros Inc- The first mental health and social support platform that combines clinical expertise, peer communities and scalable technology to advance mental wellbeing and to sustain meaningful behavioral change.

• Hikma Health- Hikma is the first affordable, lightweight, mobile, cloud-based EHR that provides dynamic data insights to physicians in refugee and under-resourced settings.

• University Hospitals Ventures- UH Innovates is a crowdsourcing platform for University Hospitals' 30k employees to generate, iterate, and implement ideas in real-time, within crisis response and beyond.

The five teams will receive $1,000 and advance to the next round of the competition. Three finalists will be chosen with the help of a panel of judges to compete in a virtual pitch (TBD). They will demo their technology virtually in front of a captivated audience of investors, provider organizations, health plans, tech companies, foundations, government officials and members of the media and compete for first, second, and third place. The winners will be awarded $25,000 for first place, $15,000 for second place, and $5,000 for third place.

Learn more about the semi-finalists for the Emergency Response for the General Public Challenge here. 

Learn more about the semi-finalists for the Emergency Response for the Health Care System Challenge here.  

RROCs: Tracking Innovative Health Tech Solutions in Response COVID-19

In collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Catalyst @ Health 2.0 is continuing to hold open calls connecting health care providers in need with health tech solutions. Rapid Response Open Calls (RROCs) are a fast way to source innovative solutions from Catalyst’s widespread network. 

If you are a healthcare provider in need of #healthtech solutions or a healthcare stakeholder looking to participate in a subsidized RROC, you can learn more and apply HERE.

Announcing: RWJF Emergency Response Innovation Challenges Semi-finalists!

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has underscored the need for efficient and innovative emergency response. Major health organizations, such as the American Hospital Association, have provided resources that can be utilized for organizational preparedness, caring for patients, and enabling the workforce during the pandemic.

As COVID-19 brought to light the lack of emergency response preparedness in the health care system, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and Catalyst saw an opportunity to highlight digital health’s potential to support health care stakeholders and the general public. RWJF and Catalyst partnered to launch two Innovation Challenges on Emergency Response for the General Public and Emergency Response for the Health Care System. 

The Emergency Response Innovation Challenges asked innovators to develop a health technology tool to support the needs of individuals as well as health care systems affected by a large-scale health crisis, such as a pandemic or natural disaster. The Challenges saw a record number of applications— nearly 125 applications were submitted to the General Public Challenge and over 130 applications were submitted to the Health Care System Challenge. 

An expert panel of judges across the health tech, venture capital, design, and emergency response industries evaluated the entries and selected five semi-finalists from each challenge to advance to the next round. Congratulations to:

Emergency Response for the General Public Semi-Finalists:

• Fresh EBT by Propel- A technology tool for SNAP families to address food insecurity & economic vulnerability in times of crisis.   

• CovidSMS- CovidSMS is a text message-based platform providing city-specific information and resources to help low-income communities endure COVID-19.

• Front-Line Force- A platform that connects volunteers 1:1 with front-line healthcare workers to complete tasks for them in crises.

• Binformed Covidata- Binformed is a clinically-driven comprehensive desktop + mobile infectious disease, epidemic + pandemic management tool targeting suppression and containment of diseases such as COVID-19.

• Evva Health- Hub-and-Spoke model and A.I. Community Coordinator for individual and community-level personalization of support and resource coordination.

Emergency Response for the Health Care System Semi-Finalists:

• Qventus- Qventus is a patient flow automation solution that applies AI / ML and behavioral science to help health systems optimize resources for Covid, create effective capacity, and reduce frontline burnout.

• Path Check- Path Check provides privacy first, free, open source solutions for public health to supplement manual contact tracing, visualize hot spots, and interfaces with citizen-facing privacy first apps.

• Tiatros Inc- The first mental health and social support platform that combines clinical expertise, peer communities and scalable technology to advance mental wellbeing and to sustain meaningful behavioral change.

• Hikma Health- Hikma is the first affordable, lightweight, mobile, cloud-based EHR that provides dynamic data insights to physicians in refugee and under-resourced settings.

• University Hospitals Ventures- UH Innovates is a crowdsourcing platform for University Hospitals' 30k employees to generate, iterate, and implement ideas in real-time, within crisis response and beyond.

The semi-finalists for the Challenges will be awarded $1,000 each to further develop their application or tool. After Phase II, three finalists from each Challenge will be chosen to compete at a virtual pitch hosted by Catalyst @ Health 2.0. They will demo their technology virtually to an audience of investors, provider organizations, health plans, tech companies, foundations, government officials and members of the media.  Judges will select the first, second, and third place winners live after a series of short demos from the finalists. The winners will be awarded $25,000 for first place, $15,000 for second place, and $5,000 for third place.

For further updates on the semi-finalists of the RWJF Emergency Response for the General Public and Emergency Response for the Health Care System Challenge and other programs, subscribe to the Catalyst @ Health 2.0 Newsletter, and follow Catalyst on  Twitter @catalyst_h20.

Disinfection Robot Targets COVID-19 & More News...

Sharecare Launches Digital COVID-19 Return-to-Work Solution for Employers

Sharecare, a health and wellness engagement platform, has launched Well-Being @ Work, a comprehensive COVID-19 readiness solution designed to assist employers and their workforces as they continue to work remotely or transition back to work. The new offering is integrated with ShareCare’s app-based digital health platform and offers COVID-19 screening, telehealth support/integration, geolocation of testing sites, daily symptom trackers and employee readiness surveying capabilities. Well-Being @ Work is now available for ShareCare’s enterprise partners.

Omron Launches UVC Disinfection Robot Targeting COVID-19 Virus

Omron, a provider of industrial automation solutions, announced the launch of a UVC-LD robot that autonomously navigates to disinfect high-touch surfaces. UVC light can break down the DNA and RNA of pathogens, effectively hindering their replication. Given the significance of sanitation and disinfection in the post COVID-19 era, the robot is predicted to yield a great value to organizations struggling to find effective, less labor-intensive and long-term solutions to ensuring the safety of their premises.

RROCs: Connecting Providers with Limited Resources to Health Tech Solutions

Are you a health care provider looking to enhance your response to COVID-19? Catalyst @ Health 2.0 is continuing to hold open calls that connect providers with urgent needs to digital health solutions. Rapid Response Open Calls can be launched within days and crowdsource scalable and intelligent health tech solutions from Catalyst’s global network to optimize care delivery. Interested in applying? Learn more HERE.

Pfizer, BioNTech Test COVID-19 Vaccine & More News...

Pfizer and BioNTech Release Preliminary Data on Covid-19 Vaccine Candidate

Drugmaker Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, have released clinical data on a potential vaccine against COVID-19. Preliminary data from a clinical trial tested the RNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b1. The results showed that participants who received the vaccine developed neutralizing antibodies against the virus. While the preliminary data is promising, the findings are currently under peer review. BNT162b1 is one of four vaccine candidates that Pfizer and BioNTech are testing.

Lenovo Unveils its Take on Remote Chronic Disease Monitoring

Lenovo, a computer hardware and technology company, has announced the launch of Lenovo Virtual Care, a remote health monitoring multi-product offering. Released in partnership with Vianova Health, a Florida-based health software company, the platform allows patients to follow their personalized care plans through Lenovo’s devices, connected biometric-monitoring tools, and an AI-based virtual assistant. The offering will hit the US market later this year.

RROCs: Tracking Digital Health Innovation in Response to COVID-19

As we continue to fight through the COVID-19 pandemic, Catalyst @ Health 2.0 is continuing to hold open calls that connect providers with urgent needs to digital health solutions. Rapid Response Open Calls can be launched within days to crowdsource scalable and intelligent health tech solutions from Catalyst’s global network.  

Are you a health care provider interested in participating in a subsidized RROC or a health care stakeholder interested in being connected with health tech solutions? Learn more and apply HERE.

AHA, Happify Health Announce Partnership & More News...

RWJF Emergency Response Challenges: 250+ Phase I Applications

Thank you to all the innovators who submitted their applications to Phase I of the RWJF Emergency Response Innovation Challenges. Applications for both Challenges are now closed. We are proud to announce a record breaking number of submissions! The Health Care System Challenge received 132 applications, while the General Public Challenge received 123 applications. The entries will now be reviewed by an expert panel of judges across the payer, provider, health tech, investment, design, and emergency preparedness industries.The review panel will help select five semi-finalists per challenge to advance to Phase II of the challenge. The semi-finalists will be announced in mid-July. 

Rapid Response Open Calls: Connecting Providers to Health Tech Solutions

During COVID-19, organizations and health systems are faced with a myriad of challenges, such as insufficient supply chain, staff and resource shortages. In these uncertain times, Catalyst @ Health 2.0 is proud to collaborate with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to offer funding for health care providers with limited resources who are seeking to leverage digital health solutions through our Rapid Response Open Calls (RROCs).

RROCs are streamlined calls for applications that connect health care providers to digital health solutions. Deployed as part of Catalyst’s Health Tech Responds to COVID-19 platform, Catalyst created the RROC to address an urgent need from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) Emergency Department for provider-facing, text based platforms to help healthcare professionals self-monitor symptoms of coronavirus, report burnout, and access helpful resources. Within one day, the Brigham and Women’s Health RROC was launched. In a 7-day application period, Catalyst received an overwhelmingly positive response with more than 80 quality submissions. BWH was able to evaluate the submissions through a streamlined process and 5 innovators were selected to demo their solutions to the BWH ED team. BWH began pursuing a potential partnership with one of the semi-finalists. 

Are you a health care provider with limited resources who is interested in participating in a subsidized RROC? Apply HERE for consideration. 

Happify Health Inks Partnership with AHA on Cardiovascular Digital Health Program

Happify Health, a behavioral health company, announced the launch of a digital metal health program with the American Heart Association (AHA). The program, Heart and Mind, aims to reduce stress and encourage healthy behaviors among people with high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Through 10 four-week programs, users are taught stress-reduction strategies, heart-healthy eating habits, and risk factors identified by the AHA. Heart and Mind is being delivered through the company's platform for employer and health plan customers.

NSF Grants Funding to Patient Privacy Solution & More News...

UT and Vanderbilt Develop Tool to Safeguard Patient Data for COVID-19 Research

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $200,000 grant to researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas and Vanderbilt University Medical Center who are developing an open-source tool for COVID-19. The software aims to address security concerns behind personal-level data use and sharing as COVID-19 research continues and contact tracing apps become more widespread. Combining location data with a person’s medical history increases the risk of being able to identify patients. The tool could flag instances where data should only be shared on a restricted basis. 

Catalyst @ Health 2.0 Launches Rapid Response Open Calls (RROCs) in Response to COVID-19 

Applications for Rapid Response Open Calls (RROCs) are still OPEN! RROCs are launched on Catalyst’s Health Tech Responds to COVID-19 platform, and aim to connect health care providers with urgent needs to the digital health community. RROCs can be streamlined within days, and have the potential to support organizations, hospitals, health systems, and more to leverage health tech solutions to maximize their response to COVID-19. 

Interested in learning more about the ways we can work together to solve your organization’s needs? Click here. 

RWJF Emergency Response for the General Public Challenge: Apps Closing Soon

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is seeking digital health tools that can support the diverse needs of individuals during an emergency situation. During an emergency situation, (e.g. pandemics and outbreaks, natural disasters or severe weather, radiation and chemical spills) the public faces a deluge of information, misinformation, and recommendations. In addition, they may lack access to vital resources like health care, medications for chronic conditions, emotional support, food, and shelter. These challenges may have potentially life-threatening implications for individuals and their communities. 

Example solutions include:

• Solutions that help consumers understand clinical guidelines/recommendations during an outbreak

• Apps that connect consumers with resources (e.g. cleaning supplies, medications, testing capability) during an emergency or disaster

• Technologies that address consumers’ physical and mental well-being during and following emergencies

How the challenge works:
In Phase I, innovators submit their tech-enabled solutions addressing the challenge topic by June 12th, 2020 11:59 PM ET. Judges will evaluate the entries based on Impact, UX/UI, Innovation/Creativity, and Scalability. The top five teams will move onto Phase II.

Do you have a health tech solution that can address the obstacles faced by the general public during an emergency? Apply today! 

$25k Grand Prize: RWJF Emergency Tech Challenges

Applications for the RWJF Emergency Response for the Health Care System and General Public Challenges close in just 4 days! The Emergency Response for the Health Care System Challenge is seeking digital tools that can support the health care system during a large-scale health crisis (pandemic, natural disaster, or other public health emergency). Examples include but are not limited to tools that can support providers, government, and public health and community organizations. The Emergency Response for the General Public Challenge is looking for health technology tools to support the needs of individuals whose lives have been affected by a large-scale health crisis.

How It Works:

●     In Phase I, innovators submit their tech-enabled solutions addressing the challenge topic. Judges will evaluate the entries based on Impact, UX/UI, Innovation/Creativity, and Scalability. The top five teams will move onto Phase II.

●     In Phase II, five semi-finalists will be awarded $1,000 each to further develop their application or tool. Three finalists will be chosen at the end of Phase II to participate in a virtual pitch and present their solutions to an audience of investors, provider organizations, and more. The grand prize winner will be awarded $25,000 for first place.

Submit your solution today to help the health care system and general public address the challenges they face during an emergency situation. Applications for both challenges are due by June 12th, 2020 11:59PM ET.

To apply to the Emergency Response for the Health Care System Challenge, click here.

To apply to the Emergency Response for the General Public Challenge, click here.

RWJF Apps Closing Soon: Apply Today!

Catalyst @ Health 2.0 and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are seeking digital solutions that can support the needs of individuals affected by a large scale health crisis. As the current COVID-19 pandemic illustrates, individuals in communities affected by large-scale emergencies must contend with multiple challenges.

The public faces a deluge of information, misinformation, and recommendations. In addition, they may lack access to vital resources like health care, medications for chronic conditions, emotional support, food, and shelter. Lack of credible, easy to understand information and resources during an emergency may have potentially life-threatening implications for individuals and their communities.

Example Solutions for General Public Challenge:

●     Solution that helps consumers understand clinical guidelines/recommendations during an outbreak

●     App that connects consumers with resources (e.g. cleaning supplies, medications, testing capability) during an emergency or disaster

Can you build a health technology tool to support the needs of individuals affected by a large-scale health crisis? Submit your solution today.

Applications for the Emergency Response for the Health Care System are due June 12th, 2020 11:59PM ET.

COVID-19 Expert Insights & More News...

Announcing: Subsidized Rapid Response Open Calls (RROC)

With support from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Catalyst @ Health 2.0 is proud to fund Rapid Response Open Calls for health care providers with limited resources to identify and source digital health innovation during COVID-19. RROCs can be launched within days and are designed to quickly connect health care providers with health tech solutions.

If you are interested in hosting a subsidized open call or learning more, click HERE!

COVID-19 Insights: Data Accessibility for Health Care Innovation

Catalyst is featuring experts in digital health, emergency response, and more. Lonnie Kurlander is the Founder and former CEO of Medal, whose mission is to enable a globally accessible and useful record of health. 

Lonnie Kurlander, Founder and former CEO of Medal, is driven by the idea that accessibility to data encourages innovation and interoperability.  She believes open-source databases and data visualization are important for combatting COVID-19 because they create data liquidity and provide access to relevant data points. Standards for health information exchange like HL7’s FHIR facilitate access to information. This can optimize care delivery across different modes such as telemedicine as well as  enhance current EHR capabilities. FHIR-based apps are now being used against COVID-19. For example, in April 2020, the CDC launched a FHIR-based application eCR Now, which automates COVID-19 electronic case reporting. It gives public health officials a more detailed and real-time view of the spread of the virus. Despite modifications to data sharing policies made earlier this year, such as the finalization of HHS’ information blocking rules, Lonnie hopes to see overarching policy changes for individual patient-level data transfer and the implementation of FHIR to improve care delivery.

Read more about Lonnie Kurlander’s insights and find more original content on Health Tech Responds to COVID-19.

Open Applications: RWJF Emergency Response for the Health Care System Challenge

According to the World Health Organization, health care providers fighting COVID-19 are at an elevated risk of exposure to hazards like pathogens and can face long working hours, psychological distress, fatigue, occupational burnout, stigma, and physical and psychological violence.

Catalyst, in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has launched the Emergency Response for the Health Care System Innovation Challenge. It is seeking digital health solutions that have the ability to address health care systems’ needs and priority areas during pandemics, natural disasters or severe weather (hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, or earthquakes), radiation, and chemical spills.

How the Challenge Works:
In Phase I, innovators submit their tech-enabled solutions addressing the challenge topic by June 12th, 2020 11:59PM ET.

Submissions will be evaluated and scored based on the following criteria:

• Impact: How well does your technology address the challenge question?

• UX/UI: How strong is the design and intuitiveness of your technology?

• Innovation/Creativity: How unique is your technology?

• Scalability: What is the solution’s potential for widespread adoption?

Example Solutions for Health Care System Challenge:

• Apps that alert nearby healthcare professionals on emergency volunteer opportunities with an integrated registration form and checklist on what is needed

• AR/VR solutions that helps train professionals on emergency protocols

• Apps that analyze medical notes/symptoms and alerts health care providers if it matches CDC’s clinical guidelines/risks assessments on ongoing outbreaks

Do you have a health tech solution that can support the health care system when faced with an emergency? Apply today!

Announcing: Subsidized Rapid Response Open Calls

In collaboration with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Catalyst @ Health 2.0 is proud to announce funding for health care providers with limited resources and urgent needs to identify and source digital health innovation during COVID-19 through our Rapid Response Open Calls (RROC). RROCs are streamlined calls for applications that connect health care providers to digital health solutions. Deployed as part of Catalyst’s Health Tech Responds to COVID-19 platform, RROCs can be launched within days to meet the host’s needs.

Catalyst created the RROC to address an urgent need from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) Emergency Department for provider-facing, text based platforms to help healthcare professionals self-monitor symptoms of coronavirus, report burnout, and access helpful resources. Within one day, the Brigham and Women’s Health RROC was launched. In a 7-day application period, Catalyst received an overwhelmingly positive response with more than 80 quality submissions. BWH was able to evaluate the submissions through a streamlined process and 5 innovators were selected to demo their solutions to the BWH ED team. BWH began pursuing a potential partnership with one of the semi-finalists. 

If you are a healthcare provider with limited resources during COVID-19 (e.g. FQHCs, community health centers, etc.), apply for a subsidized RROC HERE! 

RWJF Challenge: Health Care Emergency Tech

Catalyst @ Health 2.0, in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is seeking health technology solutions that can support the needs of the health care system (e.g. providers, government, public health and community organizations, and more) by addressing several obstacles during an emergency such as:

●     Resource Management: Shortages of equipment, staff, and cash flow

●     Health Data Exchange: Limited information and access available on patients’ health histories

●     Training and Communication: Limited training and cumbersome communication between responders and clinicians

●     Capacity: Limited beds, equipment, and resources and a need to maximize patient flow/throughput

Innovators must submit their tech-enabled solution by June 12th, 2020 at 11:59 PM ET.

Can you create a digital tool that supports the health care system during a large-scale health crisis? Apply today!

COVID-19 Fingerprint Test in Development & More News...

Rapid COVID-19 Fingerprint Test in Development

Intelligent Fingerprinting, a diagnostics firm in the UK, has partnered with Imperial College London to develop a COVID-19 fingerprint test. Built upon Intelligent Fingerprinting’s existing technology, the test collects fingerprint sweat onto a small cartridge for analysis. It is read by a portable DSR-Plus analysis unit, which provides a positive or negative result on-screen in 10 minutes. If the approach is validated, the fingerprint-based test could be used by non-medical staff in settings such as care homes and workplaces. 

Cloud-based Platform Analyzes SDoH to Support Contact Tracing Efforts

Verato, an identity services provider, has launched Verato Enrich. The platform uses their cloud-based enterprise master person index (EMPI) to make demographic and SDoH information more complete in order to facilitate COVID-19 contact tracing efforts. It can append a wide array of data ranging from basic contact information like missing phone numbers and addresses to lifestyle data like income, ethnicity, transportation options and access to resources. Access to this type of data allows public health officials to gain access to key insights to support contact tracing, a vital next step in flattening the curve of the pandemic.

Announcing the 2020 RWJF Emergency Response Challenges

Catalyst @ Health 2.0 is proud to power the RWJF Emergency Response Innovation Challenges. The Emergency Response for the Health Care System Challenge seeks digital tools that can support the health care system during a large-scale health crisis (pandemic, natural disaster, or other public health emergency). Examples include but are not limited to tools that can support providers, government, and public health and community organizations. The Emergency Response for the General Public Challenge is looking for health technology tools to support the needs of individuals whose lives have been affected by a large-scale health crisis.

During a large-scale health crisis, the health care system is at risk of reaching patient capacity and workflow bottlenecks. The public faces a lack of credible, easy to understand information and access to critical resources like food, shelter, and emotional support.

If you have a digital health solution that is in a unique position to help consumers navigate information, find needed resources, and more during these difficult times, apply today!

To apply to the Emergency Response for the Health Care System Challenge, click here.
To apply to the Emergency Response for the General Public Challenge, click here.

Announcing: 2020 RWJF Innovation Challenges

We are excited to announce the launch of two innovation challenges, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and powered by Catalyst @ Health 2.0! 

The Emergency Response for the General Public Challenge is looking for health technology tools to support the needs of individuals whose lives have been affected by a large-scale health crisis (pandemic, natural disaster, or other public health emergency). The Emergency Response for the Health Care System Challenge is seeking digital tools that can support the health care system during a large-scale health crisis. Examples include but are not limited to tools that can support providers, government, and public health and community organizations.

How It Works:

●  In Phase I, innovators submit their tech-enabled solutions addressing the challenge topic. Judges will evaluate the entries based on Impact, UX/UI, Innovation/Creativity, and Scalability. The top five teams who will move onto Phase II.

● In Phase II, five semi-finalists will be awarded $1,000 each to further develop their application or tool. Three finalists will be chosen at the end of Phase II to participate in a virtual pitch and present their solutions to an audience of investors, provider organizations, and more. The grand prize winner will be awarded $25,000 for first place.

Applications for both challenges are due by June 12th, 2020 11:59 PM ET

To learn more about the Emergency Response for the Health Care System Challenge, click here.

To learn more about the Emergency Response for the General Public Challenge, click here.

IBM Tackles COVID-19 Supply Chain & More News...

IBM Launches Blockchain Network to Mitigate Supply Shortages amidst COVID-19

IBM has launched the IBM Rapid Supplier Connect. The blockchain-based network aims to help government agencies and health care organizations identify new, non-traditional suppliers who have pivoted to address the shortage of equipment, devices, and supplies needed for COVID-19. It is free to buyers and suppliers in the U.S. and Canada until August 31st, 2020.The tech company’s response comes amidst the dire shortage of critical goods needed to protect front line workers as againstCOVID-19. Hospitals and organizations such as Northwell Health, New York’s largest healthcare provider, and The Worldwide Supply Chain Federation, are joining the network. 

Fruit Street Health Launches Telehealth Platform for COVID-19

The diabetes prevention digital health company Fruit Street Health has launched CovidMD, a risk assessment, triage, and telemedicine platform. CovidMD’s fully automated virtual care platform connects patients to healthcare providers and supports live video chat. It allows providers to share education materials, keep detailed patient data, and record session notes. CovidMD plans to integrate Conversa Health’s automated virtual care and communications platform, which will engage patients throughout the site. CovidMD also plans to expand its services to patients across the U.S.

Act Fast—Apply to GW’s COVID-19 Health Innovation Collaborative

In 10 days, applications are closing for GuideWell’s COVID-19 Health Innovation Collaborative. As a health solutions company, GuideWell is committed to helping discover and source innovative technology solutions that have the potential to alleviate some of the health care challenges people in communities face during public health emergencies. The collaborative is seeking to connect diverse innovative health technology companies across the U.S. in response to the coronavirus.

Do you have an innovative solution in response to COVID-19? GuideWell wants to hear from you! Apply here. Applications close May 8th, 2020. 

Calling Health Tech Companies: GuideWell is Seeking Solutions against COVID-19

GuideWell has launched the COVID-19 Health Innovation Collaborative to identify and support solutions that can immediately increase the scope and scale of resources aimed at reducing the complex stress factors COVID-19 is bringing to bear on the U.S. health system.

There will be five categories of focus under this collaborative, and proposed solutions must directly address at least one of these categories:

●     Home based self-testing solutions for the COVID-19 virus

●     Virtual, in-home care solutions for at-risk populations that have limited access to health care services

●     Solutions that reduce risk for health care providers in clinical settings, including approaches for increasing protection of clinical staff

●     Solutions focused on reducing social isolation due to COVID-19 diagnosis or social distancing

●     Solutions for delivering food and urgently needed supplies to at-risk populations and households with COVID-19 exposure or symptoms

The COVID-19 Collaborative’s overarching objective is to source a diverse portfolio of innovative companies that collectively have the potential to respond to the pandemic in the above categories. For each category, a cohort of 3-5 companies will be selected to work together to create a connected, high impact approach to addressing the program category.

If you are an innovator, health tech entrepreneur or researcher with a solution in response to #COVID19, apply today!

Deadline to apply: May 8th, 2020.

Mayo Clinic Launches Contact Tracing Tool & More News

Update: Catalyst’s Rapid Response Open Call for BWH Emergency Department

In response to the pandemic, Catalyst’s Health Tech Responds to COVID-19 platform is supporting the deployment of Rapid Response Open Calls (RROCs) that connect healthcare providers with immediate needs to the digital health community. Catalyst created the RROC after an emergency physician from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) Emergency Department engaged Catalyst, citing an urgent request for provider-facing, text based platforms that can help healthcare professionals self-monitor symptoms of coronavirus, report burnout, and access helpful resources. 

In a 7-day application period, Catalyst received an overwhelmingly positive response with more than 80 quality submissions. BWH was able to evaluate the submissions through a streamlined process and 5 innovators were selected to demo their solutions to the BWH ED team. We are proud to announce the following finalists:

• CAREMINDr: CAREMINDr is a remote monitoring system using cell phones. The customizable app includes programmable buttons and links phone numbers to create direct connections to care resources.

• Prime Dimensions: Prime Dimensions' Visolyr is a SMART-on-FHIR app that evaluates likelihood of burnout, monitors COVID-19 symptoms, and provides access to helpful resources. 

• Resilient ag: RestArt is a Cloud AI that monitors biometric, behavioral and user input data and measures stress levels. In addition, resilient ag collects biometric data such as body temperature for physiological signal monitoring.

• Rose: Smarter Mental Health: Rose offers a HIPAA-compliant, AI-driven health platform that uses smart, remote monitoring and patient self-help tools to improve engagement and care continuity outside in-person sessions.

• Sudo Technologies: Sudo Technologies has a text-based workflow platform that allows you to easily design and deploy workflows that collect user input and push the results to existing systems of record. 

To learn more about Catalyst-supported RROCs, or if you are interested in working together, please visit our Open Calls page. 

Mayo Clinic Develops Digital Tool for COVID-19 Contact Tracing

A team at Mayo Clinic has developed a digital tool that utilizes EHR data, non-clinical information and contact tracing resources to identify employees exposed to COVID-19. The digital toolset can identify COVID-19 exposures “within an average of two hours of a confirmed case,” identify and notify the presumed chain of exposure, and send them an email questionnaire to further determine their exposure to COVID-19. The tool is intended to support current efforts to flatten the curve, as contact tracing initiatives help map the individual and community spread of the novel coronavirus. First deployed in Minnesota, Mayo Clinic is preparing to roll out the digital tool at its Florida and Arizona campuses. 

GuideWell Launches COVID-19 Health Innovation Collaborative

GuideWell has launched the COVID-19 Health Innovation Collaborative, an initiative that seeks to connect diverse innovative health technology companies across the U.S., in response to the coronavirus. This Collaborative is focused on addressing critical risk areas facing health care professionals and staff, homebound COVID-19 patients/families, and the larger social issues arising from the social distancing mandates across the nation. 

Eligible companies must meet ONE of the following criteria:

● Earned a minimum of $1 million in 2019 revenues
● Raised a minimum of $2 million in equity capital AND can provide proof of live customer pilots with tangible results

Do you have a solution that can assist healthcare workers on the frontlines? Apply today!