Press Release: Health Technology Forum Announces 2014 Code-a-thon Winners
Four teams awarded for creating innovative technologies to tackle mental health issues.
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) May 19, 2014
The Health Technology Forum (HTF) is pleased to announce the winners for phase one of its second annual Code-a-thon held on May 11 -12 at the University of San Francisco (USF). This year’s theme of innovation in behavioral health offered participants a high-energy environment to design new solutions in the mental health space. Nearly 19% of Americans suffer from some sort of mental illness; teams were tasked with finding creative ways to engage and empower those living with depression, anxiety or PTSD.
More than 170 people participated in the Code-a-thon events, sponsored by USF and held at USF’s McLaren Center. They were given 48 hours and a challenge: to harness the power of technology to improve health and save lives. Eleven teams of coders, entrepreneurs, researchers, and mental health professionals were tasked with designing an app to tackle a serious mental health issue, from PTSD to depression. The separate teams spent the weekend developing prototypes, and each group presented their solution before a panel of 9 judges as well as mentors and peers.
“Watching such dynamic groups of developers, health professionals and researchers applying their skills under pressure was impressive,” said HTF founder Pronoy Saha. “The Code-a-thon is a unique environment and many teams came up with extremely creative solutions for the mental health space.”
“This event was a wonderful opportunity to focus Silicon Valley tech savvy on a pervasive, yet often overlooked healthcare burden: mental and psychiatric disorders,” said USF Director and Assistant Professor of Health Informatics Bill Bosl. “These are two fields – information technology and mental healthcare – that we are attempting to bring together at USF with the emergence of collaborative programs in health informatics, data analytics, clinical psychology, and psychiatric nursing. We were pleased to host this event and hope to encourage future collaborative events among these communities.”
“We were excited to see that this Code-a-thon connected both the users and potential customers to the challenge participants,” said Sanjay Shah, senior program officer for the California HealthCare Foundation. “By having San Francisco General Hospital involved in both the judging and as an implementation site for the Code-a-thon winner, HTF is providing an opportunity to create actual impact in healthcare.”
Prizes and Winning Teams – Prizes sponsored by California HealthCare Foundation were awarded totaling $20,000.
1st Place: Only One—Conceived and developed entirely during the Code-a-thon, Only One is a fun, functioning mobile app to pre-screen adolescents for depression/anxiety.
2nd Place: Living Mentally Well—Through this app, if the user’s personal health/mental heath is in danger, his/her doctor receives automatic updates about the progression of mental health as part of the personal protector contacts initiative.
3rd Place: Happy Friends—Happy Friends is gamified emotional intelligence for autistic kids.
4th Place: Care Connect —CareConnect is a Mobile Patient Portal with engagement tools chat, audio/video messages and live conferencing.
Presenting at the HTF Innovation Conference – The Health Technology Forum (HTF) holds it’s third annual Innovation Conference in San Francisco on May 20, showcasing ideas that are transforming healthcare. “Pathways to Sustainable Health” will feature a full day of interaction and insight into the future of medicine and health.
All four winning teams will demo their work during the HTF Conference reception on May 20th at the Parc 55 Wyndham Hotel in San Francisco. One of the day’s sessions features a panel of Code-a-thon judges, mentors, and industry experts analyzing innovation in the mental health space.
HTF Innovation Conference Panels – The Conference will offer a variety of panels featuring thought leaders and expert insight.
The New Care Model – the Informed Patient
Population Health – Past, Present, Future
Scorecard on Health Insurance Exchanges
Scaling For Global Growth
Digital Solutions for Elderly Care
Gamification to Improve Childrenʼs Health
Impact of Internet of Things (IoT) on Healthcare
About the Health Technology Forum – The Health Technology Forum is dedicated to improving access to affordable healthcare by promoting the development and adoption of innovative technologies to transform health. Founded in 2010, HTF promotes the intersection of healthcare and technology by connecting people worldwide who have common interest in making healthcare better, more accessible and affordable for everyone. There are currently 13 local chapters worldwide across 3 continents.
For more information, visit https://healthtechnologyforum.com or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
For more information about the Health Technoloy Forum, please see: httsp://www.healthtechnologyforum.com/ or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
