Deconstructing with Della: Fraser Health Hackathon
January 09, 2017 |
| Screenshot of Fraser Health Hackathon Challenge |
I believe healthcare is one of the most complex environments for good communication. Whether it is keeping staff up to date, guiding patients or providing timely information, it is not easy. When people are not well instructions can be confusing, community concerns can get political and misinformation from many sources abounds. It can be quite messy.
So when I saw that the Fraser Health Authority (the health authority for the Fraser Valley from Burnaby to Hope) was holding a hackathon, I took notice. With so much in the news about hacking in the negative, it was delightful to see something positive.
(Quick disclaimer: I have done work for Fraser Health but was not involved in this project in any way.)
This two-day hackathon coming up on Jan 21 & 22 is designed for some 80 participants to compete and find solutions for app, data and workflow challenges. What a novel way to get the community involved and possibly uncover some workable solutions and new ideas.
Here is an example of the challenge for Mental Health and Substance abuse:
Your challenge will be to produce an application that provides patients with screening questions they can test themselves or their family members against along with a navigation system to connect them with relevant Fraser Health mental health and addictions resources. Consider aggregating existing web-based systems on a mobile app, with translation and user-friendly intuitive interfaces, an alert system that allows patients to notify a pre-selected list of people in a support network, and the possibility of having the patient collect information through the app for medical providers that will aid in diagnosis, such as tracking of mood swing frequency and timing, dietary information or other relevant data points. Where possible, integrate best-practice self-care information that is recommended from reputable sources.
Quite the challenge. Then, they provide links to similar sites from around the world. This one included Here to Help which provides a whole bunch of self-assessments for anxiety, risky drinking, depression, wellness, etc. Fascinating and somewhat eye opening.
To deconstruct: Finding new ways to connect and spark great ideas takes some bravery, especially in government run organizations. Who knows what will come out of this hackathon but I am certain there will be some gems. Capturing the attention of creative, caring people requires this type of ingenuity.
I worked out of the Centre for Digital Media for a short stint and was invited to sit in on student projects.The excitement generated by young, bright technology whizzes to solve societal problems was inspirational. I feel the same way about Fraser Health and their hackathon. Cool approach.
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