ONC Launches Contest to Develop Application for the Disabled

The Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT (ONC) is launching another cash contest to spur innovation in health IT. In this competition, ONC is challenging software development teams to create an app that makes it easy for disabled people to access the data in electronic health records.

ONC official Wil Yu announced the competition on the HealthITBuzz blog.

"Health information technology and EHRs hold great promise in improving the health outcomes and coordination of care for people with disabilities," Yu said. "The accessibility and usability of health IT is a matter of serious concern to people with a wide range of disabilities, including those who have vision, hearing, intellectual, manual dexterity, mental health, developmental and other types of disabilities."