ONC Launches Healthy New Year Video Challenge

To get the New Year off to a healthy start, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has launched the Healthy New Year Video Challenge, the first in a series of video challenges through which members of the public will get a chance to share personal stories about how they use HIT to have a positive impact on their own health or the health of a loved one. Each challenge will require the creation of a short video clip on a particular theme, and will award cash prizes to winners in several categories. Entrants won’t need highly specialized equipment—a standard video recorder or phone with a video function will work. The theme of the first challenge is using HIT to support New Year’s resolutions. Cash prizes totaling $5,000 will be distributed among the producers of the winning videos. The video contest launched January 11 and is open until February 16, 2012. Sample entries could include the following types of resolutions:

• I will set up an online personal health record for myself (or another family member) so I can have all of my health information conveniently stored in one place.
• I will ask my doctor for a copy of my own health records—electronically if available—and help him or her to identify any important information that may be missing or need to be corrected.
• I will find an online community that helps me figure out the best ways to manage my health condition (depression, cancer, diabetes, etc.).
• I will use a wireless pedometer to help me track my physical activity on a computer and remind me to increase the number of steps I take per day.
• I will find an app on my smartphone to help me track my food intake so I can lose 10 pounds by my high school reunion.
• I will sign up for a text reminder program on my cell phone to help me stop smoking or remind me to take my medications on time.
  

To make this challenge a success and make 2012 a healthier year, you can enter the contest yourself or help to spread the word about it to others using the Twitter hashtag #HealthIT4U2012. ONC’s one-stop shop for consumer information on HIT—HealthIT.gov—already features several compelling stories about how HIT has helped people and their healthcare providers save lives, beat cancer, and weather a natural disaster. The video challenges are a chance to add your story to the mix and win cash prizes. Future video challenges will include among other themes, using HIT to maintain a healthy heart, support the role of caregivers, and manage healthcare dollars and time more wisely. This challenge is one of many ways that ONC’s new Consumer e-Health Program is working to promote patient and family engagement in health through technology by improving consumer access to their electronic health information; spurring the development of tools to make that information actionable; and shifting attitudes so people feel comfortable using new tools and health information to be better partners in their own healthcare. To learn more about this challenge and others, visit http://healthynewyear.challenge.gov. All challenges will be featured on http://www.challenge.gov. The challenges will run through the summer.  
 
Source: HealthIT.gov