Harnessing AI in Healthcare: Veterans Health—MIT Hacking Medicine Powered by Public-Private Partnership (57X)

AI is an emerging technology that is fostering groundbreaking innovations in healthcare. Technologies such as ambient recording and transcription to medical records are saving tremendous amount of time for providers and improving the patient experience. AI-generated radiology alerts are flagging urgent issues and helping providers better explain treatment options to patients. Forging public-private partnerships between government and private entities can accelerate these types of innovation, drawing on diverse experiences and resources to push boundaries in healthcare technology and to bring the right expertise to bear on operationalizing innovations. The Veterans Health—MIT Hacking Medicine hackathon, a collaborative effort among MIT Hacking Medicine, Microsoft and Veterans Health Affairs, brought together participants from 28 states: 217 innovators, scientists, doctors, nurses, engineers, researchers, UX and CX designers, and healthcare futurists that formed 41 teams to solve problems using artificial intelligence tools. The format of the event allowed nontechnical front-line employees to engage directly with artificial intelligence tools to educate the participants as well as facilitate the translation of their concepts into reality.

Hackathon events can be a pipeline of innovation for any organization. Winning ideas from the Veterans Health—MIT Hacking Medicine were selected for further development during a subsequent make-a-thon, illustrating a successful pathway from ideation to implementation.