HX360 announces winners of inaugural challenge

HX360 announced the winners of the inaugural HX360 Innovation Challenge competition, recognizing the best-in-class digital health companies demonstrating improved patient experience in hospital and health system settings. 

The winning companies were selected from an original field of 83 entries, with the four finalists presenting their solutions live before a judging panel during the HX360 Innovation Challenge program at HIMSS15 earlier this month in Chicago. Ginger.io and WiserCare were the winners and the two other finalists were WellFrame and ClockwiseMD.

Judging was based on a number of criteria, including improved patient satisfaction, increased patient convenience and access to care, better access to health information, patient empowerment, proof of positive impact and market readiness. Technical considerations included interoperability with existing IT systems, workflow impact, superior user interface and scalability. Judges included senior health system executives, HIT executives and venture capitalists.

"Ginger.io and WiserCare presented true innovation and demonstrate how their technology solutions can improve the patient experience and add value to our healthcare system," said Roy Smythe, MD, CEO of HX360, in a release. "Our congratulations to the winning companies and the other finalists. It was an impressive field of applicants."

Ginger.io is a digital mental health solution that uses smartphones to improve behavioral healthcare. Their platform uses sensor data collected through the phone and self-reported information to identify people who may need help. People can use the app to see how their daily habits affect their mood and care teams can use a provider-facing dashboard to see which of their patients need help today, and which are on the right track.

WiserCare uses a patented intelligent agent to analyze the patient's clinical situation, quality of life preferences and treatment goals and provider personalized, quantified, evidence-based guidance on what treatments fit best. This equips patients and physicians to act as decision partners in ways other tools and approaches simply can't.

Ginger.io and WiserCare will each be given access to $75,000 in prize money and legal services that will be used to fund new pilot programs at U.S. not-for-profit health systems using the companies' products and services. Both companies will operate their pilots at healthcare systems to be identified by AVIA, the provider-led healthcare accelerator that co-founded HX360 with HIMSS.