Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Innovation
    • Innovation
    • Mobile

    UnitedHealthcare Launches Innovation Contest to Battle Chronic Illness

    Written by

    Brian T. Horowitz
    Published January 17, 2013
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      UnitedHealthcare has launched an open innovation initiative to encourage the development of products that help people live healthier lives and manage chronic conditions.

      Announced on Jan. 11 at the International Consumer Electronics Show, the “Breakthrough Health Tech Challenge” will award a $60,000 prize to the winning health care innovator.

      UnitedHealthcare is the health benefits unit of UnitedHealth Group.

      Through its crowdsourcing challenge, UnitedHealthcare aims for innovators worldwide to address the greatest challenges facing the health system. Crowdsourcing involves outsourcing a task to a large group of people.

      UnitedHealthcare is looking for ideas on how to use consumer devices such as video-game systems and mobile phones to aid people with chronic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and obesity. The innovations should be able to prevent the onset of chronic conditions, said Martin Nyman, director of innovation at UnitedHealthcare.

      “The goal of the challenge is to identify new solutions that will enhance the health of people living with chronic conditions, facilitate the prevention of these conditions and help people lead healthier lives,” Nyman told eWEEK in an email. “By engaging people from around the globe, we will be able to identify new ideas that focus on innovative solutions that contribute to improving people’s health and the overall health system.”

      Through the challenge, UnitedHealthcare is also looking for “exergaming” innovations that combine exercise and video games, said Nyman. Exergaming is a form of consumer engagement, he noted.

      UnitedHealth Group combines exercise and social challenges in its OptumizeMe mobile app. Available on Windows Phone 7, iOS and Android, OptumizeMe allows people to track their health behaviors. Through the app, they can also challenge friends to meet fitness, nutrition and lifestyle goals.

      UnitedHealthcare will accept submissions through April 8. A team of health care experts will evaluate the submissions based on “creativity, viability and the potential to improve people’s health,” Nyman said.

      “We believe this groundbreaking challenge will inspire new ideas and concepts that could serve as breakthrough solutions to improving people’s health and the health care system,” Gail Boudreaux, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, said in a statement. “By engaging people from around the globe, we will be able to identify new thinking that focuses on solutions that promote health, prevent disease and improve medical care.”

      The company has launched a number of health care challenges since mid-2012. The new challenge is geared toward the public while previous challenges focused on engaging UnitedHealth Group employees, the company reported.

      UnitedHealthcare launched the challenge because of a convergence occurring in consumer technology, Nyman said in a company video.

      The “common person” can now develop these consumer technology products in a cost-effective way and apply them to a certain application, according to Nyman.

      For the challenge, UnitedHealthcare is open to ideas from outside the health care industry, according to Boudreaux.

      “Innovative ideas can come from anywhere, including from people outside the health system,” Boudreaux said.

      After the challenge has concluded, UnitedHealthcare will draw on its industry expertise, including data analytics and clinical insight, to help market the innovations and benefit the health system, Nyman said.

      In addition to announcing the innovation challenge at CES, UnitedHealthcare also demonstrated its MyHealthcare Cost Estimator tool, which is Web-based and mobile. MyHealthCare helps users understand their health care costs for doctors and hospitals as well as compare the costs and quality of alternative treatments, the company reported.

      “It’s bringing transparency to health care, which all consumers deserve,” Dr. Reed Tuckson, executive vice president and chief medical officer at UnitedHealth Group, said in a company video at CES.

      Brian T. Horowitz
      Brian T. Horowitz
      Brian T. Horowitz is a technology and health writer as well as a copy editor. Brian has worked on the tech beat since 1996 and covered health care IT and rugged mobile computing for eWEEK since 2010. He has contributed to more than 20 publications, including Computer Shopper, Fast Company, FOXNews.com, More, NYSE Magazine, Parents, ScientificAmerican.com, USA Weekend and Womansday.com, as well as other consumer and trade publications.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×