AHRQ Launches App Challenge for PRO Data Standardization

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has launched a competition to address the need for greater use of standardized patient-reported outcomes (PRO) data in clinical care and research.

The total prize pool for the challenge, called the AHRQ Step Up App Challenge, and which will be spread out over three phases, is $250,000. PRO data, according to AHRQ, are defined as any report on the status of a patient’s health condition that comes directly from the patient, without interpretation of the patient’s response by a clinician or other medical expert.

But a key challenge for providers and patients is that PRO data are not routinely collected and used in practice. One reason is that there is no standardized way to collect and integrate PRO data into health IT systems, thereby limiting the ability for clinicians to use the data or easily share these data across health systems for research or other purposes, including quality improvement, according to AHRQ officials.

As such, the AHRQ Step Up App Challenge seeks innovative technologists who can develop and present user-friendly apps capable of collecting standardized PRO data in various ambulatory settings, including primary and specialty care. The winning app will be tested in nine practice settings affiliated with MedStar Health in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

The challenge has three specific phases:

• Phase 1: Participants will submit a five-page business proposal, demonstrating the originality and feasibility of their app idea.  Up to 10 winners will be selected with a prize of up to $12,000 each.
• Phase 2: Phase one winners will develop and present an app capable of collecting standardized PRO data in various ambulatory care settings, including primary and specialty care.  First prize in this phase is up to $35,000, second prize is up to $30,000, and third prize is $25,000.
• Phase 3: The grand prize winner in phase two will collaborate with MedStar Health to test the app in nine practices.  Upon completion of a successful pilot test, the grand prize winner will be awarded up to $40,000, bringing the winning prize to as much as $87,000.

The AHRQ Step Up App Challenge seeks innovative technologists who can develop and present user-friendly apps capable of collecting standardized PRO data in various ambulatory settings, including primary and specialty care. The winning app will be tested in nine practice settings affiliated with MedStar Health in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

“While some digital tools exist to collect these data, they are not in wide use due to problems with integrating them in practice workflow, as well as patients’ discomfort with using such tools,” AHRQ Director Gopal Khanna, said in a statement. “This competition will address this issue and result in a user-friendly app that can enhance healthcare data collection and thereby improve the quality of care for all Americans.”

In partnership with AHRQ, the Office of the Secretary is providing financial support from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Trust Fund, and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) is leading stakeholder efforts to develop the technical specifications for the Step Up App Challenge.