The Certified Health IT Product List Data Challenge, launched this past week by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, is offering big money for new ideas about how its voluminous and detailed specs can better serve hospitals and health systems.

The CHPL is ONC’s list of every technology product that has been tested and certified under the office’s Health IT Certification Program.

It's a large and granular trove of data. With 300-plus listings for active 2015 Edition certified IT products, it comprises information detailing all the criteria to which those products have has been certified, has expansive usability testing results and lists of any nonconformities – such as ONC surveillance activities for specific technologies and any corrective action plans performed by the vendors.

"In the past, much of the testing and certification data was unstructured, making an analysis of that data difficult," said Steven Posnack, director of ONC's Office of Standards and Technology, in a blog post co-authored with colleagues. "In 2016, to allow CHPL users to have better access to the data, ONC updated the CHPL with structured data and discrete formats. For users who want greater access to the data, the CHPL has a set of application programming interfaces and downloadable XML files containing the complete data available."

Now ONC says it wants to find new ways to make that structured data work for IT decision-makers at hospitals and practices.

The new CHPL Data Challenge is calling on developers and data experts to submit new approaches to helping providers access and examining all that data. 

A total of $40,000 in prizes will be available to those who can develop new apps to make use of the data and are able to perform a live demo for ONC. Submissions are due Oct. 31, and there will be more details discussed during an Aug. 1 webinar.

Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com