The 2nd annual National Health Equity Hackathon will focus on creating data-driven solutions for the underserved healthcare population.

“It’s through enabling local organizations by making data available and open data that can truly empower health equity innovations for the poor and marginalized,” says Mona Siddiqui, MD, Chief Data Officer for the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Dr. Siddiqui will be on hand to mentor at the event.

The hackathon will take place on November 8-10 at the United Way of Greater Houston and will use 211 data from both Houston and United Way for Greater Austin, together with other open datasets such as Medicare, Medicaid, and CDC data. Combined, these datasets will offer an unprecedented view of the marginalized and underserved population and reveal areas where innovation can occur.

The hackathon is sponsored by CareSet Systems with support from the American Hospital Association, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, Harris County Health, Health Tech 4 Medicaid, Superior HealthPlan, January Advisors, Sketch City, Station Houston, the TMC Innovation Institute, Impact Hub Houston, and the Translational Research Institute for Space Health.

Using 211 data, provided by United Way, this weekend hackathon will gather multiple tech disciplines around a common goal of eliminating health disparities. Attendees will self-select to a team with diverse perspectives. Local and nationally-acclaimed mentors and database experts will be accessible throughout the event.

Examples of people that do not have equal access or quality of care include:

• low-income families and communities
• communities affected by racism, sexism, homophobia & transphobia
• people living with chronic illness
• people experiencing homelessness
• people affected by addiction, including opioid addiction disorder
• senior adults
• infants and children