September 21, 2018

HHS Roundtable Discusses Innovative Visionist Opioid Prototype

After Visionist’s success at the Health & Human Services Opioid Code-a-Thon in December, our team has been committed to continuing the fight against this dangerous epidemic.

We were honored to be invited to a Roundtable event on Data Sharing Policies, Data-Driven Solutions, and the Opioid Crisis co-hosted by the HHS Office of the CTO and the nonprofit Center for Open Data Enterprise (CODE). This event brought over 70 experts from government, the private sector, nonprofits, and academia together to discuss how health data is used and shared, and how this process can be improved. Recommendations compiled from the discussions detail actionable steps for data to be used more effectively to combat the opioid crisis.

In addition to being a part of these important conversations, Visionist had the chance to present TakeBack America, our winning Code-atThon solution, as a successful example of data being used to create an innovative solution. TakeBack allows the general public to easily locate sites where they can safely dispose of leftover medication reducing opportunities for theft or abuse. Public health officials and community planners can use the tool to evaluate under-served areas and make decisions on resource allocation. Open data was an integral part of making TakeBack America a reality, and getting the chance to use it to inspire others and advocate for data sharing practices was an incredible experience.