PATIENT SAFETY IS A PUZZLE.
YOU CAN HELP $OLVE IT.
The challenge inspired the next generation to solve the problem of medical error between Fall 2022 – Spring 2025.
The Patient Safety Technology Challenge was designed to fuel the engagement of students and innovators in creating solutions and envisioning transformational approaches to reduce preventable harm from medical errors. The initiative injected PATIENT SAFETY AWARDS into existing local, regional, and national competitions to support budding tech-enabled patient safety solutions. Released in 2024, the documentary The Pitch: Patient Safety’s Next Generation celebrated innovators from the Challenge and is helping to increase awareness of the patient safety crisis.
Guided by national partners experienced in safety technology and advanced healthcare analytics, the Challenge funded awards to organizers of existing events, from hackathons to start-up weekends.
THE PROBLEM
Even before the pandemic, medical errors were estimated to be the third leading cause of death in the U.S., contributing to 250,000 deaths per year and even more permanent disabilities. While traditional approaches to patient safety have resulted in short-term improvements, these “spot removals” have not yet moved the needle on reducing medical errors in the U.S.
The pandemic created another “pandemic” of medical mishaps. During COVID-19, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention observed further “substantial deterioration” in patient safety metrics. As healthcare systems diverted their attention and resources to pandemic preparedness and response, overwhelmed, exhausted, and eventually diminished frontline teams struggled to observe traditional patient safety processes.
These existing practices can be supplemented by modern tools and autonomous technologies to create environments that are wired to optimize safety. Patient safety technology solutions have never been more feasible and necessary but often are off-the-radar of innovators, and the new Patient Safety Technology Challenge is seeking to galvanize fresh approaches for integrating novel solutions.
FUNDING
The Jewish Healthcare Foundation made an initial investment of $325,000 through the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative to ignite the Patient Safety Technology Challenge. PRHI provided grants up to $10,000 to organizations that integrated patient safety into their event by offering an award to generate ideas for a technological solution to address a leading patient safety problem anywhere along the continuum of care framed around five problem categories: medications, procedural/surgical, patient care, infections and diagnostic safety.
LONG-TERM IMPACT
By engaging students and entrepreneurially minded innovators, the Patient Safety Technology Challenge aimed to build patient safety technology study, invention, and R&D into academic and entrepreneurial enterprises. Activated and aware young innovators will become the future administrative and clinical workforce, entrepreneurs, and engineers who will build safer, tech-enabled healthcare systems.
The Patient Safety Technology Challenge aimed to transform patient safety by moving beyond traditional clinical approaches and embracing consumer-driven innovations. In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, empowering individuals to take charge of their own safety can provide them with the tools, technologies, and information needed to anticipate and prevent harm in any care setting. In support of this vision, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation and the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative partnered with TEConomy Partners to produce a report examining the rapidly growing field of self-directed patient safety—where patients and families leverage digital tools to actively manage their health and reduce risks.
Advisory Partners
