HoyaHacks

 MedManager Team Members (left to right): William Mirabella, Patrick Farrell, and Joel Cruz (photo provided by Georgetown University) 

The 11th annual HoyaHacks 2025 brought together bright minds from across the East Coast from January 24-26 at Georgetown University’s Healy Family Student Center. The event saw 25 talented Patient Safety teams compete for a prize sponsored by the Patient Safety Technology Challenge. The winning team, MedManager, impressed the judges with their innovative approach to medication safety. Team members Joel Cruz, Patrick Farrell, and William Mirabella each received a Glorious Model D wired gaming mouse as a prize for winning the Patient Safety Technology Challenge. 

Joshua Meredith, an organizer of HoyaHacks, expressed his excitement about the collaboration with the Patient Safety Technology Challenge, saying, “Partnering with the Patient Safety Technology Challenge truly enhanced the quality of our hackathon. The students received exceptional mentorship, and it showed in the depth of their projects. These kinds of efforts highlight how hackathons can be powerful tools for driving social good.” 

Patrick Farrell, a member of the winning MedManager team, shared his enthusiasm for working on the Patient Safety Technology Challenge at HoyaHacks. “It was an amazing experience,” he said. “Hearing from guest speakers about their experiences with patient safety and working on solutions for real-world problems was incredibly insightful. Me and my team will continue to work on these challenges and remember them in our everyday lives.” 

As an EMT student, Farrell has firsthand experience with the importance of reducing medical errors and improving patient safety. He explained, “I’m always working really hard to ensure that I do what I can to reduce medical errors and patient safety lapses.” Farrell was passionate about using his computer science skills to contribute to the field of patient safety. This drive for improvement led Farrell and his team to create MedManager, a tool designed to empower patients and healthcare providers alike in managing medication safety. Farrell shared, “Our vision is to make medication safety accessible to as many people as possible,” ensuring that no one falls through the cracks when it comes to managing their health. 

MedManager allows users to track their medications, check for potential conflicts with existing prescriptions, and verify that medications match prescribed labels using AI. A standout feature is MediBot, an intelligent chatbot that provides medication guidance, answers questions, and helps users navigate the app with ease. 

One of the most valuable aspects of participating in the Patient Safety Technology Challenge at HoyaHacks was the opportunity for participants to learn from experienced professionals in the field. Throughout the event, local safety experts and patient advocates recruited by the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative shared their knowledge and real-world experiences pertaining to patient safety. This mentoring provided the teams with a deeper understanding of the challenges in healthcare and patient safety, enriching their work and making their solutions even more impactful. For Farrell, hearing from these experts further solidified his commitment to improving patient safety. “It was super insightful to hear from guest speakers about their experiences with patient safety,” he said. “Their guidance and feedback were invaluable as we worked on our solutions.” 

The MedManager team members expressed how proud they are of their innovation. “We are extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished,” said Farrell. “Our efficiency in task delegation between front-end, back-end, and model development allowed us to complete our initial objectives and then start working on extra features.” The team’s ability to effectively divide responsibilities and work collaboratively helped them bring their vision to life while also expanding their app’s capabilities beyond the initial scope. 

Looking ahead, Farrell outlined the team’s plans to expand MedManager’s reach and features. The MedManager team plans on incorporating “multi-language support to ensure that users from diverse backgrounds can benefit from the app. This inclusivity is at the core of our mission to reduce medication errors worldwide.” The team also intends to develop a Healthcare Provider Mode, which will allow doctors, nurses, and pharmacists to manage medications for multiple patients seamlessly. “This feature would enable healthcare providers to detect potential conflicts and ensure accuracy at scale,” Farrell explained. As the team continues to innovate, they are exploring partnerships with healthcare systems and integrating advanced analytics to provide proactive insights into medication-related risks.