IrvineHacks
IrvineHacks Best Patient Safety Technology Hack winners Rithwik Garapati, Hanshal Dabbiru, Alina Sheikh, and Raviteja Tammana with Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative patient safety consultant Ariana Longley (middle).
IrvineHacks, the largest collegiate hackathon in Orange County, California, hosted by the student-run organization, Hack at UCI, was held January 26-28 on University of California Irvine’s campus. The Patient Safety Technology Challenge, with funding from Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative, sponsored the Patient Safety track which included a workshop to educate hackers about the underrepresented issue.
Meddit, the winning team, received Apple AirPod Pros for the best tech-enabled patient safety solution.
Meddit creates exclusive and anonymous spaces for hospitals’ medical communities to share their experiences around medical harm. Through Meddit, staff can be inspired to report errors rather than hide them, spreading awareness to prevent other medical workers from repeating those same mistakes. Meddit team members included UCI students Alina Sheikh, Hanshal Dabbiru, Raviteja Tammana, and Rithwik Saikrishna Garapati.
“After hearing about the Patient Safety Technology Challenge and conversating with Ariana (Longley, JHF patient safety consultant), my group and I realized we wanted to develop a product that tackled this challenge, so that we could produce our own unique creation that directly impacts this area that needs much more attention,” Tammana said.
Patient safety mentor Jerika Lam, PharmD, Chapman University associate professor of pharmacy practice shared, "I remember advising the Meddit group and thought their idea was novel to ensure a safe community for clinicians to share their mistakes without concern of retaliation and punitive actions. Hopefully, someone will adopt it for healthcare systems."
Another patient safety mentor, Moom Roosan, PharmD, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacogenomics at Chapman University remarked, “I had a great time interacting with the student teams during IrvineHacks 2024. What I enjoyed the most was how the students were genuinely passionate about solving patient safety issues and learning more about the complexities of the healthcare setting.”
The Patient Safety Technology Challenge looks forward to seeing the future of this innovation. Hear more about event by listening to a radio broadcast here.