The Transforming Cancer Navigation with Open Data & APIs Challenge is designed to inspire data enthusiasts and innovators to develop cutting-edge solutions that improve the cancer patient navigation experience. Cancer patient navigation is the process of guiding patients through the healthcare system, ensuring they receive the support and services they need throughout their cancer treatment, and it remains a critical challenge, particularly in underserved communities. Existing cancer navigation apps often fail to incorporate open data or leverage APIs, resulting in significant disparities in accessibility and inclusivity, and missing a major opportunity to become more integrated and expand cancer insight through data integration. This challenge calls on solvers to leverage open datasets and APIs into innovative solutions that improve cancer patient navigation, specifically in screening for patients’ social needs, monitoring for quality, scheduling appointments, and ensuring connections to all available services. Participants are encouraged to incorporate AI-ready datasets and sync with social need APIs to address social determinants of health.
The challenge sponsors, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with AcademyHealth, invite you to play a pivotal role in transforming cancer patient navigation by contributing datasets to this groundbreaking initiative. By making your data available to solvers, you’ll help drive the creation of innovative solutions that improve patient care, reduce disparities, and empower millions navigating the complexities of cancer treatment. We’re looking for datasets that enable solvers to address social determinants of health, enhance care coordination, and integrate advanced analytics into their solutions. Examples include clinical outcomes, patient demographics, genomic insights, public health resources, or social service connections. Join us in shaping the future of cancer care; if you have relevant datasets to share, send a message to , and be part of this transformative journey.
This challenge is being launched and run in coordination with the following organizations:
Cancer patient navigation is not accessible to all, and the technology surrounding it is often developed without inclusivity and progressive advancements in mind. Recognizing this shortcoming, there is a growing effort to increase both the supply and the assessability of cancer navigation services. As part of the Cancer Moonshot program, several initiatives aimed at increasing access to patent navigation services were recently announced. These efforts include commitments from leading health insurers and oncology providers to make these services accessible to over 150 million Americans. Additionally, in 2024 Medicare began covering navigation services, further enhancing accessibility. Cancer patient navigation is a process in which Navigators, often humans supported by technology, guide patients through the complex healthcare system by screening for social needs, monitoring care quality, scheduling appointments, and connecting them to essential services.
This challenge calls on solvers to expand and enhance patient navigation, leveraging open datasets and APIs. Your challenge is to create solutions that are inclusive, user-friendly, and capable of providing comprehensive support to cancer patient Navigators, helping them perform their duties more effectively. These solutions could improve patient outcomes by reducing diagnosis-to-treatment times, ensuring treatment adherence, and addressing social determinants of health such as food, housing, and transportation needs.
Cancer patient navigation remains a critical challenge in the US, particularly in rural and underserved urban areas, where significant disparities in healthcare access and outcomes persist. The lack of integrated data makes it difficult for patients to receive coordinated and efficient care. As a result, many patients lack the guidance necessary to manage their treatment effectively.
Patient navigation aims to address these barriers by guiding individuals through the often complex healthcare system, particularly in cancer care. Navigators, usually humans assisted by technology, play a vital role in ensuring that patients receive the support they need. They are charged with four primary responsibilities:
These roles are crucial for improving patient outcomes and reducing disparities, but they are significantly enhanced when supported by comprehensive data. Data integration enables Navigators to track patients' clinical and social needs in real-time, identify gaps in care, and tailor interventions based on predictive analytics.
As part of the Cancer Moonshot initiative, commitments have been secured in addressing these issues. This initiative has secured commitments from leading health insurers and oncology providers to expand access to navigation services, benefiting over 150 million Americans. Medicare's inclusion of navigation services starting in January 2024 marks a significant step forward in making these services more widely accessible.
The evolution of cancer datasets has revolutionized our ability to understand, diagnose, and treat cancer. Over the past few decades, projects like The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program have provided comprehensive genomic, clinical, and demographic data. These datasets enable researchers and healthcare providers to better understand cancer progression, develop targeted therapies, and tailor patient care based on genetic profiles.
In this challenge, solvers are tasked with creating or enhancing cancer patient navigation apps and services by incorporating open datasets and leveraging APIs to provide a superior navigation experience. The goal is to design solutions that significantly improve the accessibility, usability, and effectiveness of patient navigation services, particularly for underserved populations.
Solutions should demonstrate how they benefit or enhance the navigation experience for Navigators, patients, or caregivers. Emphasize patient-facing features to ensure the app is user-friendly and directly benefits the patients.
Key objectives of this challenge include:
To be eligible for an award, your proposal must, at minimum:
The total prize purse is $50,000.
| 1st Prize | $22,500 | |
| 2nd Prize | $15,000 | |
| 3rd Prize | $10,000 | |
| Categorical Prizes | Categories will be determined and up to 5 $500 prizes can be awarded. Categories may include, for example “Most Innovative Solution.” | $2,500 |
The challenge sponsor reserves the right to (a) cancel, suspend, or modify the Challenge, or any part of it, for any reason, and/or (b) not award any prizes if no submissions are deemed worthy.
| Pre-registration & Data source collection | December 4, 2024 |
| Open to submissions | January 13, 2025, 9:00 AM ET |
| Submission deadline | April 3, 2025, 5:00 PM ET |
| Judging | April 4 - May 15, 2025 |
| Winners Announced | May 16, 2025 |
*During pre-registration, all timeline dates are tentative and subject to change
Section | Description | Overall Weight |
| Impact on Patient Navigation | To what extent does the solution improve the ease of navigating cancer treatment for patients? How significantly does the app reduce the time between diagnosis and treatment initiation? Does the app enhance the coordination and continuity of care for patients? How effectively does the app support patients in adhering to their treatment plans? | 30% |
| Integration of Open Data and APIs | How well does the solution integrate relevant open datasets to enhance functionality? To what extent are APIs utilized to connect with additional services and resources? How seamlessly do the open data and APIs contribute to a better navigation experience? Are the integrated data and APIs used innovatively to solve specific patient navigation problems? | 25% |
| Public Health Benefits | How does the solution address broader public health issues related to cancer care? To what extent does the app help in identifying and mitigating social determinants of health? Does the solution provide equitable access to navigation services across diverse populations? How well does the app support public health goals, such as improving overall cancer survival rates? | 20% |
| Usability and Accessibility | How user-friendly is the app for patients, Navigators, and caregivers? Does the app provide a seamless and intuitive user experience? To what extent does the solution ensure accessibility for users with different abilities and from various backgrounds? How well does the app handle real-world usability challenges in diverse healthcare settings? | 15% |
| Innovation | How original and creative is the solution in addressing patient navigation challenges? Does the app introduce new features or approaches that significantly enhance the user experience? How well does the solution leverage cutting-edge technologies, such as AI and machine learning? To what extent does the app push the boundaries of current patient navigation services? | 10% |
Participation Eligibility:
The challenge is open to all adult individuals, private teams, public teams, and collegiate teams. Teams may originate from any country. Submissions must be made in English. All challenge-related communication will be in English.
Individual competitors and teams may originate from any country, as long as United States federal sanctions do not prohibit participation (see: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/Programs.aspx).
No specific qualifications or expertise in the field of API/software development and data science is required. Prize organizers encourage outside individuals and non-expert teams to compete and propose new solutions.
To be eligible to compete, you must comply with all the terms of the challenge as defined in the Challenge-Specific Agreement
Registration and Submissions:
Submissions must be made online (only), via upload to the HeroX.com website, on or before the submission deadline set in the challenge guidelines. All uploads must be in formats specified in the submission form. No late submissions will be accepted.
This challenge allows multiple submissions per individual/team. Should you have multiple entries to submit to this challenge, they will be considered separately. While multiple entries are allowed, only one entry from the same individual or team may be chosen for a prize. You are not required to submit multiple entries.
Intellectual Property Rights:
As detailed in the Challenge-Specific Agreement, the Innovator will retain all intellectual property rights to their technology. Should the innovator win an award, the Sponsor will require the Innovator to share a license to the intellectual property contained in the Submission. This allows both the Innovator and Sponsor to independently use the intellectual property for their own use.
Consolation Prize:
In the event that none of the submissions meet the Judging Criteria, the sponsor will award up to three (3) consolation prizes of up to $500 each, to the competitor(s) that score the highest.
Awarding of the Prize:
The Individual Submitter or Team Captain is automatically designated as the Recipient of the prize monies. The Individual’s or Captain’s name must also match the Authorized Person on the receiving Bank Account. No changes are permitted to the prize Recipient after the Submission Deadline date. If you wish to change who would receive the prize monies, those changes must be completed prior to the Submission Deadline. View our Knowledge Base article here for how to change Team Captains.
Judging Panel:
The determination of the winners will be made by a group of people appointed by the sponsors of this challenge, with relevant experience in the challenge topic area.
Additional Information
