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Sprints

Learn about sprints and how we tackle national challenges.

Sprints are 12-week product development cycles that bring together tech teams and collaborators to build public-facing digital products using open data.

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Diagnostic Data Exchange (FDA)

A small, 5-pointed yellow star 2023

Over the past three years, it has become clear that health affects everything from our families and communities to the global economy, education, and more. The COVID-19 pandemic response introduced critical health innovations and laid out a path for future innovations in diagnostic testing, telemedicine, patient education, data standards, and health technology. In spite of these advances, many challenges remain, and a great deal of work needs to be done in order to ensure that our communities – and the entire healthcare ecosystem – are empowered with data and technology to be as effective as possible in the face of health threats. This TOP sprint, led by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in collaboration with the U.S. Census Bureau, aims to tackle four challenges that center on improving the quality and utility of diagnostic data – from tests used anywhere – to improve health. Through the development of digital products and tools, teams in this sprint will strengthen the healthcare ecosystem’s ability to ensure the best possible care for patients and communities.

Problem Statement

Empowering Consumers (Patients) Through Knowledge of Privacy and Security Regarding Their Health Data

Challenge:

New modes of testing and care delivery rely in part on patients to input and share health data to provide a complete picture to those using population-level data. Yet patients may have questions and concerns regarding the safety, security, and utility of sharing their health information. We challenge sprint teams to create tools and digital resources that increase clarity, transparency, and autonomy regarding health privacy and security in order to empower patients to understand, own, use, and voluntarily share diagnostic data with greater confidence.

Agency

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Target Audience

Patients/consumers; health and patient advocacy organizations; healthcare providers; consumer protection organizations.

Problem Statement

Capturing Harmonized Data from In Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs)

Challenge:

In vitro diagnostic (IVD) tests, such as SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 tests, are critical data sources for the healthcare ecosystem. But with the advent of new at-anywhere and non-lab based tests, capturing data these tests generate requires innovation and new digital technologies. We challenge teams to create tools that integrate emerging technologies, such as image capture and IoT, into IVD testing devices, to help easily capture and transmit this information, while doing so in accordance with best practice data standards.

Agency

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Target Audience

Test users (healthcare providers, caregivers, patients and the general public); test producers (test manufacturers, pharmacies); and those utilizing the resulting data (federal, state, and local public health agencies).

Problem Statement

Advancing Health Data Aggregation for Improved Patient Care

Challenge:

Create tools that help harmonize and aggregate diagnostic data with other information, such as data on chronic disease and social determinants of health (SDOH), to power analytics for individuals and populations. These tools should adopt Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standards for exchanging electronic health data across information systems to ensure that diagnostic data is fully integrated into medical records and public health systems.

Agency

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Target Audience

Community health workers; healthcare providers; academics and researchers analyzing population health and community health interventions; public health agencies.

Problem Statement

Enabling the Use of Diagnostic Testing with Telehealth Platforms

Challenge:

Create tools and leverage existing platforms and technologies to ensure that diagnostic testing and telemedicine are integrated. This will help to maximize the clinical utility of expanded access to diagnostic tests by ensuring that patients and physicians can quickly use test results to inform clinical care and treatment plans.

Agency

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Target Audience

Telehealth companies and telemedicine healthcare providers; pharmacies; healthcare delivery organizations; patients.