VA Announces Finalists for AI Tech Sprint to Combat Health Worker Burnout

The Department of Veterans Affairs has selected 25 finalists to advance in its AI Tech Sprint competition. The initiative focuses on developing artificial intelligence-based solutions to address the critical issue of burnout among health care workers, a key barrier to providing optimal care for veterans.

Finalists will compete across two tracks: “Ambient Dictation for Clinical Encounters” and “Community Care Document Processing.” Winning teams will share up to $1 million in total prize money, VA .gov reported.

Among the finalist companies are Abridge, Althea Health, Nuance, Abstractive Health, Palantir Technologies, Abstractive Health, Booz Allen Hamilton, DeepScribe and Wired Informatics.

The competition aims to reduce health care workers’ administrative workload, a key factor contributing to burnout, and aligns with President Joe Biden’s executive order on developing safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence.

“We’re leveraging our expertise in health care with the ingenuity of private sector,” said Undersecretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal, “We will drive real results for Veterans and improve the work environment for our employees.”

The VA’s tech sprint, initiated in October 2023, highlights the growing potential of AI to streamline health care processes, reduce tedious tasks and enhance patient care. 

On March 21, join the Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual AI Summit, where federal leaders and industry experts converge to explore the transformative power of artificial intelligence.