The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), a division of Department of Health and Human Services, announced winners of blockchain research challenge.

According to the official release, ONC selected 15 winners for the ‘Use of Blockchain in Health IT and Health-related Research Challenge’ from over 70 submissions from a wide range of individuals, organizations and companies. The projects addressed on various uses of blockchain technology in health and health IT in order to protect, manage and exchange electronic health information.

“We are thrilled by the incredible amount of interest in this challenge. While many know about Blockchain technology’s uses for digital currency purposes, the challenge submissions show its exciting potential for new, innovative uses in health care,” Vindell Washington, M.D., M.H.C.M., national coordinator for health IT said.

The list of selected 15 winners include papers titled ‘A Blockchain-Based Approach to Health Information Exchange Networks’; ‘Powering the Physician-Patient Relationship with HIE of One Blockchain Health IT’; ‘Blockchain: Opportunities for Health Care’; ‘Blockchain: Securing a New Health Interoperability Experience’ among others.

The selection was made purely based on factors including the papers’ proposed solutions or recommendations for market viability; creativity; ability to inform and foster transformative change. Also, potential to support a number of national health and health information objectives like advancing the flow of health information was considered for selection.

The National Health IT Week will be held on September 26, 2016, in conjunction with the two-day “Use of Blockchain for Healthcare and Research” workshop that will be co-hosted by ONC and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. During the first day of the event, the remaining submissions for the blockchain contest will be posted on the Health IT website.

Earlier in July, the US Department of HHS announced that it is seeking paper submissions on the potential uses of the distributed ledger technology in the healthcare industry.