WASHINGTON – Twenty-six health IT ideas, out of the 6,500 entered in the Veterans Health Administration/Office of Information and Technology (VHA/OIT) Innovation Competition, will be used by the VA to improve care for Veterans.

The VHA/OIT Innovation Competition was launched as an employee competition in February 2010 to solicit healthcare IT solutions that will move the VA forward in its transformation to a provider of 21st-century services for the nation's Veterans.

The 26 VHA/OIT Innovation Competition winners represent 23 VA medical centers, program offices, or regional healthcare entities from 17 states. The chosen innovations will receive funding and support for prototype development and implementation, said officials.

"At VA, we are constantly looking for new ways to improve the care we deliver," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "The employees who participated in this competition exhibited tremendous creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. Their ideas will help the department improve healthcare quality, access, and transparency in service to our nation's veterans."

The list of the 26 winning ideas are on the next page.