by Tony Chen

At HIMSS today, MSFT announced that it's setting up a $3MM Be Well fund. It'll award approximately 20 proposals (of ~$150k) that "should make use of shared health data and connected home health devices to improve the potential for positive health outcomes for patients."

Of course, this probably doesn't come as a huge surprise. Microsoft is essentially accelerating their ecosystem vision (and of course, HealthVault would be central). But nonetheless, it is a strategic and smart move that brings in talent & expertise that they don't have internally.

From their press release, they are specifically looking for:

Microsoft is soliciting proposals from areas that include, but are not limited to, the following:

* TRACK 1: Primary Prevention Applications

Proposals targeting primary prevention could help people and caregivers create and maintain strategies that prevent or delay onset of disease by reinforcing healthy lifestyle factors and addressing modifiable risk factors such as hypertension and weight.

* TRACK 2: Secondary Prevention Applications

The identification of major modifiable risk factors (such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, smoking, obesity and inactivity) is a prerequisite to the implementation of preventative interventions — known as secondary prevention. Proposals in this category could help people and their caregivers measure things such as blood pressure, lipid profile components (LDL and HDL cholesterol and triglycerides), diet and nutrition, weight, smoking, and activity level to create the optimal plan to prevent or delay morbidity and acute care.

* TRACK 3: Acute Care Applications

Certain conditions require immediate diagnosis and treatment, whether at the doctor’s office or in an urgent care setting. Proposals targeting acute care scenarios might track progress, improve communication and share data between the silos in the healthcare system, providing caregivers with a longitudinal view of a patient’s health history that ultimately may lead to superior outcomes.

* TRACK 4: Juvenile Disease Management Applications

Health conditions in children often require specialized detection, diagnosis and treatment. Parents typically become eager partners in the plan of care, and seek information specifically related to their child’s condition. Proposals focusing on juvenile disease management might provide age-appropriate tools to help children, parents and caregivers understand and manage their conditions.

* TRACK 5: Women’s Health Management Applications

Women’s health issues can be complex and are often influenced by biopsychosocial and environmental factors. Proposals targeting this track might choose to create online tools or services that help manage health within the context of lifestyle and family.

* TRACK 6: Community and Social Health Applications

Patients and caregivers dealing with illness or people interested in wellness are increasingly sharing information and support with each other through various Web-based social applications. Proposals targeting this category might include applications for health in areas such as collaboration, communication and the use of social relationships to improve care.

Alright, all you wired up hospitals and health solutions start-ups, start your engines!