If you’ve spent any time in healthcare over the past year, you’ve probably felt it: the energy, the urgency, the curiosity around AI. Everywhere you look, teams are experimenting with new models, exploring new use cases and imagining what care could look like if we finally had the right data in the right place at the right time.
But there’s also a shared realization emerging across the industry that AI can’t transform healthcare unless the data behind it is trustworthy, connected and interoperable.
That’s why HL7 International launched the 2026 HL7 AI Challenge, now officially open for submissions through June 30, 2026.
Why an HL7 AI Challenge?
Last year’s inaugural Challenge showed us something powerful: when innovators build on HL7 standards, they can move faster, scale more easily and create solutions that actually work in the messy, real‑world environments where healthcare happens.
Healthcare organizations around the world are experimenting with AI, but many face the same barriers: fragmented data, inconsistent formats, and limited ability to integrate AI outputs into clinical systems. HL7’s standards are designed to address these challenges, making them a natural foundation for safe and effective AI adoption.
The HL7 AI Challenge aims to:
- Encourage innovation grounded in open, widely adopted standards
- Demonstrate how structured, interoperable data improves AI performance
- Highlight real‑world solutions that can scale across organizations and borders
The Future of AI in Healthcare Depends on Interoperability
This year, we’re inviting the global community to take that momentum even further.
Who Can Participate?
The 2026 Challenge is open to anyone exploring how HL7 standards can support responsible, scalable AI. That includes:
- Developers and engineers
- Health systems and provider organizations
- Startups and established tech companies
- Researchers and academic teams
- Students who want to test bold ideas
Whether you’re building a clinical decision support tool, a population health model, an operational intelligence dashboard, or something entirely new, we want to see how HL7 standards help make your solution possible.
A Global Stage for Innovation
Submissions are open now through June 30, 2026, and winners will be recognized during the HL7 40th Annual Plenary & Working Group Meeting this September. It’s a chance not only to showcase your work, but to connect with a global community of implementers, standards experts and digital health leaders.
And if last year taught us anything, it’s that the Challenge isn’t just a competition, it’s a catalyst. It sparks conversations, collaborations and new ideas that continue long after the awards are announced.
Ready to Participate?
You can explore the full details, submission guidelines, and timeline on the AI Challenge page:
👉 https://info.hl7.org/ai-challenge
Let’s Build the Future of AI Together
AI has enormous potential to improve care, reduce burden and strengthen health systems. But realizing that potential requires more than algorithms. It requires standards, interoperability and a community committed to doing this work responsibly.
We look forward to seeing the creativity and technical excellence that this year’s participants will bring.
