Happy New Year! Share a New Year's resolution to improve your health or the health of a loved one, and show how you'll use technology to accomplish your goal.

Winners announced (view all dates)

Let’s get the new year off to a healthy start! The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Healthy New Year Video Challenge (#HealthIT4U2012) invites you to create a short, compelling video (up to 2 minutes in length) sharing one New Year’s resolution for improving your health or the health of a loved one, and how you will use technology to achieve your resolution. 

We encourage you to create videos that are creative, inspiring and instructive — share a resolution that others can relate to, and demonstrate how technology will make it easier to achieve. Your resolution can be anything health related, such as quitting smoking or drinking, eating healthier, losing weight, reducing stress, or managing a chronic condition. Videos must show how you will use information technology to achieve your resolution and how you plan to maintain it. Entries could include the following kinds of resolutions (these are just examples — be creative and craft your own resolution!): 

• I will set up an online personal health record for myself (or another family member) so I can have all of my health information conveniently stored in one place.
• I will ask my doctor for a copy of my own health records — electronically if available — and help him or her to identify any important information that may be missing or need to be corrected.
• I will find an online community that helps me figure out the best ways to manage my health condition (depression, cancer, diabetes, etc.)
• I will use an electronic pedometer to help me track my physical activity and will try to take 10,000 steps per day.
• I will find an app on my smartphone to help me track my food intake so I can lose 10 pounds by my high school reunion.
• I will sign up for a text reminder program on my cell phone to help me stop smoking or remind me to take my medications on time. 

The goal of the challenge is to make 2012 a healthier year by motivating and inspiring others to use health information technology to be more engaged in improving health and increasing adoption of consumer health technology.

Note: To participate, you must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. Team members must be at least 18, but your video can include minors under 18 as long as a parent or legal guardian signs their consent forms. For details on eligibility, review the Official Rules.

1. Create an account on healthynewyear.challenge.gov or log in with an existing ChallengePost account.
2. On healthynewyear.challenge.gov, click “Accept this challenge” to register your interest in participating. This step ensures that you will receive important challenge updates.
3. Create a video and make sure it meets the following requirements (please read the Official Rules for complete requirements):
   -Your video contains ONE health-related resolution
   -Your video shows how you will use a specific technology to achieve your resolution (see the challenge description for examples of technologies and tools)
   -Your video describes how you plan to maintain/keep your New Year's resolution
   -Your video directs viewers to www.HealthIT.gov for more information
   -Your video is no longer than 2 minutes
4. Confirm that you have read and agreed to the Official Rules. Submit your video by including a link to the video on YouTube.com or Vimeo.com, a text description of your resolution and how you’ll use technology to achieve it, and a transcript of the video. Choose categories for the resolution and technology featured in your video. Upload consent forms for everyone who appears in your video, regardless of age.