The General Health Insurance Company (VZP) of the Czech Republic, is the main partner of this year’s Rakathon, the world’s largest AI hackathon focused on cancer. VZP has set three challenges for participants, each addressing a real-world issue in the Czech healthcare system.
Teams will explore ways to increase participation in mammography screening, streamline the oncology patient journey, and use data to better assess the quality of care at the end of life.
In addition to the VZP challenges, teams can choose from other assignments proposed by healthcare providers and research institutions. Rakathon will take place simultaneously in Prague, Brno and Ostrava.
“Technological innovation in medicine is advancing rapidly, but new solutions do not always reach the places where they are needed most — hospitals, doctors’ offices and patients — quickly enough. One of VZP’s priorities is to support their safe and meaningful implementation in practice. These technologies can help improve treatment, monitor the health of people with chronic conditions and identify changes that might otherwise go unnoticed during routine examinations. We are therefore creating opportunities for cooperation with universities, developers and start-ups, and want to help validate solutions that can improve patient care. Our partnership with Rakathon will enable multidisciplinary teams of developers, data specialists, researchers and other innovators to work together to find practical answers to challenges facing the Czech healthcare system,” says Ivan Duškov, CEO of VZP CR.
Rakathon will run from 16 to 18 October 2026, with events taking place simultaneously in all three cities. Following the presentation of the challenges on Friday, teams will have 24 hours to develop a solution or functional prototype. On Saturday, they will present their projects to local juries, with the best teams from Prague, Brno and Ostrava advancing to the national final in Prague on Sunday.
In Prague, the event will be hosted at Motol and Homolka University Hospital, with the Second Faculty of Medicine of Charles University and the Czech Technical University in Prague serving as academic partners. In Brno, it will take place at the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute in cooperation with the Faculty of Medicine at Masaryk University and Brno University of Technology (BUT). In Ostrava, the event will be hosted by Ostrava University Hospital, with VSB – Technical University of Ostrava as its academic partner.
All three VZP challenges will be available at each venue. Other challenges will vary by city, reflecting the specific needs of participating hospitals, research institutions and other partners. VZP experts will also mentor the teams, helping them put their proposals into the context of real-world healthcare and data use.
Three VZP challenges: prevention, the patient journey and quality of care
The first challenge, “From Invitation to Mammogram,” focuses on prevention. Teams will explore how data can help identify clients who are more likely to miss mammography screening, understand the main reasons for non-attendance and group individuals according to their needs so that targeted support can be developed. The proposed solution should also include a way to measure whether the intervention actually increases screening participation.
The second challenge, “Patient Journey Without Information Loss,” focuses on the transfer of oncology patients between regional healthcare providers and comprehensive cancer centres. Teams will propose solutions that extract key information from available medical documentation, flag missing documents and clearly identify who is responsible for the next step. The aim is to reduce unnecessary administrative work, delays and the risk of losing important information — not to replace clinical decision-making with artificial intelligence.
The third challenge, “Quality of Care at the End of Life,” addresses the sensitive issue of care for cancer patients in the final months and weeks of life. Teams will explore how health data can be used to develop transparent indicators covering factors such as the intensity of anticancer and acute care, hospital admissions, access to palliative care and the amount of time patients spend outside hospital. The aim is not to assess individual patients, doctors or specific clinical decisions, but to identify differences and unusual patterns in care at the population level that could inform further improvements.
The best ideas could move towards real-world implementation
“For us, Rakathon does not end with the announcement of the winners on Sunday. Its value lies in our ability to continue assessing the most promising proposals — whether they are clinically relevant, technically feasible and capable of delivering real benefits to patients and healthcare professionals. Further validation and potential pilot projects will show which solutions could work in real-world care,” says Antonín Hlavinka, Deputy Director of VZP CR for Health Policy and Innovation.
The team with the strongest proposal across the VZP challenges will also have the opportunity to present its idea in person to VZP CEO Ivan Duškov and discuss opportunities for further development and practical implementation.
The opening session will take place in Prague and will also be streamed to the venues in Brno and Ostrava. The event is held under the auspices of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, the Minister of Health and the Government Commissioner for Artificial Intelligence. The opening programme will also feature an address by Ivan Duškov, CEO of the Czech Health Insurance Association.
Individuals and teams of two to four people can participate in Rakathon. Registration and further information are available at rakathon.cz.
The General Health Insurance Company of the Czech Republic (VZP) is the country’s largest public health insurer, covering more than six million people. It reimburses healthcare services and maintains the country’s broadest network of contracted healthcare providers. Its mission is to ensure accessible, high-quality and safe healthcare that remains financially sustainable over the long term.
VZP also supports innovation and modern models of care, drawing on data about healthcare provision, costs and treatment outcomes to inform their development.
