The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) has brought together GPs, tech experts and entrepreneurs to brainstorm new ideas for the future of general practice care.
RACGP Hackathon 2025 featured more than 100 attendees coming together for a weekend of intense problem-solving, collaborative teamwork and creative thinking. The three-day event, held at the Microsoft Reactor in Sydney on Gadigal Country, gave participants the opportunity to share expertise and experience, build new connections and devise practical and innovative prototypes while also improving or refining their pitch and presentation skills.
RACGP President, Dr Michael Wright, who featured on the judging panel alongside Vice President, Dr Ramya Raman, as well as HealthEngine founder, Dr Marcus Tan, and Health Direct chief medical officer, Dr Nirvana Lucraj, described the event as a resounding success.
"Hackathon shows that the sky is limit when it comes to innovation in general practice care," he said.
"The format got the best out of everyone. Attendees were divided into six teams, with each team comprising three or four GPs, a tech expert, and an entrepreneur. This diverse mix enabled everyone to tackle the event's key challenge – finding cohesive solutions that effectively bridge the gaps between clinical excellence, practice efficiency and business sustainability.
"I'm glad to report many inventive and novel ideas were presented to the panel. The winner was the 'G'Day Health' team. Their app for real-time tracking of appointment times to improve communication with patients and ease the pressure on clinic staff was rewarded with a cash prize donated from the Koh family trust, as well as three places in the CICALab Incubator Program, and access to a three-month Microsoft Mentoring Program. It was fantastic and refreshing to leave a weekend conference with a big smile and a renewed sense of optimism about the value of GPs and our potential in improving and leading our future health system. Thank you to all those who took part."
RACGP Specific Interests Digital Health Chair, Dr Sean Stevens, said that there was a strong focus on helping founders on the steps needed to innovate.
"Hackathon had a strong focus on how to turn lofty ideas into practical outcomes benefiting GPs, practice teams, and the patients they care for," he said.
"'We support them in understanding how to build a business, develop the technology, get funding, get the product to market and how to build that whole ecosystem around the founder.
"It will hopefully leave a lasting impact for all those who took part. There are people that can help you solve the problems that we all face in general practice. Coming together and networking at these events is part of it. Because it's not just what you do in the three days here – it's what you do afterwards. It's when you confront another problem in six months, 12 months or even three years, and you think, 'I remember speaking to someone about this – let's reconnect'."
RACGP CEO Georgina van de Water also welcomed the support from industry leaders in technology and healthcare at the event.
"The commitment of everyone who was there, including the partners and participants, is heartening. It's an honour to have the support of all those people,' she said.
