Rewards of working together: Winning Hackathon team crowned

On Friday morning, seven teams walked into the RACGP Hackathon with a problem to solve – on Sunday, they walked out having ‘built something remarkable’.
 
That’s the view of Dr Sean Stevens, Chair of RACGP Specific Interests – Digital Health and Innovation, after an inspiring weekend watching bright ideas grow into workable plans.
 
Across the three-day event in Sydney, passionate GPs joined with clinical entrepreneurs and technology experts to brainstorm solutions to real-world general practice problems.
 
The goal was to collaborate, innovate and prototype a solution within a set timeframe, with teams hoping to catch the eye of the judging panel to take home a prize package worth $60,000, along with access to the CICALab Incubator Program.
 
Reflecting on the success of the highly-anticipated annual event, Dr Stevens said RACGP Hackathon 2026 ‘has been everything we hoped it would be – and then some’.

‘From solutions tackling neurodivergent healthcare, to AI-powered tools for clinical supervision, to entirely new approaches to information overload and coordinated care, the standard of work produced in just 72 hours was genuinely extraordinary,’ he said.
 
And while all teams impressed the judges, there could only be one winner – a title earned by Team Debrief for ‘a brilliant concept’ using AI and automation to transform case analysis, feedback and clinical supervision.
 
The team comprised Dr Hamish Graham, Dr Yasumitsu Takao, Dr Anita Manger, Dr Silvia Pfeiffer, Dr Melanie Smith and Mr Sajinthan Janahiram.
 

Team Debrief took out the win for Hackathon 2026 for its innovative GP support tool.

Taking the win to social media, New South Wales GP Dr Graham said he ‘couldn’t have asked for a better team’ at the Hackathon as they worked to resolve their general practice issue.
 
‘GPs feel most supported when there’s someone alongside them – during training and long after they’re practising independently,’ he said.
 
‘The question we set out to answer: what does good support actually look like, and can we make it scale?
 
‘That’s how Debrief was born – an AI-powered case analysis tool designed to help GPs engage in genuine reflective practice, not just tick CPD boxes.’
 
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright, who was one of the judges, said the Hackathon event was an inspiring three days showcasing ‘the amazing potential of GPs to redesign our health system with the help of IT experts and entrepreneurs’.
 
‘The winning team did an amazing job and really inspired the judges with their vision for a solution to improve the ability to provide useful AI to provide feedback on consultations, which will be helpful for all of us, may assist supervision and improve the quality of care for our patients and the quality of life for us as GPs.’
 
Dr Wright was joined on the judging panel by college Vice-President Dr Ramya Raman, HealthEngine Founder Dr Marcus Tan, and Deputy Secretary of the Federal Health Department’s Health Resourcing Group Penny Shakespeare.
 
Dr Stevens said the high quality of ideas across the board made for ‘a spectacular pitch session’ on Sunday and gave judges a genuinely difficult task.
 
‘The ideas built this weekend are just the beginning,’ he said.
 
‘The connections made, the problems reframed, the collaborations sparked – that’s where the real future of general practice takes shape.
 
‘See you at Hackathon 2027.’

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