Uniting Innovators to Transform Pain Management
Why You Should Join
- Collaborate with Purpose: Form teams that blend diverse skills and perspectives to solve complex healthcare problems.
- Mentorship That Matters: Work alongside experienced clinicians, entrepreneurs, and tech leaders who will help sharpen your ideas.
- Innovate With Impact: Create realistic, scalable solutions to some of the most pressing issues in pain management today.
Our Mission, Shared With You
- Enhance Patient Lives: Drive the development of next-gen tools that improve daily living for people in pain.
- Spark Meaningful Innovation: Combine compassion and creativity to push healthcare forward.
- Build Your Network: Forge connections with pioneers and changemakers across industries.
Be the change healthcare needs. Join the hack-a-thon that’s transforming pain care from the inside out.
What is Hacking Pain?
Hacking Pain is more than a hack-a-thon; it’s a global innovation engine powered by you. Supported by PainConnect and the Center for Medical Innovation at the University of Utah Health, it’s your launchpad to develop, test, and pitch your most impactful ideas in pain management.
What You'll Do:
- Submit an idea that addresses a challenge in pain care.
- Collaborate across disciplines to build viable solutions.
- Present your work to real-world stakeholders, including patients and healthcare leaders.
The Innovation Payoff
The top team will earn top visibility, with a featured presentation at PainConnect’s Innovation Challenge, plus access to a powerful network of investors, providers, and peers.
Registration Opens December 15, 2025
2026 Focus: Health Equity in Chronic Pain Care
How Do We Meet Patients Where They Are?
This year’s theme highlights one of healthcare’s greatest needs—access. We invite you to design solutions that improve pain care access for underserved communities: Medicare/Medicaid recipients, rural populations, and differently-abled individuals. Your innovation could eliminate care gaps and change lives.
Who Should Apply?
If you want to create change, this is your call to action. Ideal candidates include:
- University Students & Researchers
- Clinicians & Therapists
- Engineers, Developers & Designers
- Entrepreneurs & Product Managers
- Patient Advocates
Whether you’re bringing a bold idea or just your passion to solve problems—Hacking Pain is for you.
Hack-a-thon Event Timeline: March 4–7, 2026
Wednesday, March 4
- Kickoff & Team Formation
- Concept Introduction
Thursday, March 5
- Team Ideation & Strategy
- Mentor & Expert Consultations
Friday, March 6
- Final Presentations
- Evening Networking Reception
Saturday, March 7
- Winning Presentation at PainConnect Innovation Challenge
Whether you’re bringing a bold idea or just your passion to solve problems—Hacking Pain is for you.
Calling All Mentors & Speakers
We’re building a diverse advisory ecosystem to support our hackers. If your expertise fits any of these areas, we want to hear from you:
- Patient Experience Advocates
- Social Workers: chronic pain, SDOH, medication access
- Rehab Experts: PTs, OTs, massage, acupuncture
- Physicians: pain management specialists
- Healthcare Founders & Operators
- Investors & Innovation Scouts
- Accessibility & UX Professionals
- Insurance/Payer Strategists
Mentorship can change the course of an idea—and a life.
This is more than an event
It’s a healthcare revolution
Let’s reimagine pain care together.