IT@Networking Awards

The goal: Giving the pioneers of healthcare IT the recognition they deserve and bringing their solutions to the pan-European stage. The IT @ Networking Awards 2009 was an opportunity to honour those who have designed outstanding healthcare IT solutions and also those with the foresight to implement them in their hospitals and healthcare facilities. The winning project received an unrivaled cash prize of 5000 euros, the coveted IT @ 2009 trophy and a detailed presentation in this review distributed with Europe’s leading healthcare management media.

Organised by the European Association of Healthcare IT Managers (HITM) and the European Association of Hospital Managers (EAHM), IT@ 2009 was founded on the belief that healthcare professionals who use IT solutions on a daily basis are best placed to judge the value of new projects. Therefore, instead of the usual panel of expert judges, the winning project was selected by the audience. This was made possible thanks to a oneperson= one-vote voting system. Attendees included hospital CEOs, CIOs, CMIOs, hospital and healthcare IT Managers and other healthcare workers with an interest in IT.

Out of a total of 78 submitted projects only 23 secured their place as a nominee for IT @ 2009. Nominees presented their projects during the first day MINDBYTE sessions in 10 minute presentations, explaining what differentiated their solution and why it deserved to win. Nominated solutions include national and regional projects such as healthcare information systems, PACS programmes and telemedicine initiatives; IT solutions for hospitals such as hospital information systems, electronic patient records and medical process reengineering; and specific departmental projects including decision support systems, simulators and computerized surveillance and alert systems. The audience decided on the spot if they liked the solution after each presentation.

Out of the top-level MINDBYTE presentations only five went through to the WORKBENCH finals. WORKBENCH sessions consisted of 45-minute in-depth project presentations followed by lively Q&A sessions with the audience. Voting took place after all presentations had been heard.

The Voting Criteria

All presentations were judged based on the following criteria:

1. The Importance of Technology

What technology was used and how it was integrated into the work place?

2. Benefits

>Has the project helped those it was designed to help?

>Has the project fundamentally changed how tasks are performed?

>What new advantage(s) or opportunities does the project provide?

3. Originality

>What makes the solution special?

>Are there any original features?

>Is it the first, the only, the best or the most effective application of its kind?

>Is it an improvement on existing implementations?

4. Difficulty

>What were the most important obstacles that had to be overcome?

>Were there any technical or organisational problems?

5. Success

>Has the project achieved or exceeded its goals?

>How do you see the project’s success affecting other applications, your facility or other organisations?

>How quickly would the users accept this innovation?

6. Overall impression of the project >What is your overall impressionof this project?

The Voting System

The IT @ 2009 audience used Easy - Vote, a paperless and wireless electronic voting system to express their views on every presentation. As IT@2009 was based on peer – peer voting, the Easy Vote system gave the specialist audience an opportunity to identify the IT @ Networking Awards2009 winner from the 5 finalists.