Finalists named for BT e-Health Insider Awards

After careful deliberation finalists for five of the categories in the prestigious BT e-Health Insider Awards were chosen last week following presentations over two days to the judges.

The winners’ names remain strictly under wraps, however. The 15 finalists – three in each category – will be invited to the glittering awards ceremony in London on 7 November 2007 where all the finalists will be honoured and the winners will be announced.

The finalists and the work for which they have been shortlisted are shown below:

Healthcare Business Support ICT Team of the Year, sponsored by Olympus 

Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust

Bringing blood transfusions into 21st century with the UK’s first web-based blood tracking system.

Health Solutions Wales

Cascade Content Management, a solution offering easy-to-use web tools which enable health organisations across Wales to get online.

Birmingham East & North PCT

Using a dynamic project approach to achieve IT-enabled business change, specifically to move from a management information system environment towards a more clinically-focused system.

Primary Care ICT Team of the Year, sponsored by NHS Connecting for Health

NHS Tayside Health Informatics Team

An integrated data communications network that covers 170 physical locations based on the use of a Community Health Index (CHI) number linking individual health records across Tayside. Plus the rapid migration of GP practices to a new system in 2007.

Liverpool PCT

Electronic patient management across four walk-in centres in Liverpool, including the first specialist paediatric walk-in centre.

North Staffordshire Health Intelligence Service Programme Team

Introducing GP appointment booking via digital television.

Community and Mental Health ICT Team of the Year, sponsored by McKesson

Central Surrey Health

Using telemedicine to improve the lives of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

York Deaf Child and Family Service

Introducing video conferencing and other technologies to enhance team communications and improve access to mental health services for deaf young people and their families.

Tower Hamlets Care Community

Implementation of  the NHS London Programme for IT electronic Single Assessment Process solution in the Tower Hamlets Care Community (Acute, Mental Health, Primary Care and Social Care) with the involvement of the the Tower Hamlets Older People’s Reference Group.

Excellence in Health Information Management, sponsored by Quicksilva

Homerton University Hospital NHS Trust

A nurse-led initiative to introduce electronic surveying tools to gather patient opinion on hospital care.

Newham PCT

Using technology to assess the risk of hospitalisation for patients with long-term conditions, focus nursing resources and keep a single electronic record of care

Cyres

Software for cervical screening reporting adopted widely in England and internationally.

Acute Care ICT Team of the Year, sponsored by NHS Connecting for Health

Golden Jubilee National Hospital, Clydebank

Automated telephone monitoring of post-operative surgical patients.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust

eScript, an electronic transcribing system that speeds up processes on wards and in the pharmacy.

Countess of Chester Hospital

A broad swathe of advanced initiatives from the ICT team at a busy acute hospital.

The judges were: (chair) Dr Glyn Hayes, GP and chair of the British Computer Society Health Informatics Forum; Professor Dame June Clark, former president of the Royal College of Nursing and chair of the college’s Information in Nursing Group; Dr Mark Davies, GP and clinical director of NHS Connecting for Health; Brendan Major, director of BT Health Group; Sheila Teasdale, director of Primis Plus; and Linda Davidson, director of E-Health Insider.

Health ICT Champion of the year, sponsored by Microsoft

In the sixth category, to find the readers’ Healthcare ICT Champion of the Year, sponsored by Microsoft, polling started briskly last week with 400 votes cast so far. To view the candidates and add your vote, visit the awards website: http://www.ehealthawards.com