EHI launches fifth annual awards

Entries have opened for the EHI Awards 2011 in association with BT. The awards seek to reward outstanding work in the healthcare IT sector and this year include three new categories to reflect the changing world of technology and the NHS.

This year’s awards, which will be presented at a black tie dinner at the Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden, London, on Thursday 6 October, will include presentations for the ‘the best use of social media in heatlhcare’ the ‘most promising IT for GP-led commissioning’, and ‘outstanding work in IT-enabled change in healthcare.’

The latter category is intended to complement the ‘major projects’ award introduced last year and to recognise smaller IT projects that nevertheless have a big impact on the efficiency, quality and effectiveness of business or clinical processes.

Jon Hoeksma, editor of eHealth Insider, said: “As we face a period of austerity and imminent changes to the NHS, the EHI Awards are a great way to highlight the good work happening in UK healthcare IT. Organisations should not hesitate to enter exceptional work.”

The awards are supported by BT for the fifth year in a row. David Wilson, vice president and general manager for BT Health, said: “I absolutely believe there has never been a better time for the healthcare IT industry to really make a difference and help the NHS meet its productivity and efficiency challenges.

“BT is proud to be the principal sponsor of EHI Awards which plays an important role in supporting innovation within the health service.”

The judging panel will be headed by Christine Connelly, director general for informatics at the Department of Health, for the second year.

Connelly said: “It was an uplifting experience to be involved with the EHI Awards last year, and to see the innovative ways in which IT is being used to improve healthcare services. I very much look forward to seeing how developments in 2011 have contributed to the delivery of high quality services.”

The EHI Awards 2011 in association with BT seek out and reward outstanding work within the UK healthcare IT sector. Entries are open now on the dedicated awards website, and will close on 3 June at 4pm.

This year’s awards will be presented on Thursday, 6 October at the Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden, London. For more information or to reserve a table, please visit the awards website.

To find out more about previous winners of the awards, visit our case studies showcase.