Entries open for BT e-Health Insider Awards 2008

New categories in the BT e-Health Insider Awards 2008 launched today will reward excellent work by healthcare information and communications technology professionals in vital areas such as patient safety, security and wireless working.

Entries are now open to individuals and teams in seven categories:

• Healthcare IM&T Team of the Year
• Best use of IM&T to promote patient safety
• Best use of wireless healthcare
• Best use of IM&T in healthcare security
• Best use of ICT in patient and citizen involvement in healthcare
• Healthcare ICT product innovation
• Healthcare ICT Champion of the Year

Launching the awards, e-Health Insider’s editor, Jon Hoeksma, said: “The BT e-Health Insider Awards have established themselves as a major focus for recognising outstanding achievement in healthcare ICT. With an expanded list of categories this year we hope to shine the spotlight even more effectively on teams and individuals doing excellent, but often unrecognised, work in this vital area of healthcare.

“I am especially grateful to BT for agreeing to be the principal sponsor for the awards once more and to our other sponsors Cisco, NHS Connecting for Health, Emis, Fujitsu, McKesson, Microsoft and Quicksilva for their support.

“As a thank-you to entrants, e-Health Insider will be donating £2 per entry to ChildLine the free, confidential 24 hour helpline for children and young people in the UK, and send entrants a stylish, cotton carrier to replace the plastic bags we are all trying to give up.”

Sir Jonathan Michael, clinical director and deputy managing director of BT Health, said: “For the second year running, we are delighted to join with e-Health Insider in recognising the energy, commitment and achievements of individuals and teams working to improve the delivery of healthcare through information technology and management. Today, BT is the biggest supplier of IT systems and services to the NHS and we are proud to be playing our part by supplying the technology to support these professionals in delivering better care for patients.”

Details of the awards and online entry forms are at: www.ehealthawards.com

Entries are welcome now. Closing date 4 July 2008.