HIMSS Middle East and Elsevier, a global information analytics company specialising in science and health, has announced the call for submissions for the 4th Annual Middle East HIMSS-Elsevier Digital Healthcare Award 2018.

Sean Roberts, vice president for HIMSS Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), said: “The award is a showcase for best practices in health and informatics.”

“The award demonstrates how rapidly transformational information and technology solutions are entering in to common use in the Middle East. We are excited to start receiving submissions,” he added.

Since 2013, the HIMSS-Elsevier Digital Healthcare Award has attracted 178 submissions across 29 countries and 99 unique organisations. In total, the projects submitted have impacted over 41 million patients worldwide, said a statement from the company.

This year's award for Outstanding ICT Achievement focuses on institutions who have harnessed information and technology to successfully advance patient care and safety. It follows the success of last year's awards, which saw strong participation from 14 healthcare organisations across the GCC, recognising two first-time winners: Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group, Saudi Arabia (Outstanding ICT Achievement category) and Ministry of Health & Prevention, UAE (Outstanding ICT Innovation category), it said.

First launched in the Middle East in 2015, the award has received 48 submissions from leading public and private organisations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Egypt and Jordan, including 2017 finalists Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi UAE, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz University Hospital KSA, Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group KSA and Ain Al Khalee Hospital UAE, it added.

Tim Hawkins, managing director for Elsevier Clinical Solutions EMEALAAP, said: "I'm honoured that we are once again partnering with HIMSS to acknowledge an increasingly prominent area of medical practice.”

“In an ever more pressurised medical environment the winning entry will demonstrate how technology delivers a tangible value to their institution,” he added.

Judges for this year's award are: Mariam Almutairi, Takween Tech, Saudi Arabia; Dr Osama ElHassan, head of eHealth, Dubai Health Authority, UAE; John Daniels, global vice president, HIMSS Analytics, US; Tim Morris, product and partnership director, Elsevier EMEALA/APAC.


The deadline for submissions is on September 17, said a statement.

Winners will be recognised on October 10, at the HIMSS Saudi Arabia Conference and Exhibition – during the main programme ceremony and at the HIMSS-Elsevier Digital Healthcare Award dinner to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service