Today, 16 March 2020, submission of entries for the International Hospital Federation (IHF) Awards 2020 has opened. The awards will be presented during the 44th IHF World Hospital Congress (WHC) to be held on 2-5 November 2020 in Barcelona, Spain.
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The IHF
Awards were first presented in 2015 in Chicago, US, at the 39th WHC,
recognising and honouring hospitals and healthcare service provider
organisations for innovation, excellence, outstanding achievements and best
practices in areas worthy of international recognition.
As of this year these include:
- Governance, leadership, management policies and practices.
- Quality service delivery in multiple areas at affordable costs.
- Culture of service to motivate healthcare professionals to excel.
- Innovations in healthcare delivery or process management.
- Quality and safety, ethical approaches and evidence-based practices in patient-centred care.
- Sustainable environment, energy conservation and green initiatives.
- Addressing inequalities in healthcare service delivery to the community.
- Advancing healthcare for emerging and developing nations.
The
awards traditionally include four categories, and
two more have been added this year.
- IHF/Dr Kwang Tae Kim Grand Award: quality and patient safety, corporate social responsibility, innovations in service delivery at affordable costs, and healthcare leadership and management practices.
- IHF/Bionexo Excellence Award for Corporate Social Responsibility: provision of quality healthcare services at affordable costs; promotion of volunteer contribution to community care; reduction of inequalities in healthcare service delivery to the community; advancing healthcare for emerging and developing nations, and so on.
- IHF/ACHE Excellence Award for Leadership and Management in Healthcare: enhancement of governance, leadership, management policies and practices; creation of and fostering a new culture of service that motivates staff to excel; effective finances and resources management; achievement of a major breakthrough in productivity improvements or innovations in healthcare delivery or process management.
- IHF/AUSTCO Excellence Award for Quality & Safety and Patient-centred care: promotion of quality and safety; patient education, engagement and empowerment enhancement; ethical approaches and evidence-based practices promotion.
The two
new categories are:
- IHF/Ashikaga-Nikken Excellence Award for Green Hospitalsrecognises outstanding performance and achievements in promoting sustainable and eco-friendly initiatives for people and the planet, including:
- promoting energy efficiency or savings, CO2 reduction, and/or use of renewable energy for a sustainable environment;
- creating a safe and secure environment against natural disasters related to climate change;
- providing an eco-friendly and comfortable environment for patients and staff by innovative or smart technologies;
- collaborating architectural design and hospital planning to achieve a green and healthy hospital;
- advocating the practice of medicine in a sustainable manner.
- IHF/Sultanate of Oman Excellence Award for Health Services During Crisis is created to honour outstanding performance and achievements of healthcare institutions, particularly hospitals, in crisis situations.
The IHF/Dr Kwang Tae Kim Grand Award is open only to IHF Full and Associate Members and their
healthcare provider members. The remaining five categories accept entries from IHF
Member and Non-Member public and private healthcare provider organisations.
According
to Dr Lawrence Lai, Awards Committee Chair, the two new categories “[give]
opportunities for more hospitals worthy of recognition to compete for honours,
especially for those which have been investing in sustainable programmes and delivering
outstanding healthcare services despite their unfavourable situation.”
In each
category, gold, silver and bronze awards are presented. More information is
available here.
Eligibility and Submission of Entries
All entries must be for activities, services, projects and/or programmes completed or substantially completed from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2019. However, those completed before 1 January 2017 but having shown significant results or achievements within the above timeframe may also be submitted. Endorsement by the CEO of the organisation or equivalent is a must in all cases.
Only
healthcare service providers (public or private) can submit entries, not consultancy
companies or vendors. Each organisation is allowed a maximum of two entries per categorywhile
for the IHF/Dr. Kwang Tae Kim Grand Award only one entry per organisation is
allowed. Submitting one project in several categories is not allowed.
It is
noted that all entries should be submitted online via the IHF Awards
online submission portal.
Source: IHF
Image credit: IHF
