This Award recognises innovative models of care, technology-led innovation and devices within healthcare settings, digital-enablement innovations and investments in infrastructure, systems, security and intelligence.
Projects in this category demonstrate excellence in health innovation by:
Procurement and Supply Change transformation inspired HealthShare NSW and eHealth NSW to create DeliverEASE. The custom-built digital tools and dashboards provide greater visibility and simplifies processes in NSW hospitals.
DeliverEASE was created with operational staff in mind. They worked with Local Health Districts, hospitals and staff to understand their needs and pain points. By developing solutions to address these issues, tasks are more efficient, giving back time for staff to focus on patient care.
HealthShare customised DeliverEASE for every wards storeroom to fit their specific workflow and storage requirements. They worked closely with staff, and provided training both in person and online.
eHealth created custom AI-supported dashboards that track information about the stock. It can calculate how much stock is in any storeroom across the entire system on a ward, hospital, district, or state level. Cost-effective information and communications technology tools was used to meet specific health staff requirements.
DeliverEASE has rolled out in more than 700 clinical areas across 28 hospitals. The project provides NSW hospitals with the knowledge and tools to control their medical consumables effectively. As a result, clinical staff can dedicate more time and support to providing high-quality patient care to people in NSW.
"Staff have visibility over the whole district which is especially great for smaller rural sites - if they run out of stock and they can't get a delivery truck out there, they can look on the dashboard if it's urgent, they can get stock from another local facility".
Electron microscopy plays a major role in diagnosing disease. However, rising costs make it less accessible and limits availability to a handful of metropolitan locations.
NSW Health Pathology's Liverpool lab assessed other electron microscopy platforms, such as the Phenom Pharos, to see if they could be modified to increase automation and be more cost-effective.
The team worked with ATA Scientific and Thermo Fisher Scientific International for this project. Together, they reimagined a low-cost benchtop electron microscope, used for engineering and geology, for use in pathology. It will be used in NSW Health Pathology Anatomical laboratories and has global commercial potential.
This new class of electron microscopy can resolve single proteins, viruses and key cellular changes in renal disease, cancer and rare diseases. This offers wide-ranging health and economic benefits for patients and the NSW Health system.
In a world-first trial, a prototype was produced and assessed by NSW Health Pathology's Liverpool lab. Results will be presented at the 20th International Microscopy Congress in September. A second prototype is being developed by Thermo Fisher in the UK to provide enhancements essential to replace existing EM technology currently in use
The Tap On Tap Off (TOTO) project has been implemented as a pilot at Prince of Wales Hospital. The project improves access, efficiency and availability of patient information for staff across clinical areas. This is achieved by replacing or converting kiosk and shared PCs to the new innovative TOTO solution.
TOTO offers fast and easy login, by staff simply tapping their staff cards to a card reader. Once tapped on, each staff member has access to their own individual and personalised desktop with all their IT applications and files readily available.
Staff can tap on to any TOTO device at Prince of Wales Hospital and their desktop will follow them. This project affects more than 10,000 staff and has replaced or converted 1,178 PCs. It is estimated that the TOTO program saves clinical staff 15-20 minutes login time per day. This time can now be given back to patient and self care.
Clinical staff are able to secure their PC by tapping off as they walk away without impacting productivity when they return. Combined with the increased backend security of the TOTO solution, the project minimises cyber security vulnerabilities with devices on the network and the risk of personal USB devices.
TOTO is a clear example of a technology-led innovation within the healthcare system. The project supports staff to perform their role more easily and efficiently, ultimately benefiting patients.
The virutalKIDS Acute Review provides audio-visual assessments for children with acute illnesses. This is a previously untapped resource in paediatric care. The project provides families in NSW with access to the right care, at the right time, and right place for their children. All from the comfort of their homes.
Children with acute illnesses receive planned audio-visual assessments and have 24/7 access to specialised paediatric care. This is achieved through a dedicated service hotline for up to 72 hours. They have created referral pathways to urgent care centers, general practitioners, supportive services, and acute review clinics. Ensuring safe options for non-urgent, non-emergency care.
Since June 2022, they have provided specialised paediatric care for 5,500 children and completed 7,500 audio-visual assessments. Compared to similar cohorts before implementing the model, they have achieved a 43% reduction in emergency department representation within 48 hours post-discharge. Parental satisfaction surveys show that 99% of parents felt well-supported, with 97.5% saying that they would use the service again. Anecdotal feedback from clinicians has been overwhelmingly positive and is currently under evaluation.
The virtualKIDS Acute Review has successfully demonstrated:
