Global Gold Award for research to improve patient care

Hessah Alsalamah, a PhD student from the School of Computer Science & Informatics at Cardiff University and lecturer in the department of Information Technology at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia, was awarded for her work using workflow software to map a patient’s care path.

This innovative and ground-breaking research has beaten off international competition to win a Global Award for Excellence in Adaptive Case Management.

Hessah received her award from Dr Chris Jones, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for NHS Wales, at Velindre NHS Trust Cancer Centre which is a partner in the joint project, which aims to enhance the current electronic information system used in hospitals for cancer care, resulting in a more efficient experience for patients.

Speaking about her work, which has been referred to as the 'best in its field' by judges of the Global Award, Hessah said "The research looks at supporting team communication and care coordination required for patient-focused care. It proposes an approach which can extend the functionalities of currently used hospital information systems to satisfy the individual needs of each patient care. It is an approach which can adapt to the unique treatment journeyof patients and manage changes along its progress. The workflow system links the discrete hospital information systems electronically by virtually gathering the medical information stored for a patient on each of these systems."

This is the latest success in a long history of collaboration between the School of Computer Science & Informatics and the Clinical Information Unit at Velindre Hospital, along with industry specialists Alia Systems. Dave Morrey, Head of Clinical Information at Velindre said: "The ongoing collaboration over the last 20 years between Velindre and Cardiff University has enabled us to develop the clinical information system Canisc leading to its adoption as the all-Wales cancer information system. We now look forward to the NHS Wales Informatics Service integrating Canisc with their Welsh Clinical Portal"

Professor Alex Gray, Professor of Advanced Information Systems and supervisor of the project said: "This project has demonstrated the excellence and novelty of our research with the Velindre. It has shown that systems using workflow techniques can support cancer clinical teams providing patient-centric care by supplying relevant and timely information which informs and helps the team decide on the next treatment stage."

Co-sponsored by the Workflow Management Coalition and KM World Magazine, the prestigious Global Awards for Excellence in Adaptive Case Management recognise organisations that have excelled in developing and implementing innovative business solutions.