Are you an innovator?

Healthcare organizations are uniquely positioned to improve the quality and delivery of healthcare through evidence-based medical innovations and smart technology solutions. The Microsoft Health Users Group 2009 Innovation Awards, now in its twelfth year, is an opportunity to showcase how your organization, and/or your customer’s organization, is using technology to enhance and transform the quality of patient care, reduce costs, streamline clinical and business processes, drive interoperability, improve productivity and workflow, and enable informed decisions.

The Microsoft Health Users Group 2009 Innovation Awards are presented annually to the healthcare organization and technology solutions partner (if applicable)—with which it has collaborated—that best demonstrates industry leadership in using technology to achieve innovation excellence in each of the following categories:

Clinical Records – Inpatient
Clinical Records – Ambulatory
HIE and Interoperability
Microsoft HealthVault™ Applications

Awards Judging

The awards committee will accept nominations from any healthcare organization* worldwide, which has developed and implemented a solution independently or worked with a technology solutions partner, as long as the solution is based on Microsoft technologies. The award emphasizes the innovative application of available software and the creation of new solutions.

*Healthcare organizations include hospitals, health systems, clinics, group practices, and public health organizations.

Entries will be judged primarily on the following three criteria:

1. The innovation represents a breakthrough from the industry’s historical approaches.
2. The innovation goes beyond incremental improvements on technologies that already exist.
3. The innovation measurably improves significant business and/or clinical processes that positively impact patient care.

Awards Benefits

• Cross-industry recognition for both the healthcare organization and technology solutions partner, as leaders in technology innovation.
• Opportunity as a finalist (three finalists in each category) to present your solution in detail to the panel of judges, which includes influential members of the media and industry analysts.
• Broad awareness for winners and finalists through a supporting news release, online content, and media interviews.
• Winners will have an option to present a track session at the Fall 2009 Microsoft Health Users Group Tech Forum.
• Winners will be awarded the coveted Microsoft Health Users Group 2009 Innovation Awards Trophy presented at the Microsoft Booth theater during the HIMSS 2009 conference.
• Winners and finalists will receive guidance from Microsoft on how to promote their ranking and will be provided an award logo that can be leveraged in marketing materials.

How to Enter

To enter and for complete entry information, visit: www.mshug.org/awards

Submission deadline is February 8th, 2009 at 5:00pm Pacific Standard Time. After this date, all entries and content will be considered final.

For more information please contact Monika Skibeness:

Phone: 425.870.4880
E-mail: v-moniks@microsoft.com

Good luck to all who enter!  See you at HIMSS 2009 in Chicago.

Bill Crounse, MD   Senior Director, Worldwide Health   Microsoft Corporation