2023 Categories


To begin filling in the nomination form, select Enter Now below. You will be able to add more categories to your basket in the next step. Don't forget to save your entries as you go along.

Click here to view the entry guidelines.

An Duais Mhór is a unique category that cannot be entered, as the winner is chosen by the judges as the overall outstanding person, project or organisation chosen from all of the category winners.


If you are a registered charity or a current student, you will quality for a reduction to your entry costs. 

For charity discounts, see this page.

For student discounts, see this page.

Best Use of Information Technology

This award is for the innovative use of information technology in a healthcare context to improve efficiencies and deliver better patient care. It includes systems that produce savings both in terms of personnel, revenue or patient time.

€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

The judges will be looking for:

  1. A practical application that improves efficiency or care
  2. Cost savings – if applicable
  3. Time savings – if applicable
  4. Ease of use
  5. Potential Covid applications

Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Crisis Management Response of the Year

This one-off award recognises the effectiveness, ingenuity and excellence of projects or initiatives, aimed at or created or developed by healthcare management, hospital doctors, GPs, nurses, pharmacists, other healthcare professionals in response to any emergency – the Covid pandemic, the rise in Ukrainian refugees, or any natural disaster. It also covers attempts and initiatives to deal with the backlogs created by the pandemic and efforts to improve or provide care where it had been delayed or postponed – exceptional responses to crises.

€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

Submissions should demonstrate:

  • The initial idea (aim), its development (problems faced) and growth (solutions created).
  • Delivery/provision of the response.
  • Improved outcomes.
  • Improved efficiencies.
  • Cost-effective delivery.
  • Innovation: Unique features with specific measurable outcomes will also score highly.


Criteria that the judges will score against:

  • Access
  • Safety
  • Impact on local and/national healthcare structure/well-being.
  • Impact on healthcare/national structure workers (are they able to work better and in what way?)
  • Impact on healthcare/national structure including in the vulnerable patients, if any.

The judges will score based on:

  1. The overall effect achieved by the person/organisation nominated
  2. The number of patients benefitting
  3. The gain to patients – lives saved, disease limited etc
  4. The potential to repeat or copy the best practice (if relevant)
  5. Improved efficiencies/cost effectiveness

Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Educational Meeting of the Year

This award is for the best webinar/meeting of the year. Medical meetings in person have been rarer since the pandemic, and the standard in production and presentation of webinars has increased across the healthcare arena. This award is for the company, person or institution that has produced the best/most educational meeting of 2022 whether online or in-person.

€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

The judges will be looking for:

  1. A meeting that addressed key topics in the area 
  2. Brought together key thought leaders/ researchers of the subject 
  3. Presented important information that is key to the continued learning of HCPs, or education of patients 
  4. Highlighted new areas of research that may have impact upon the future of medicine or healthcare 
  5. Had learning outcomes or opportunities for network and knowledge sharing 

Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Equality Initiative of the Year

This award recognises those companies, individuals, institutions and organisations that have strived to create a more equal world by encouraging those who would not traditionally have had easy access or entry into a discipline to participate fully in it. It also may recognise initiatives that have allowed patients to live a more equal and successful life by creating circumstances allowing them to full participate in life. 

€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

The judges will be looking for:

  1. A practical application that improves efficiency or care
  2. Cost savings – if applicable
  3. Time savings – if applicable
  4. Ease of use
  5. Potential Covid applications

Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Excellence in Healthcare Management

This award is to recognise excellence in healthcare management – particularly where it shows a demonstrable patient benefit. This award covers the entire spectrum of healthcare in Ireland – from hospitals to general practice to healthcare institutions of all kinds.

‘Management’ is there for the patient. It’s there to serve and help the medical team deliver results. The key thing for this award is a benefit to patient or doctors or both.  

€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

The judges will be looking for:

  1. A practical application that improves efficiency or care
  2. Cost savings – if applicable
  3. Time savings – if applicable
  4. Ease of use
  5. Potential Covid applications

Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Hospital Project of the Year

For projects aimed at, or created/developed by, hospital doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other hospital-based healthcare professionals in a hospital setting. This is a project that may or may not involve a Covid-19 response. The winner will be a project that truly enhances the care a hospital gives and something that makes it demonstrably better than it was in terms of patient care. 

€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

The judges will be looking for:

  1. A practical application that improves efficiency or care
  2. Cost savings – if applicable
  3. Time savings – if applicable
  4. Ease of use
  5. Potential Covid applications

Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Innovation in Healthcare and Medicine

This award is to recognise an innovation in healthcare that increases efficiency in delivery, improves patient outcomes, reduces costs or procedures, or introduces a new and effective service, treatment, or system that improves patient care. Innovations in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, the recent influx of Ukrainian refugees or other ‘crises’ will also be considered where healthcare staff have innovated to provide services relating to the crisis.
€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

The judges will be looking for:

  1. A practical application that improves efficiency or care
  2. Cost savings – if applicable
  3. Time savings – if applicable
  4. Ease of use
  5. Potential Covid applications

Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Innovation in Primary Care Award

This is an award that will specifically reward innovations in Primary Care that led to better outcomes for patients, greater efficiencies in clinics, new treatments or methods that lead to better overall Primary Care - and most importantly, an innovation that can be applied generally across other practices.  

Free entry

The project will be judged on:

  • Its relevance to patients
  • Its execution and implementation
  • Its adaptability to other Primary Care Centres or GP Practices
  • The improvement in quality it brings to patients’ illnesses

Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Mental Health Initiative of the Year

This special award is a direct response to the increase in rates of mental health problems in Ireland, unfortunately expected to have further spiked amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.  This prize also flags that mental health has traditionally been stigmatised and underfunded in Ireland, while recognising efforts to combat this serious social issue. The award recognises that there is still much to understand and address in the area of the causes, prevention and treatment of mental health illness, and makes a statement about the importance of facilitating best international practice in mental healthcare. 

€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

Submissions should demonstrate: 

Entries for the Mental Health Initiative of the Year Award will demonstrate the advancement of research, treatments, awareness, policies, advocacy, scaled-up quality interventions and services for people with mental health conditions. 

Criteria that the judges will score against: 

Judges will highlight individuals, groups and companies in the Irish healthcare sector who have demonstrably improved access to and developed initiatives to improve access and quality care for mental health conditions — including substance use and neurological disorders — in order to create healthy, inclusive environments for society in support of mental well-being. 

The judges will especially seek: 

  1. People who have raised awareness of mental health issues 
  2. Organisations who have led the way in terms of policies regarding people with mental health issues 
  3. Projects and campaigns that have helped people with mental illness and promoted their full participation in society 
  4. How the project advanced the treatment and acceptance of people with mental health issues 

Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Nursing & Midwifery Project of the Year

This award for a nurse or midwife-led project recognises the effectiveness of initiatives with clearly defined results and outcomes, originated by an individual nurse or midwife or a team.

€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

The judges will make the award based on:

  1. The usefulness of the project in terms of managing patients
  2. The reduction of pain or risk during covid to patients
  3. If the project made a difference to patient care
Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Outpatient Initiative of the Year

This award recognises innovation or excellence shown in an outpatient setting, for a project aimed at improving the quality of care delivered to this category of patients. This category was especially important in terms of maintaining services to patients during the pandemic, and as we emerge from Covid-19, there are many challenges to deliver the backlog of outpatient appointments and resume services to their previous level.

€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

The judges will be looking for:

  1. An improvement in services which is specific to outpatients
  2. Keeping the service going as normally as possible during Covid-19
  3. A project that demonstrably improves patient outcomes
  4. A project that makes it easier for patients to attend, or increases attendance
Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Patient Education Project of the Year — Non-Pharmaceutical

This award normally goes to Patient Groups – who are also eligible this year – but this year is also extended to any group educating the public about illness. In this year of 2022, that’s very likely to be Covid-19, or related to backlogs created by Covid – and we are looking for the person, institution, non-pharma company or organisation that has done the most to educate the public on a disease or illness. 
€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

The judges will be looking for a campaign or an education project that: 

  1. Improved patient knowledge and understanding on a certain topic  
  2. Educated the public on vaccines – or any other aspect of public health on Covid 
  3. Dismantled the arguments of non-scientific groups who put out misinformation on Covid or other diseases 
  4. Advocated for a scientific approach to vaccines, pandemics, disease and healthcare 

Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Patient Education Project of the Year — Pharmaceutical

For projects that have been established or supported by the pharmaceutical industry, aimed at educating patients, carers and the general public.

€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

The judges will be looking for a campaign or an education project that:

  1. Improved patient knowledge and understanding on a certain topic 
  2. Educated the public on vaccines – or any other aspect of public health on Covid or other public danger or disease 
  3. Advocated for a scientific approach to vaccines, pandemics, disease and healthcare 
Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Patient Organisation/Advocacy Group of the Year

This award recognizes the work of patient organizations and their efforts to educate both the public and their own patients on issues related to their disease or condition.
€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

Submissions should demonstrate:
The need and effectiveness of the project in terms of patient or public education – especially in a time when Covid-19 has dominated headlines and made publicity for other conditions difficult.

The judges will look for:

  1. Evidence that the project has had an impact on public/patient knowledge 
  2. A demonstration of how widely the message was spread 
  3. Patient improvement achieved through the project 

Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Public Health Initiative of the Year

This award recognises the most important public health initiative of the year. There have been many initiatives to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic – and many more to try to improve the overall health of the public. This award is for the greatest achievement in public health – an initiative that has saved lives and improved public welfare.

€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

The judges will choose:

  1. A public health initiative that has had widespread appeal. 
  2. An initiative that has improved public health in a measurable way. 
  3. An initiative that has helped patients cope with Covid – whether they be covid or non-Covid patients 
  4. A measure that can be shown to have worked well.
Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Research Project/Paper of the Year

The best research by an individual or group of NCHDs, PhD students in medicine or medicine-aligned science, or undergraduate medical students. It may be in the area of translational medicine research, or aimed at quality improvement, education or training, enhancing hospital procedures or improving communication between healthcare professionals.    

€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

The judges will make the award based on:

  1. The usefulness of the project in terms of managing patients or potential contribution to medicine, either as a protocol change or in the area of translational medicine (e.g. research of new druggable targets)
  2. The reduction of risk for patients, improvement in diagnosis speed/accuracy, reduction of harmful outcomes
  3. If the project is applicable for use in either patient care or wider use in the field of medicine/pharmacy/medical science etc.
  4. The depth and level of work involved in completing the project 
  5. Its relevance for patients and medicine  
Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Workplace Wellbeing Champion

This award is for the company that takes the best care of its staff’s health, mental and physical. It is a company that is actively involved in promoting health, has programs that ensure its own staff are healthy – mentally and physically, and has a CSR program to help others in Ireland and abroad. 

€ 249.00 +VAT (23%)

The judges will be looking for:

Physical Wellness

  • Healthy lunch and snacks/Nutritional Wellbeing
  • On-site fitness centres
  • Bike to work scheme.
  • Company Sports team
  • Smoking cessation programs

Mental Wellness

  • Mindfulness courses
  • Counselling services
  • Yoga
  • Addiction counselling
  • Men’s Shed

Family & Community Wellness

  • Preschool/Creche facilities
  • Family Health Insurance
  • Community service activities
  • Volunteer opportunities

Financial Wellness

  • Pension
  • Life Insurance
  • Financial counselling

Your entry must follow our Entry Guidelines

Everyday Healthcare Hero Award

This is a new special recognition award allowing those on the frontline of Irish Healthcare nominate colleagues who they feel have gone above and beyond.

Entries can be accepted from organisations, patients, or colleagues by filling out the form here.

A selection of those nominated are profiled in upcoming editions of both Irish Medical Times and MIMS Ireland this year.
This category is now closed

Criteria that the judges will score against: 

  • The winner will be selected from the monthly entries.  
  • Nominee will be seen to go above and beyond in their day-to-day role as an Irish Healthcare professional.


Judging

  • A worthy winner will be selected from those published throughout the year