Cork University Hospital & Open Medical Winners at Irish Healthcare Awards 2025
Open Medical has been awarded the Best Use of Digital Health & IT with Cork University Hospital (CUH) at the Irish Healthcare Awards 2025.
The Irish Healthcare Awards celebrates individuals, teams and organisations that are shaping the future of Irish healthcare. The 24th annual event gathered over 650 healthcare professionals in Dublin to mark the pinnacle of industry achievement and progression.
The honourable and prestigious award, recognises the digital transformation of acute orthopaedic care with the implementation of Open Medical’s Pathpoint eTrauma and Virtual Fracture Assessment Clinic (VFAC) platform, at Cork University Hospital, one of two Major Trauma Centres in Ireland.
A momentous achievement and milestone for the Cork University Hospital, optimising patient flow throughout acute trauma care with Pathpoint eTrauma & VFAC, setting a new benchmark for trauma services across Ireland.
Scoping out objectives, targets for the digital transformation
The primary objectives for the initiative was to replace fragmented, labour-intensive, legacy processes across the emergency department (ED) workflows, to manage the entire patient journey, from referral to discharge, with a sustainable, efficient digital platform.
Referrals previously were handled using paper, email, phone and excel spreadsheets - which granted an essential need to change the systems to a more efficient solution.
Working in collaboration, Open Medical & Cork University were determined to address issues head-on and to create a true framework that will create a valuable impact to increase patient safety and quality of service, increase clinical capacity and enable system-wide cost savings.
Collaborating to create meaningful solutions
In delivering the successful digital transformation for CUH, a stakeholder-led project management strategy was developed, to identify and resolve areas of improvement. This unique collaborative approach empowered the clinicians, administrators and leadership team to ensure the digital transformation reflected their hospital’s clinical pathways, operational goals and individual requirements.
Once Pathpoint eTrauma and VFAC were ready for live implementation, a robust data migration and onboarding plan was deployed, to ensure a smooth transition and ensuring continuity in patient care.
Clinical coherence and cohesion
After careful planning, comprehensive training and dedicated on-site support from the Open Medical Team, the groundwork was laid for a smooth, successful implementation for CUH.
The system now seamlessly connects CUH’s T&O department with its own ED and 6 external Local Injury Units and hospitals, solving the challenges of cross-site collaboration and improving patient access to care, particularly in rural regions.
Key benefits:
Higher proportions of cases are now performed as Planned Trauma Care day cases, improving bed utilisation and reducing patient length of stay.
High VFAC usage and discharge rates reduce the number of unnecessary fracture clinic appointments.
Reduced travel to appointments: patients that no longer required face-to-face review, were seen via VFAC, saving extra travel time, emission and costs.
The system can track the use of referral protocols - provided to the referrer in real-time on a diagnosis-specific basis to help ensure standardisation of care provided, and digital patient guidance - provided to patients directly to help aid self-supported management, particularly for discharge conditions.
Rewarding outcomes & looking ahead
This transformative chapter for Cork University Hospital was recognised by the Irish Healthcare Awards, which was expertly analysed by 30 judges, carefully reviewing all the outstanding nominees from each category.
The judges expressed: “this digital solution accelerates the patient journey for older adults, delivering measurable improvements in patient flow, compliance with national standards and cost savings in a major trauma centre."
More than just an accolade, the Best Use of Digital Health & IT award is a testament to the unwavering dedication and clinical excellence of the entire Cork University Hospital Team and Open Medical. The collaboration was able to demonstrate pushing the boundaries for transforming orthopaedic care, by harnessing digital solutions.
The celebrated victory encompasses the shared vision and mission to shape a brighter, progressive future for healthcare across Ireland.
