Christoph Lohfert Foundation announces award winners

06.06.2017 09:40

In addition to the Lohfert Prize, awarded for the fifth time and this year going to the Swiss project "Efficiency of Smartphone Apps for Recording Symptoms and Therapy Side Effects in the Treatment of Cancer Patients" by the Swiss Tumor Institute Foundation, the Christoph Lohfert Foundation is also awarding a media prize for the first time. This goes to physician and medical journalist Dr. Werner Bartens of the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Bartens is a senior editor at the Süddeutsche Zeitung and, according to the Lohfert Foundation, "critically examines the healthcare system as an author of popular non-fiction books." "Dr. Bartens reaches many people with his articles and books. He encourages them, as patients or relatives, not to allow themselves to be patronized, but to critically question medical procedures and thus contribute to their own safety," said the foundation's managing director, Dr. Christoph Lohfert, regarding the special prize, which is endowed with 20,000 euros and will be awarded on September 20, 2017, during the Hamburg Healthcare Industry Congress.

A groundbreaking app for oncology patients

The 2017 Lohfert Prize also goes to a project aimed at improving doctor-patient communication. The project, "Efficiency of Smartphone Apps for Recording Symptoms and Therapy Side Effects in the Treatment of Cancer Patients," was initiated by Prof. Dr. Andreas Trojan of the Swiss Tumor Institute in Zurich. Regular data collection and communication between doctor and patient via an app are intended to reduce emergency room visits and increase treatment efficiency. Dr. Christoph Lohfert: "With this project, the Swiss Tumor Institute is pointing the way to the future. Many oncology patients will benefit from it. It will make their stay at home during therapy easier."„

Gallery of future-oriented problem solutions

In addition to the award-winning project, the jury of the Christoph Lohfert Foundation explicitly points to other project applications that use modern IT solutions for communication processes to prevent errors:

• „Telemedicine in the care of pediatric surgical patients – a new and high-quality tool to increase the safety of pediatric surgical patients“, University Medical Center Mainz;
• „RadioOncology 4.0: Apps and Telemedicine in Radiation Therapy“, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich;
• „Early Start App“ for the care of premature babies, University Hospital Essen, Westphalian University of Applied Sciences Gelsenkirchen, Vitabook GmbH.

The 2017 Lohfert Prize focused on the theme: "Patient Communication: Systems for Reducing Avoidable (Mis)treatments." The 2017 winner was selected from 68 applications by an independent jury of healthcare professionals. This year marks the fifth time the Lohfert Prize has been awarded.

Image source: Christoph Lohfert Foundation