IkHerstel app wins the ‘VGZ Zinnige Zorg Award 2021’

VGZ stated that the IkHerstel app is the most innovative health care idea in the Netherlands in 2021. A special app that provides patients with relevant information before and after their surgery and a personal recovery plan has won the Zinnige Zorg Award 2021 (Meaningful Care Award).  IkHerstel helps patients recover faster after surgery and was developed by APH researchers Judith Huirne (full professor Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Amsterdam UMC), Han Anema (full professor Public and Occupational Health at Amsterdam UMC) and Jeroen de Wilde the director of the spin-out company.

Zinnige Zorg Award 2021
The Dutch health insurer VGZ works together with health care providers to invest in innovative solutions which are better for both the patient and for the general health care. For the Zinnige Zorg Award, 14  initiatives were shortlisted from a longlist of 200. After a popular vote determined the top 5 from the shortlist, an expert jury chose the IkHerstel app as the overall winner.

By winning the VGZ Zinnige Zorg Award IkHerstel receives €10.000 for further development of the app.

The IkHerstel app
The ikHerstel app helps patients to recover up to 14 days faster after a surgery. The app provides relevant information and a personalized recovery plan, before and after the surgery. The app works like a digital personal coach and guides the patient throughout their whole carepath and a dashboard gives the patient insight into the progress of their recovery. The health care professional  can remotely monitor the progress of the recovery of the patient.

“We wanted to provide better guidance to patients before and after surgery” said an employee of the Amsterdam UMC. “Very concrete by answering questions such as ‘when can I cycle again?” or “When can I lift something again?”. By providing better information via this app, the patient is less insecure and has less pain. And he can recovery faster.

“Winning such a prize creates visibility” says De Wilde. “Hospitals are inundated with initiatives and e-health solutions. As a result, they sometimes no longer know which party to do business with and where to put their money. Such a prize helps with visibility, especially because it has been awarded by a jury of experts, chaired by the chairman of the Patient Federation and with people who have a lot of professional expertise.”

In 2020 the app also won the regional health care innovation prize (Zorg Innovatie prijs).

• More information about ikHerstel (in Dutch)
• Watch a short video about the ikHerstel app (in Dutch)