Health technology pioneer DrFirst today announced the winners of its inaugural Healthiverse Heroes Award, honoring healthcare providers and organizations that are breaking through information silos that stand in the way of clinical collaboration and patient care. Deborah Heart and Lung Center was awarded an honorable mention for quickly pivoting to a care collaboration platform for ambulatory care visits in response to the pandemic, which was especially important for pulmonary and cardiovascular patients who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 complications.

The Healthiverse Heroes Awards recognize healthcare leaders who have made significant and meaningful achievements in uniting the Healthiverse, a term DrFirst introduced in 2020 as part of its 20-year anniversary to represent its vision for connecting healthcare providers and patients with the information they need when and where they need it.

”On behalf of Deborah Heart and Lung Center, we are excited to receive an ‘honorable mention’ as part of Dr. First’s Hospital and Health System Healthiverse Heroes Awards,” said Rich Temple, Vice President and CIO at Deborah. “These past months have challenged all of us in the provider space, and forced us to pivot abruptly to alternate business models that we could hardly have anticipated in 2019. When we were being hardest hit by the pandemic early-on, we were able to almost instantaneously spin up the Backline telehealth platform to see patients virtually, which was invaluable to our ability to provide high quality patient care during this difficult period.”

Winners were selected based on multiple criteria, including innovative use of technology, level of impact, and effectiveness in breaking down information silos to improve care collaboration, interoperability, and patient outcomes. Nominees were judged by DrFirst’s clinical team, including its chief medical officer and others with backgrounds in medicine, nursing, emergency medical services, and pharmacy.

“Forward-thinking providers and organizations have taken extraordinary measures during the pandemic to find ways to shatter barriers to clinical collaboration and ensure patients receive the best possible care,” said G. Cameron Deemer, president of DrFirst. “We’re pleased to honor these industry leaders with the Healthiverse Heroes Award, and we encourage the healthcare industry to join us in congratulating these trailblazers for their exceptional efforts and success.”