The International Hospital Federation’s Awards – the premier, annual awards programme for hospitals and healthcare organizations worldwide – will celebrate 10 years of rewarding excellence in healthcare leadership at the 2025 edition. It will be a highlight of the programme at the IHF’s annual World Hospital Congress, which will also welcome back the i-to-i Innovation Hub for the third time, showcasing cutting-edge solutions that have successfully developed from innovation to implementation in hospital settings.

Entries will be accepted for both the IHF Awards and the i-to-i Innovation Hub showcase until 2 May 2025.

Celebrating 10 years of recognition and reward

Entries to the IHF Awards 2025 are being accepted in seven categories, recognizing excellence and outstanding achievements in leadership of hospitals and healthcare delivery. The Awards were first presented in 2015 in Chicago (USA) at the 39^th IHF World Hospital Congress. This 10^th anniversary edition of the IHF Awards will be presented at the 48^th IHF World Hospital Congress in November 2025.

Chair of the IHF Awards Committee, Dr Lawrence Lai, reflected on the importance and impact of recognizing excellence in healthcare leadership.

“As we prepare to celebrate the 10-year anniversary, I’m reminded of the inspiration behind the IHF Awards, as well as the reach and impact it has had. This global platform acknowledges and recognizes innovative or outstanding projects or programmes that are making a real impact on not only healthcare leadership, management and service delivery but also clinical quality and patient safety. The IHF amplifies the learning and sharing from these exemplary achievements to our network of hospital policy makers, leaders, managers, clinicians and stakeholders worldwide. This knowledge exchange serves as inspiration and motivation, driving new projects of excellence that further advance our health services and bring benefits to the communities which we serve.”

The seven categories being contested in the IHF Awards 2025 are:

• Dr Kwang Tae Kim Grand Hospital Award – recognizing excellence in the five dimensions of healthcare delivery: quality and safety, patient experience, cost efficiency, workforce wellbeing, and health equity and access.
• Dr Prathap C Reddy Excellence Award for Clinical Quality and Patient Safety – acknowledging excellence or outstanding achievements in advancing clinical quality.
• American Hospital Association Excellence Award for Healthcare Workers’ Wellbeing – recognizing excellence or outstanding achievements in ensuring the wellbeing of healthcare workers.
• Mastercard Award for Hospital Operational Excellence – honouring measurable success in operational outcomes and efficiencies.
• American College of Healthcare Executives Excellence Award for Leadership and Management – acknowledging excellence or outstanding achievements in leadership and management for hospitals or healthcare organizations.
• Ashikaga-Nikken Excellence Award for Low-Carbon Healthcare – recognizing excellence or outstanding achievements in promoting low-carbon healthcare initiatives.
• Seddiqi Holding Excellence Award for Social and Environmental Responsibility – acknowledging excellence or outstanding achievements in advancing social and environmental responsibility.

To find out more about the full entry criteria for each category, read about previous winners, and submit entries for 2025, visit: https://ihf-fih.org/what-we-do/ihf-awards/.

From innovation to implementation – sharing solutions

Applications to join the showcase at the i-to-i Innovation Hub 2025 are being accepted under the theme “hospital-born innovation”. Celebrating ground-breaking products, processes, or services that are revolutionizing care delivery worldwide, hospitals within the IHF membership are invited to submit innovations that address specific challenges faced by hospital leaders in healthcare settings. The shortlisted innovations will have a dedicated space at the World Hospital Congress and each will be presented at a series of Ignite Talks within the programme.

The Hub is presented in collaboration with Stanford Medicine. Priya Singh, Stanford Medicine’s Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, shared her hopes for the showcase this year:

“Working with the IHF on the Hub over the past two years has shown how healthcare can address common challenges with impactful solutions. In 2025, we’re excited to showcase hospital-born innovations that enhance both efficiency and quality in patient care. By sharing these breakthroughs at the Hub, healthcare leaders worldwide can gain insights, spark new ideas, and elevate care in their communities.”

The IHF Awards Ceremony and i-to-i Innovation Hub will be part of the programme at the 48^th World Hospital Congress taking place from 10 to 13 November 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Congress will be attended by hospital and healthcare leaders from around the globe, gathering under the theme “Global learning, local action for every patient”.