A Curtin University professor and champion of innovation in healthcare has been awarded the 2013 General Practice Prize for Excellence in Population Health by The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
Professor Moyez Jiwa, Chair of Health Innovation in the Faculty of Health Sciences, was awarded the prestigious accolade for demonstrating exceptional merit in promoting population health in Western Australia.
Professor Jiwa was praised for leading the way in extending the reach of general practice beyond the surgery. He was recognised for leading collaboration with the Peel Health Foundation and the Murray Medical Centre in Mandurah, resulting in the creation of the new Peel Health Innovations Institute.
The virtual institute is working with general practitioners to bring the community, experts, researchers and medical and nursing staff together, to improve healthcare outcomes in the Peel community.
Professor Jiwa said it was a great honour to be nominated for the award.
“It is very encouraging to have my Curtin team’s work to generate innovations, acknowledged by our colleagues at the RACGP,” Professor Jiwa said.
“The team are working to improve access to healthcare and to support clinicians to achieve the best possible results for all their patients. We aim to promote healthy lifestyle choices and support patients to recognise when they might benefit from medical advice.”
Other innovative projects that Professor Jiwa is working on include the Future Me app, which will enable users to predict what they will look like in the future based on what they eat and how much they exercise.
Another venture is looking at video consultations delivered via the internet that have the potential to reduce the need for in-person visits and connect doctors to patients at home in scheduled online appointments.
