Emeritus Interventional Radiologist Jim Reekers wins anniversary award for Brilliant Failures in Healthcare

On 20 november jl. The Brilliant Failure Awards were presented for the 10th time during a festive event at Zilveren Kruis Achmea in Leiden. Emeritus Interventional Radiologist Jim Reekers won the anniversary award for Brilliant Failures in Healthcare. Umenz, Pieter-Joep Huige's ambitious patient self-management initiative was voted the most Brilliant Failure in healthcare 2024. A Brilliant Failure is a well-prepared attempt to achieve something with a different outcome than planned. Failures are brilliant when they are learned from and the experiences are shared with others. This year, three cases from healthcare were nominated for the award. In addition, the Brilliant Failures anniversary award was presented to the 'winners of winners' of the past decade..

The special anniversary award Brilliant Failures anniversary award Care for the 'winners of winners' of the past decade has been awarded to interventional radiologist and researcher Prof.. Jim Reekers (Academic Medical Center – University of Amsterdam) the in 2014 had already received the annual jury prize.

Prof. Jim Reekers (AMC – University of Amsterdam) received the special anniversary award for his research into a less invasive and cost-effective treatment of fibroids via embolization. Despite advantages such as shorter hospital stays and maintenance of quality of life, has not been widely applied due to gynecologists' reluctance to refer patients to interventional radiologists. Reekers called his case striking: *'Past results are no guarantee for the future.'* This study was conducted in 2014 has already been awarded the jury prize of the Institute for Brilliant Failures. When receiving the gold award, Reekers said he still felt that way, so far in vain, to ensure that the women in question are more often offered embolization as an alternative.

The self-management initiative Umenz won the annual award for its innovative online tools that improve patient communication and involvement. Despite positive results and prizes, such as the KNMP Innovation Prize, widespread implementation was lacking due to financing- and system limitations. Health insurers and healthcare providers appreciated the tools, but the lack of a revenue model and focus on outcome-oriented care hindered adoption.

are convinced that the lessons learned can be incorporated into the various follow-up projects to build self-exploring patient communities and 7^{and every} edition of the Journal for Brilliant Failures that also on 20 November was presented. In addition to the cases, the magazine also contains various interviews, columns and practical tips and tools for (care)innovators.