Pacmed is proud to have received this recognition as the first to successfully roll out AI as a medical device across multiple hospitals using EHR data. This acknowledgment comes at an exciting time for Pacmed, marked by rapid product expansion towards a comprehensive ICU-wide AI suite. It also comes at a crucial moment for AI in healthcare, as these are the months and years in which we will define how AI shapes the future of healthcare.
-Wouter Kroese, Co-founder & CEO
Read the event summary below:
Winning the Regional Round for the 2025 Healthcare Innovation Award
For Pacmed co-founder Wouter Kroese, winning this award is a major boost for the further development of Pacmed Glance, their AI dashboard for Intensive Care Units. “Initiatives like these are extremely valuable for the Dutch healthcare system,” Kroese stated.
“The pitch event for the regional round of the 2025 Healthcare Innovation Award was inspiring for multiple reasons,” says Kroese. In Haarlem's Koepel venue, he presented Pacmed Glance the winning healthcare innovation.
The regional round for North Holland, Flevoland, and the Gooi and Vecht region is organized annually by Zorg2040 partners: Amsterdam Economic Board, ROM InWest, Sigra, Rabobank, and AmsterdamAI. The goal is to highlight regional healthcare innovations, help them connect with partners, and support scaling efforts. These innovations are crucial to ensuring healthcare remains sustainable in the future.
AI Support for Intensive Care
Pacmed has developed an integrated system that uses AI technology to transform the increasing volume of ICU data into the precise information healthcare providers need. This enables clinicians to see, at a glance, the status of the ICU and its patients. Along with his co-founders Willem Herter and Hidde Hovenkamp, Kroese planted the seeds for this innovative AI application back in 2014.
That year, the trio participated in the National Think Tank, which focused on the social value of Big Data. “This was the buzzword before Artificial Intelligence, or AI, took over,” Kroese recalls with a smile. “We were struck by the vast amount of data available in healthcare, yet there were few solutions to extract value from it. We wanted to change that in a responsible and socially valuable way.”
No AI Super Doctor
The trio deliberately chose not to create an ‘AI super doctor,’ like IBM's Watson supercomputer promised at the time. “From the start, we focused on a system that creates synergy between healthcare providers and computers,” says Kroese. “With my background in medicine and logic, combined with my teammates’ expertise, we could bridge the gap between medical care and technology.”
Building a Solid Data Foundation
Pacmed's first product offered data-driven support for GPs making treatment decisions. In the following years, Pacmed became active in nearly all healthcare sectors. The COVID-19 crisis prompted Kroese and his co-founders to focus specifically on Intensive Care units.
"In addition to the wealth of available data, ICU staff were already accustomed to working with scores and predictions,” Kroese explains. “Moreover, there is a shortage of highly trained ICU nurses. Some hospitals have had to stop their acute care services due to staff shortages. Our technology enables more patients to be treated in ICUs with fewer staff.”
Since 2017, Pacmed has collaborated with Amsterdam UMC on ICU challenges. “This partnership allowed us to work directly with the professionals who would use our solution. This provided us with a flying start. Together, we tackled our first critical challenge: determining when it is safe to discharge a patient from the ICU.”
Strong Data Foundation Pays Off
By collaborating closely with engaged medical professionals, Pacmed spent several years developing this initial solution. "There was an enormous amount of data available," says Kroese. "This data is generated during the clinical process but was not originally intended for research or decision-support applications. Preparing this 'digital trail' of thousands of parameters for our AI-driven solution proved to be a highly complex and time-consuming task."
Pacmed is now reaping the benefits of this strong data foundation. Kroese notes, "Our software is now operational at Amsterdam UMC, OLVG, and Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven. It is currently being implemented at Medisch Spectrum Twente. We recently heard from a doctor who discharged a patient a day earlier thanks to insights from our software,” Kroese says proudly. “We’ve also noticed that healthcare providers are learning from our software. They gain new insights into risk factors they may not have previously considered.”
This success motivates Kroese and his colleagues to explore new applications for other hospitals. "Our ICU Capacity Predictor is now live as well,” he explains. “This tool helps forecast ICU capacity needs. Additionally, we are developing overviews for individual organ systems.”
Doctors can then zoom in on specific parameters and predictions about potential complications. “Soon, we will present intensivists with a consolidated overview of all these insights, ensuring our software always delivers precisely the information they need at a glance. Glance saves significant time and helps provide even better care to more patients.”
New Features and Customers
Kroese believes winning a place in the finals of the 2025 National Healthcare Innovation Award will be highly beneficial for Pacmed. “Our team has worked incredibly hard. Our partners have taken risks to support us. This award is a true confirmation that we have achieved something significant together. Moreover, this recognition will support our growth towards new features and new customers in the coming year.”
Despite the growing focus on AI solutions, Kroese believes scaling proven AI innovations in healthcare could progress much faster. "The Netherlands is an excellent country for developing and testing innovations collaboratively,” he observes. “Unfortunately, scaling often happens too slowly. Too much time and resources are spent on pilots and experimental trials. Organizations are still too focused on reinventing the wheel themselves.”
Partner of the Amsterdam Economic Board
Given the immense potential and increasing pressure on healthcare accessibility, hospitals and the broader healthcare sector should show greater urgency in scaling AI solutions, says Kroese. “Our award recognition will help drive that momentum. As part of the prize, we are now a one-year partner of the Amsterdam Economic Board.”
This network of companies, knowledge institutions, healthcare organizations, and governments offers Pacmed valuable opportunities to connect with relevant partners beyond the Life Sciences & Health sector. Pacmed’s business developer, Steven Jonis, will represent Pacmed in this partnership.
Through this partnership, Pacmed can collaborate with a network of organizations focused on data-driven healthcare innovation. For example, the Health Data Space Amsterdam initiative, started by the Amsterdam Economic Board, has developed the ethical, legal, and technical frameworks for unlocking data in the public sphere.
"Initiatives like these are immensely valuable for Dutch healthcare. They accelerate innovation,” says Kroese. “We are very pleased and proud to contribute to this effort."
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