Reduce user-induced desktop PC problems, integrate new Smart-Card technology, and improve data management.
Done.
By delivering an application solution that included four Intel based enterprise servers from Unisys, University Hospital Mainz has been able to achieve easier system manageability, improved report printing capabilities, and fast transfer of patient data into the hospital’s SAP R/3application.
Company Overview
Located in the heart of Mainz, Germany, the Johannes Gutenberg University Hospital in Mainz is a collection of specialized medical clinics offering a wide range of healthcare services including pediatrics, surgery, vision care, and dental care. In this busy hospital, helping and serving patients efficiently is extremely important, so the organization relies on advanced information technologies to manage patient records. One of the hospital’s first steps toward computer-based patient record management involved implementing a client/server infrastructure to support its vital patient data system. While this approach proved to be an effective starting place, the system quickly became the focal point of increasing technical difficulties. The hospital’s IT staff became inundated with requests for technical support, and soon realized that it needed newer technology that would eliminate user-induced problems and offer new data services to improve the clinic’s relationship with its patients.
Low on patience
“We needed a cost-effective solution that would centralize control of our system,” says Stefan Walther, IT General Manager of Central Data-Center. “Basically we needed tighter security to prevent the external software installations and the local system modifications that were creating problems throughout the hospital.” According to Dr. Walther, the clinic’s “fat” client network, where applications were stored on desktop PCs, provided opportunities for users to tamper with system configurations, creating more requests for PC maintenance and higher system administration costs.
In addition to addressing these issues, the clinic also needed a solution that would be compatible with new patient “SmartCards” used in Germany. A SmartCard resembles a credit card but it stores a patient’s medical history and insurance data rather than financial information. When the card is swiped through a hospital’s computer, an individual’s records are automatically recorded into the adjoining system. “We needed new software and hardware that would not only read the SmartCard data,” says Dr. Walther, “but also one that relayed that data to our SAP R/3 application, so system integration was another requirement for our new solution.” Subsequently, the hospital wanted to move to a new Microsoft Windows 2000 platform, and therefore needed a solution that could communicate with an existing Windows NT environment.
A healthy solution
After consulting with several technology vendors- including IBM, Compaq, and Siemens—the University Hospital in Mainz selected a Unisys Application Delivery Solution. Four Intel based enterprise servers from Unisys support the solution, which included 30 thin client terminals and Citrix MetaFrame Terminal Server software. “The Unisys solution supports the transfer of data across our network,” explains Dr. Walther. “When a patient swipes their SmartCard through one of the new thin client terminals, the data is immediately stored in our SAP R/3 application.”
The SmartCard scanning software, which was previously stored on the desktop PCs, now resides on a Netier terminal which runs under embedded NT. With the application delivery solution, system performance is much faster since applications response at the speed of the server. Security is also tighter since the server acts as the single point of control for the entire thin client network. Systems reconfiguration by an end user is virtually impossible since the new terminals lack a floppy or CD-ROM drive. Software upgrades and installations can also be completed more efficiently since applications installed and updated at the centralized server are instantaneously available to all thin client terminals connected to the network.
A successful operation
With system manageability under control, the hospital can focus its attention on more important issues like caring for patients. “Our IT staff will no longer have to conduct software updates one PC at a time, which will cut our system administration costs significantly,” notes Dr. Walther. “Technical support service calls for problems caused by desktop modifications will also be reduced by 100 percent.”
From the hospital’s perspective, the Unisys solution will provide increased system integration and never-before report printing capabilities. “The Unisys Application Delivery Solution was the only cost-effective alternative that could introduce an enterprise Windows 2000 platform to our network, support the SmartCard application, integrate with our SAP R/3 application, and facilitate printing patient data reports from our SAP environment,” comments Dr. Walther. Pleased with the success of the Unisys solution, the University Hospital plans to introduce 550 more users to the thin client network in the near future. “We are confident that our partnership with Unisys will help us to eventually incorporate the Application Delivery Solution throughout our entire network,” concludes Dr. Walther.
