Download PDF
German Red Cross - Ulm
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Process Analytics
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
Applicable Industries
- Healthcare & Hospitals
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Human Resources
Use Cases
- Process Control & Optimization
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
The German Red Cross in Ulm, Germany, was facing a significant challenge with document management. The organization, which provides a broad spectrum of services including emergency rescue, home care, donor management, and accounting, was dealing with a high volume of documents. Each year, about 65,000 documents needed to be securely stored. The documents were collected in binders and placed on shelves in the offices of various employees. Older documents were stored in fireproof cabinets in the basement. However, space was becoming increasingly tight as the organization had nearly doubled its revenue in the past five years, leading to an increase in the number of records. Searching for older documents was particularly problematic, requiring employees to dig through the cellar and even climb up ladders to reach certain records. Additionally, the process for handling invoices was inefficient, with multiple copies of each invoice being printed and filed separately.
About The Customer
The German Red Cross, based in Ulm, Germany, is a well-known charitable organization that operates emergency medical services (including emergency rescue and medical/blood transport), first aid training and disaster protection along with ambulatory home care services, transportation for the disabled, a homeless shelter, food pantries and second-hand shops. The organization has over 200 employees working on site at its headquarters and is supported by 17,500 members through donations. The organization has a modern IT infrastructure, which includes Secure Office, a system solution for fire and rescue services, and accounting programs which support their different service areas. In 2012, they opted for a DocuWare document management system to help manage their high volume of documents.
The Solution
In the summer of 2012, the German Red Cross opted for a central digital archive. They chose DocuWare, a document management system, to help them manage their documents more efficiently. The system was implemented in two phases. Since October 2012, twelve employees in their accounting, rescue and home care divisions as well as HR department began working with the solution. The documents created with their existing programs were automatically indexed and stored in DocuWare at the same time they were printed. Authorized employees could access the central document pool. The staff didn’t need to change their familiar work processes, and the system worked immediately, seamlessly. The organization also added a new scanner to help with the digitization process.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
Related Case Studies.
Case Study
Hospital Inventory Management
The hospital supply chain team is responsible for ensuring that the right medical supplies are readily available to clinicians when and where needed, and to do so in the most efficient manner possible. However, many of the systems and processes in use at the cancer center for supply chain management were not best suited to support these goals. Barcoding technology, a commonly used method for inventory management of medical supplies, is labor intensive, time consuming, does not provide real-time visibility into inventory levels and can be prone to error. Consequently, the lack of accurate and real-time visibility into inventory levels across multiple supply rooms in multiple hospital facilities creates additional inefficiency in the system causing over-ordering, hoarding, and wasted supplies. Other sources of waste and cost were also identified as candidates for improvement. Existing systems and processes did not provide adequate security for high-cost inventory within the hospital, which was another driver of cost. A lack of visibility into expiration dates for supplies resulted in supplies being wasted due to past expiry dates. Storage of supplies was also a key consideration given the location of the cancer center’s facilities in a dense urban setting, where space is always at a premium. In order to address the challenges outlined above, the hospital sought a solution that would provide real-time inventory information with high levels of accuracy, reduce the level of manual effort required and enable data driven decision making to ensure that the right supplies were readily available to clinicians in the right location at the right time.
Case Study
Gas Pipeline Monitoring System for Hospitals
This system integrator focuses on providing centralized gas pipeline monitoring systems for hospitals. The service they provide makes it possible for hospitals to reduce both maintenance and labor costs. Since hospitals may not have an existing network suitable for this type of system, GPRS communication provides an easy and ready-to-use solution for remote, distributed monitoring systems System Requirements - GPRS communication - Seamless connection with SCADA software - Simple, front-end control capability - Expandable I/O channels - Combine AI, DI, and DO channels
Case Study
Driving Digital Transformations for Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices
Diagnostic devices play a vital role in helping to improve healthcare delivery. In fact, an estimated 60 percent of the world’s medical decisions are made with support from in vitrodiagnostics (IVD) solutions, such as those provided by Roche Diagnostics, an industry leader. As the demand for medical diagnostic services grows rapidly in hospitals and clinics across China, so does the market for IVD solutions. In addition, the typically high cost of these diagnostic devices means that comprehensive post-sales services are needed. Wanteed to improve three portions of thr IVD:1. Remotely monitor and manage IVD devices as fixed assets.2. Optimizing device availability with predictive maintenance.3. Recommending the best IVD solution for a customer’s needs.
Case Study
HaemoCloud Global Blood Management System
1) Deliver a connected digital product system to protect and increase the differentiated value of Haemonetics blood and plasma solutions. 2) Improve patient outcomes by increasing the efficiency of blood supply flows. 3) Navigate and satisfy a complex web of global regulatory compliance requirements. 4) Reduce costly and labor-intensive maintenance procedures.
Case Study
Harnessing real-time data to give a holistic picture of patient health
Every day, vast quantities of data are collected about patients as they pass through health service organizations—from operational data such as treatment history and medications to physiological data captured by medical devices. The insights hidden within this treasure trove of data can be used to support more personalized treatments, more accurate diagnosis and more advanced preparative care. But since the information is generated faster than most organizations can consume it, unlocking the power of this big data can be a struggle. This type of predictive approach not only improves patient care—it also helps to reduce costs, because in the healthcare industry, prevention is almost always more cost-effective than treatment. However, collecting, analyzing and presenting these data-streams in a way that clinicians can easily understand can pose a significant technical challenge.
