Towards secure, data-driven healthcare with Google

ICT has become increasingly important in healthcare over the past few years, starting from registration to treatment and support for patients / clients. Because standing still is going backwards. Which is why we see plenty of opportunities for innovation, to lower the workload, take cost-saving measures and bring healthcare closer to the consumer. In this blogpost, we’d like to spotlight some of these opportunities for innovation, by using concrete customer cases.

Healthcare & IT: a good match

We have noticed a common, recurring question from quite a few organisations: how can we work more efficiently and flexibly? Furthermore: how can we implement innovative solutions, to become more data-driven and stay one step ahead of our competitors? Especially important for healthcare organizations is that the personal nature of the service cannot be sacrificed, and that patient data is handled in a secure and confidential manner.

And if you say innovation and data-driven, you automatically say Google. Thinking creatively, working flexibly and innovating continuously all make up an intrinsic part of Google’s DNA. From G Suite to work together smarter and more efficiently, to the cloud to securely store data, and Google Cloud Platform to automatically transform this data into insights: in the concrete customer cases below, you will read how a custom solution was found for the identified challenges.

Prisma

An increasing number of healthcare organizations, like Prisma, are making the step towards the cloud for their information systems. This allows staff to always check their schedule, mail and documents, whether they’re at home, at work, or on the road. The client-data in the Electronic Client Dossier (ECD) has to be accessed securely however, via the cloud, from various locations.

Google, Adapcare and Prisma devised a unique solution for this security challenge. Prisma completely switched over to G Suite by Google: email, calendar, storage, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, authentication and videoconferencing, all in the cloud.

This means that Prisma employees can view or edit the documents of the ECD in their browser. Downloading is no longer necessary: clicking the Google Doc, automatically opens the ECD in their browser. Uploading documents has also been made redundant, as new Google Docs can be created straight away in the ECD. To keep everything safe and secure, the ECD also immediately takes care of access permissions, so the document can’t be shared with others outside of the ECD. One solution with many applications, which helps make the administration easier for Prisma.

 DSW Health Insurance

At DSW, the focus lies on the client as an individual, instead of managing clients like one big group. Good service is key to keeping these clients happy, which means that clear communication and collaboration are of the utmost importance within the organisation.

Together with g-company, an adoption process was worked out to gradually move to the cloud and switch over to G Suite. During this process, the focus lies on trainings, to gradually and efficiently help people switch over, with a minimal impact on daily activities. Furthermore, steps were taken to ensure that the necessary expertise needed to manage their own Google domain, was present in the organisation.

And the results for DSW are impressive. Working together within the organisation has become even easier, thanks to G Suite and the handy collaboration tools it offers. Information is now stored even more securely, in the cloud. This means that the focus can go towards providing even better, personalized service to the client, who is considered to be key by DSW.

 Amstelring

For the staff at Amstelring, ‘warm care’ for the elderly and disabled persons is key, where your main priority is to make a person feel at home. But to provide such personalized healthcare services, entails a host of logistical challenges in a company with over 2,000 people in 35 healthcare institutions at various locations. To successfully tackle these challenges, Amstelring has over 3,000 employees, around 1,400 flexible workers and close to 1,300 registered volunteers in the Greater Amsterdam region.

Working flexibly in a secure manner, to be able to be closer to the client that way: this was considered to be absolutely key to Amstelring change process. Right from the start, an in-depth change process was worked out, with three trial runs to see which cloud solution would be the best fit for the organization. G Suite was considered the winner, because of its ease of use, and the enthusiasm of the colleagues who got to work with it during the trial run. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that 100 Google Guides could be appointed immediately as well. These Guides encourage further adoption, by acting as ambassadors and G Suite guides for those who might need the help.

Besides G Suite, Amstelring also gradually implemented Chromebooks with two camera’s. This allows carers who are not on-premise to check the label of the medication, while the medication is administered by a carer who is on-premise. The dosage can simultaneously be checked and administered, which makes the service smoother and more personal.

Conclusion