Winterthur Cantonal Hospital
Digital medical records in rheumatology:
efficient access to all patient data
Securely managing, quickly accessing and
efficiently exchanging medical histories
without any time and space barriers.
On account of renovation work, Winterthur
Cantonal Hospital (KSW) had to rapidly
dis-mantle the physical archive of rheumatology
at the previous location. To solve the space
problem and support the electronic
archi-ving processes, KSW tested the digitisation
of the files in question. For the
implementa-tion of the project an external supplier was
sought because neither the corresponding
know-how nor the required infrastructure
are available in-house.
With the tailor-made service package from
Swiss Post Solutions (SPS), Winterthur
Can-tonal Hospital had the necessary staff and
infrastructure resources available for this
time-critical digitisation project. Thanks to
the exemplary cooperation with KSW, the
project went swimmingly. The physical
ar-chive was cleared in time and the around
15,000 medical records were available in the
desired data format within six weeks.
Since the SPS employees are subject to
postal secrecy and the entire process was
handled from a single source while
maintai-ning strict security regulations, the high
le-vel of confidentiality required by KSW when
dealing with sensitive data was able to be
ensured at all times.
«The employees of Swiss Post Solutions have
looked after us professionally and reliably. We
re-ceived the offered service at an attractive price.
This persuaded me.»
Christoph Osterwalder
Head of Business Management &
Administration
Department of Medicine
Winterthur Cantonal Hospital
Strict schedule makes high demands
Time played a key role in this digitisation project. Insourcing the scan process would not only have exceeded the short time-frame, it would also have meant high infrastructure costs for KSW and extensive knowledge outside its own core competen-ces would have been required.
To ensure the complete clearance of the physical archive by the deadline and to have the digitised records available on time in the electronic archive, Winterthur Cantonal Hospital there-fore looked for an external service provider which fulfils the fol-lowing criteria:
– Quick provision of the required resources
– Know-how and experience in the dismantlement and digi-tal transformation of physical archives
– Tried and tested logistics concept – State-of-the-art infrastructure
– Handling of sensitive records in compliance with data pro-tection requirements
For the evaluation of the ideal outsourcing partner, three other providers were asked in addition to Swiss Post Solutions. SPS fared the best when the submitted offers were examined and was awarded the contract. Decisive factors here were fulfil-ment of the requirefulfil-ments in terms of time, quality and quantity and, in particular, the trust of KSW in the guaranteed data se-curity as well as the convincing references and record of achie-vement of SPS.
Competence creates trust
The «proof of concept» with 100 records and the correspon-ding completeness check by KSW ran smoothly. At the start of the project SPS had therefore already proved it can be trusted in its professionalism as a service provider for processing docu-ments.
To ensure production could begin on time four weeks after placement of the order, the created service package integrated various, project-specific special services. These included: – Provision of emergency digitisation within an hour
– Customer-specific process for retrieving and registering the documents
– Retrieval of the records on-site at KSW by the SPS team – Same-day retrieval of the current records in the secretary's
office of KSW and express processing within five days
– Ensuring the transport logistics of the sensitive dossiers by taking them directly from KSW to the SPS Document Management Center (DMC)
– Continuous tracking of the records from retrieval on-site up to digital storage
– Creation of searchable PDF/A files with bookmarks per register and hybrid storage of the black and white and colour pictures (e.g. ultrasound images)
– Weekly reporting with forecast for production planning and also as information for KSW
Cooperation hand in hand
The smooth teamwork as partners with KSW made a deci-sive contribution to the successful implementation of this project. Competent contact partners were always available on the part of KSW to clarify logistical, technical and organi-sational questions.
This meant the tight schedule was able to be observed and the project implemented without any bottlenecks and delays – from the definition of specifications, the testing and the production phase onto the provision of quality-assured data on Swiss Post Solutions’ own secure sFTP server.
Reference project for other areas
Outsourcing this project to SPS was worthwhile in every res-pect for KSW.
The initial concerns of the doctors were dispelled. The di-gitally archived medical records of rheumatology are often used. The feedback on the remote access and the searcha-ble PDF/A files is extremely positive and led to quick accep-tance by the doctors. At the moment the procedures are being tweaked by an internal committee.
KSW’s satisfaction with the implementation of the project and the associated process optimisations for storing, ma-naging and exchanging information is so high that this di-gitisation project is being used as «best practice» for other areas.
Efficient production cycle
The documents were retrieved by correspondingly trai-ned staff from SPS directly at the premises of KSW. Here for each record a unique ID (barcode) was generated which was stored in a central SQL database. Scanning the barcode be-fore filling the transport boxes enabled complete tracking of every single record from retrieval at KSW, external proces-sing up to the provision of the quality-assured data on the sFTP server.
The retrieved records were delivered in special transport con-tainers to the SPS Document Management Center (DMC). Here the records were first of all prepared and indexed using the record structures specified by KSW. This means the ge-nerated PDF/A files can be quickly found at any time in the electronic archive of KSW.
The fully automatic removal of blank pages, ongoing quality controls on the screen, running a temporary database with a cross-check function and the continuous monitoring of the scan jobs guaranteed FINMA- and ISO-certified quality and
security standards in the subsequent digitisation process for KSW.
As soon as a record was finished being processed, KSW was able to access it via the secure sFTP connection and store the data in the electronic archive.
For the temporary storage of the physical records, SPS set up a client-specific short-term archive for KSW. After the expiry of the agreed period, this was destroyed in compli-ance with data protection requirements. Original documents which could not be scanned were given an ID and sent back to KSW.
Prepared for any eventuality
An elaborate «emergency scenario» ensured that during the production phase urgently required records were available via express scanning within an hour after being requested via sFTP server or secure e-mail connection.
SPS
Document Management Center
Scanning
Automatic data collection Preparatory work Retrieval of the physical records SPS sFTP-Server Provision of data Short-term archiving of the original documents and data for 90 days
Legally compliant destruction
The process sequence
For Winterthur Cantonal Hospital, Swiss Post
Solutions retrieved and scanned more than
15,000 medical records with a total of almost
one million sheets of paper and made these
available as searchable PDF/A files for entry
in the electronic archive – and it did all this
within six weeks.
The switch to digital archiving processes in
KSW therefore reached another milestone:
–
Access to all medical files of rheumatology
is now possible from any location and at
any time. This makes it easier for doctors to
study records and relieves the burden on the
secretary’s office. Technical and administrative
processes in everyday work at the hospital are
therefore much simpler.
–
The controlled and mobile access increases
data security because sensitive medical
re-cords can neither be mislaid nor damaged.
–
During consultation hours, online access to
medical histories provides advantages in terms
of time and, with ability to provide
informa-tion promptly, also increases the service
qua-lity for patients at the same time.
–
From an organisational perspective the
digi-tisation creates free space. This has a
posi-tive effect on costs and enables an optimised
space concept.
About Winterthur Cantonal Hospital
Winterthur Cantonal Hospital (KSW) is one of the ten biggest hospitals in Switzerland and treats around 200,000 patients a year. With 3,000 members of staff and 530 beds, KSW ensures primary health care for the inhabitants of the hospital region.
Beyond the region KSW works together with regi-onal hospitals to provide specialist medical services. Winterthur Cantonal Hospital fulfils an important training assignment. Thanks to the «healthy size» and management structure, communication channels are short and clear. The culture of cooperation is of great importance. Creativity, flexibility and personal initiative are actively promoted at all levels.
Further information
Winterthur Cantonal Hospital
Christoph Osterwalder
Head of Business Management & Administration Department of Medicine
Telephone 052 266 23 23
E-mail christoph.osterwalder@ksw.ch
Swiss Post Solutions
Andreas Kaeser
Business Development Health Telephone 079 702 57 89
About Swiss Post Solutions
Part of the Swiss Post Group headquartered in Bern, Swiss Post Solutions (SPS) is a leading outsourcing provider of solutions for paper-based business processes and innovative services in document management. SPS‘ 7,400 employees support business clients in the areas of insurance, banking, telecommunications, media, retail, energy supply and travel & transportation with their digital transformation. SPS has an active presence in all important international economic regions and works with spe-cialized partners in selected countries.
Swiss Post Solutions AG Pfingstweidstrasse 60b 8080 Zurich www.swisspostsolutions.ch SPS201 06.2015 KSW CHECS
