Two and a half years ago, Trajectum began drafting a new ICT strategy. When its implementation is completed by the end of this year, the healthcare institution will have a modern ICT environment. This will pave the way for further innovation in healthcare.
Trajectum provides care to people with intellectual disabilities and misunderstood, high-risk behavior. Most clients have a forensic endorsement, which ranges from probation supervision to tbs with coercive treatment. "We treat complex clients who can be disruptive for the slightest thing. A small blinking light on a component of the wifi network can be enough," says Gertjan Fiers, project manager at Trajectum.
Digital literacy
The example shows that providing ICT systems and services to a healthcare facility such as Trajectum requires extra attention. Not only because of the clients, but also because of the employees. "The digital literacy of healthcare professionals is usually not of the highest level," states Fera Oldenziel, manager of support services at Trajectum. "Moreover, these professionals work in an organization that provides care 24/7. Our employees can't just leave the workplace for an hour for IT training. Certainly not in a secure facility like we have."
Familiarity with healthcare challenges was an important selection criterion when Trajectum decided to outsource much of its IT management and maintenance. Simac met that criterion. "Simac understands very well what is going on in healthcare," states Oldenziel, who is supported by Fiers.
"They have the experience that a blinking light on a Wi-Fi network access point can be too much for a client. They turn off that light ahead of time to prevent clients from being disrupted. That may only be a small detail, but you have to think about it."
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The outsourcing to Simac is one of the measures resulting from Trajectum's computerization and automation strategy. This was initiated two and a half years ago to modernize the existing ICT landscape. Fiers: "Until the beginning of May 2022, we used a classic data center set up for maximum capacity. That was an expensive, non-scalable environment with outdated ICT technology." Oldenziel adds: "Not only did the outdated ICT technology pose a problem, but also the applications used. Because these were not transferred to the current state of the art, we were spending a lot of time on application management."
When coronavirus broke out shortly after the project began, Trajectum was hit hard. The institution treats 600 clients at its four main locations in Appelscha, Boschoord, Rekken and Zutphen, as well as 1,000 clients living at home. Treating these outpatients requires a lot of consultation between the various disciplines, but how do you do that when employees are forced to work from home and cannot make video calls? Oldenziel: "The pandemic ensured that all 2,000 employees received new equipment and new applications at an accelerated pace so that remote care and treatment became possible."
Administrative burden
The new strategy answers two questions. How should ICT be deployed to provide maximum support for healthcare processes? And how can the administrative burden on healthcare professionals be minimized?
"Research shows that healthcare professionals spend 40 percent of their time on administration. If we don't change anything, soon one in four employed people will be working in healthcare. That is obviously not a realistic scenario. That is why it is important to use ICT to improve quality and efficiency in healthcare."
In addition, Trajectum wanted to improve the manageability and future-proofing of the ICT environment. This involved digital workstations, first-line support, management of the network, security of the ICT environment and migration to the cloud. All those things have now been put in the hands of Simac. "The only thing we have not outsourced is functional application management. Sometimes we need a specific solution for a complex client that also fits the misunderstood and risky behavior. Those are not questions we can put to Simac. For that, we have our own location-based help desk staff," Oldenziel explains.
New network
The implementation of the strategy is now three-quarters complete. Since mid-May, all employees have had a new digital workplace. Most applications have been transferred to Azure, Microsoft's public cloud. "We still have an old data center with legacy applications that must also be transferred to the cloud. That process should be completed by Sept. 1," Fiers knows.
At the same time, the replacement of the network starts. Earlier, Simac mapped out the number of access points, switches and other network components. "We need a modern network environment. Not only for the employees, but also for the clients at our locations. If they have been given a measure such as tbs, this may involve limited Internet use. We cannot deny them full access to the Internet, so we have to offer something, but of course not through our own company network. With the new network, we will soon be able to offer these clients a suitable, well-secured solution."
Innovations
Trajectum is pleased with the implementation of the strategy, which should be completed by the end of this year.
"Simac offers exactly what we need. They understand how healthcare works and know how we should make the step from an outdated Citrix environment to a modern cloud environment. With their knowledge and experience, they know how to guide us well in making choices."
Once the ICT facility is fully up and running, Trajectum can move forward with innovations, such as home automation and e-health. Currently, a project around 'blended treatment' is already underway: a combination of on-site treatment and remote treatment via a screen. "Innovation is high on the agenda," Oldenziel states. "We have reserved money and manpower for that. But all those innovations have to land well. Then it is necessary that our ICT landscape is in order."
