Digitization - DT gets hospitals in shape

• Deutsche Telekom supporting an increasing number of hospitals
• iPads and digital workflows make work easier for doctors and nursing staff
• iMedOne information system already used by 220 hospitals

Deutsche Telekom makes it possible: A hospital doctor tells a patient her findings directly at the bed on an iPad. Does not sound exciting, but it is. Most of the approximately 2,000 clinics in Germany are still working with paper files.

Deutsche Telekom is expanding in the market for hospital information systems (HIS) and continues to grow its existing cooperation projects with hospitals throughout Germany. The company supports hospitals with the long-term digitization of their processes. Telekom Healthcare Solutions, a T-Systems subsidiary and healthcare unit of the Group, makes work easier for doctors and nursing staff. The benefit: more time for patients. Efforts center on the iMedOne HIS, along with the corresponding app iMedOne Mobile. Whether electronic patient file, appointment management or the documentation of drug administration and diagnoses – both solutions support and streamline processes in hospitals.

"We're pleased that we are winning an increasing number of hospitals over to our iMedOne solution," says Arndt Lorenz, Director of Telekom Healthcare Solutions. "In this tough competitive environment, it is essential for hospitals to incrementally replace paper-based processes through digitization."

Deutsche Telekom replaces competitor solutions

In Bergisch Gladbach, near Cologne, Vinzenz Pallotti Hospital has been using the iMedOne hospital information system from Deutsche Telekom for over three years now. The hospital is owned by GFO mbH, a charitable organization associated with the Franciscans. The same organization also acquired another hospital just a few kilometers away, Marien-Krankenhaus around a year ago. A planned merger will see these two hospitals work even closer together in future. Against this backdrop, Marien-Krankenhaus decided to replace its legacy HIS from Nexus, a competitor to Deutsche Telekom.

"A major factor in our decision for iMedOne is the iPad-based doctor and nursing workplace," says Carsten Grabb, Head of IT at GFO. "The multifunctional nature of the solution, which covers elements such as photo documentation, dictation and even voice recognition quickly and on the go, will help us to avoid errors and improve the quality of the documentation. What's more, the solution saves us valuable time, which we can invest in caring for our patients."

Full implementation at Gronau and Groß-Gerau hospitals

In addition to the two major clinic groups, Deutsche Telekom will also intensify its collaboration with St. Antonius Hospital in Gronau: the hospital already uses elements of iMedOne Mobile and plans to implement the full solution, including discharge management and digital care documentation. The same apples to the district hospital in Groß-Gerau, near Frankfurt, which renewed its contract for a further eight years with this aim in mind.

Some 220 hospitals use iMedOne

In recent months, Telekom Healthcare Solutions has concluded many new contracts with hospitals, in addition to extending and expanding existing contracts, putting Deutsche Telekom's healthcare arm on a clear course of growth.

"We plan to continue our market offensive," says Lorenz. "iMedOne Mobile is the most innovative system available for hospitals, and we will continue to enhance it continually, in close cooperation with our customers."