Two clinics, one ITSM system
IT services are one of the main pillars of any hospital. Many hospitals still face the daunting task of modernizing their processes while complying with strict security requirements as part of critical infrastructure, so IT services should be one of the main pillars of any hospital.
The situation becomes even more complicated when this must be done simultaneously at two independent locations and IT must be standardized. Two hospitals, one in Rhineland-Palatinate and one in Baden-Württemberg, have taken on this challenge. They found the right solution in Saxony.
Initial Situation
"We had to take radical action. Nothing could remain as it was," recalls Walid Sbaih, the Chief Operating Officer of Innovation und Technologie Rhein Neckar MA und LU GmbH — MaLu IT for short. In 2021, amid the ongoing pandemic, Sbaih was tasked with modernizing the IT systems at Ludwigshafen Hospital. Through his professional contacts at the University Medical Center in Mannheim, located on the other side of the Rhine, he learned that the need to modernize IT was equally urgent at this hospital as it was in Ludwigshafen. He came up with an ambitious plan to modernize and merge the IT systems at both hospitals.
Theory quickly encountered its first hurdles in practice. Although the two hospitals are only about five kilometers apart, they were worlds apart. Even though both clinics are concerned with patient care, a certain competitive mindset had to be overcome first. "It was a bit like Dortmund and Schalke in soccer," Walid Sbaih explained with a laugh. The first step was to define the different areas of expertise.
This is why MaLu GmbH was founded, uniting the IT departments of both hospitals. The name refers to the two clinics as well as to the nickname of the Minister-President of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the time, Marie-Luise "Malu" Dreyer, who supported the project. The University Medical Center Mannheim was chosen as the company's headquarters.
Uniform IT Service with KIX
Once everyone involved agreed on the proposed structures, the real work began. A new building was constructed in Mannheim to provide enough space for all IT staff. Finally, the search began for suitable software to help achieve the ambitious goals. Since hospitals are part of critical infrastructure, the solution had to meet several requirements.
"We were looking for a solution that would meet hospitals' requirements. It had to be ITIL-compliant, intuitive, and future-proof. Of course, cost-effectiveness was also a consideration,” says Walid Sbaih, adding: "Compared to other industries, we are about ten years behind. For far too long, the focus was solely on technology and not enough on service. We had to change that." The choice ultimately fell on KIX from the Chemnitz-based company KIX Service Software.
90% Skepticism
The IT service management solution has become the core of the merged IT department and an indispensable part of the daily work of MaLu IT's 100+ employees. "Our biggest challenge was reorganizing IT," reports Chaimaa Boughardain, team leader in the service management department at MaLu IT. "With a project like this, which involves a lot of change, 90 percent of those involved are always skeptical at first. First, we had to ensure that everyone realized the added value of stronger IT services. KIX is the ideal tool for IT service management because it has made the transition much easier."
Saving lives through better service management
More than 7,000 employees work together at both hospitals. Thanks to the new platform, IT service has become a single point of contact for them. Around 600 calls are received here every day. All questions about hardware and software are directed to the central IT service. IT security incidents also end up with the IT service team.
Most problems can be solved by employees over the phone in just a few minutes. More in-depth inquiries and tickets received via email are forwarded to a core team in the ITSM queue. We can help 80 percent of callers with minimal effort, and our core team handles 10 percent. For the remaining ten percent, we occasionally need input from other departments. This gives us a daily solution rate of 90 percent and ensures that our tickets are almost always up to date," says Chaimaa Boughardain.
Using ITIL 4, the de facto best practice standard in the IT industry, is also central to MaLu IT. "It doesn't matter to us whether a ticket comes from Mannheim or Ludwigshafen. Thanks to standardized processes, our team's employees always have a roadmap showing what to do in any situation," says Boughardain. MaLu relies on 14 ITIL practices that can be mapped to the platform, including incident and service request management, problem and relationship management, and change enablement.
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