Future-proof video conferencing solution for St. Josefs Hospital

The St. Josefs Hospital Rheingau and the Otto Fricke Hospital in Bad Schwalbach belong to the regional group of St. Josefs Hospital Wiesbaden. To ensure that patients are provided with excellent care now and in the future, despite their growing numbers and burgeoning healthcare costs, the group is also taking new, innovative approaches when it comes to technology. Dialog between the locations – as part of the daily case conferences, for example – has recently been simplified and strengthened with the Scopia video conferencing platform from Avaya. “We’re also setting store by new, innovative technologies in order to safeguard the quality of our services and to keep on creating benefits for our patients. And we’re not just thinking about internal transfer of knowledge and information within our hospital group, but also coordinated treatment of patients with our service providers across different sectors,” states Martin Bosch, Managing Director of St. Josefs-Hospital Wiesbaden GmbH.

„In order to provide patients with ideal care, it was clear to us from the outset that cooperation within the group, good though it already was, had to be intensified even further. That’s what motivated us to search for a suitable technological solution“, explains Bosch.

Video conferencing is the means of ensuring that all types of patient and vital data is integrated in real time – a key advantage. Various vendors were therefore examined in January and February 2016. The video conferencing solution Scopia from Avaya and the system integrator euromicron Deutschland were chosen.

The group aims to lastingly ensure the quality of its healthcare services at its three sites – in a time of growing patient numbers and increasing shortage of specialist physicians and nursing staff. There is no longer any need for trips between the locations – and the time saved as a result means better care for patients..

In a first step, the Wiesbaden site was equipped with a Scopia XT 5000 and Rüdesheim with an XT 4300 video room system, while Bad Schwalbach is still linked up via Scopia Mobile using an iPad – the platform used is the Scopia Elite 6100 MCU. „We’re currently using the solution for our inpatient services, from clinic to clinic. It enables our group’s doctors to assist each other simply, such as in the daily case conferences, as part of our weekly Tumor Board or when a precarious emergency is admitted,“ We’re currently using the solution for our inpatient services, from clinic to clinic. “It enables our group’s doctors to assist each other simply, such as in the daily case conferences, as part of our weekly Tumor Board or when a precarious emergency is admitted.

Experts from a wide range of different disciplines can be involved in consultations, without the need for long journeys. The hospital group also includes assistant doctors in the conferences. „There is a great learning effect, not only for the young doctors,“ notes Dr. med. Michael Rössler, Chief Physician for General and Trauma Surgery at St. Josefs Hospital Rheingau. „A new first in the healthcare sector is that we hold our Tumor Board by video conferencing,“, says Senior Physician Dr. med. Carsten Hartig from the Oncology department at St. Josefs Hospital Wiesbaden. „The medical history and findings for cancer patients are presented by the doctors treating them and decisions on their treatment are taken by the panel of experts.“

„The medical history and findings for cancer patients are presented by the doctors treating them and decisions on their treatment are taken by the panel of experts.“, explains Managing Director Martin Bosch.