Mater Health Services’ smart hospital strategy

Mater Health Services (MHS), Queensland’s largest not-for-profit hospital group, is making significant strides in achieving its smart hospital strategy with the rollout of an expanded suite of business applications on its Cisco Medical-Grade Network across its seven ultra-modern hospitals.

Established in 1906 by the Sisters of Mercy, MHS was founded on the spirit of compassionate service to the sick and needy and continues in that mission today. At the forefront of clinical excellence, MHS is continually developing new methods and practices to improve outcomes for the more than 500,000 patients it cares for annually and to enhance the medical working environment of more than 7000 staff. MHS was incorporated in 2002 and is recognised nationally for its specialty services including maternal fetal medicine, maternity services, cancer care and neurosurgery.

The MHS is one of only a handful of hospital services in the country that recognise the importance of technology in delivering better outcomes for patients. In the US, approximately 34% of hospitals have a Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO). The MHS has appointed Dr Paul Devenish-Meares as CMIO. Devenish-Meares, who is also an Obstetrics Staff Specialist, has a particular interest in the use of electronic health records (EHRs) and their relationship with clinical processes. As part of his role he is exploring the ability of EHRs to contribute to improved outcomes for patients and more effective clinical practices.

In the third year of its smart hospital information and communications technology (ICT) strategic plan rollout, the Cisco Medical-Grade Network provides MHS with a communications infrastructure converging voice, video, data and wireless in a single, highly secure, real-time information system. MHS chose to implement the medical-grade network to fundamentally improve healthcare delivery and clinical outcomes for patients.

Additionally, the Cisco Medical-Grade Network is helping to transform health care at MHS with new systems. These include a new clinical information system to be deployed in the neonatal intensive care unit, which will allow clinicians to track the progress of premature babies from anywhere on the hospital network and remotely via a highly secure internet connection.

A pending Cisco nurse-call integration solution will mean nurses can easily reach patients from wherever they are. This solution provides faster response times, more time for staff to spend on primary functions and a reduction in paging for a quieter, less disruptive environment. Nurses will have the capability to speak to the patient to better understand his or her needs before going to the patient room.

By allowing access to clinical information systems wherever they are needed, medical staff can access patient records, pathology and radiology results and key clinical information right at the bedside or point of care. This highly secure Cisco mobility solution untethers medical staff and supports different workflows and maximises their efficiency.

For the third consecutive year, Mater has tapped into the power of the internet to bring holiday magic to hospitalised children by making it possible for them to see and talk live with Santa at the North Pole, using Cisco video phone technology.

Malcolm Thatcher, Chief Information Officer, Mater Health Services, said: “Mater’s Smart Hospital strategy needed to be underpinned by a reliable and pervasive IP delivery platform. Cisco’s commitment to understanding the unique needs of the healthcare sector made Cisco and its technology the only plausible choice for Mater. Over the past two years, Mater has rolled out what is now a robust, unifying Cisco network to support its data and communications needs.

“Other vendors said they were committed to a medical-grade network but they had no research behind it and they had nothing,” said Thatcher.

When it comes to shared health records, Thatcher’s view is that it is a journey and not a destination. “The federal government needs to take a lead and support it,” said Thatcher.

As demands on healthcare providers increase in volume and complexity, communications amongst healthcare professionals is becoming a key enabler towards patient-centric care. Recent healthcare research has highlighted a need for better communication and information sharing within the health workforce. Models of care are also shifting to team-based structures, which require better collaboration capabilities in the hospital environment but which are also key to improving productivity and patient care.

Ken Boal, Director of Public Sector, Cisco Australia and New Zealand, said: “With its strategic ICT focus on patient outcomes, Mater Health Services has built a medical-grade network that today helps maximise staff productivity and enhances patient satisfaction.”

The IP-based network includes a Cisco Unified Communications system, including nearly 1500 desktop Cisco IP phones over 300 Cisco Unified Wireless Phones and Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Cisco’s call-processing solution. MHS’s intelligent network is built on Cisco Catalyst Series Switches and Cisco Aironet Wireless Access Points. After evaluation of other platforms in a trial, MHS has selected the Panasonic Toughbook HI for system access by health clinicians.