The healthcare sector is preparing for a different way of working. Elderly people are staying independent for longer, which means the care offer is being rearranged. Digital transformation is a crucial component of the care of tomorrow and calls for innovation. How is healthcare group Noordwest-Veluwe approaching this?

Changes in the market require new provisions for employees

Patients are increasingly staying away from hospitals and specialised care centres. Video consultations and remote monitoring are becoming more and more common. This trend was already on its way and has been accelerated by Covid-19. This changing approach means a lot for healthcare workers, IT professionals, and patients.

It’s certainly a significant challenge for IT professionals. When Carolien Venhuizen, Head of ICT, started at healthcare group Noordwest-Veluwe (ZNWV) in 2019, she quickly realised that the organisation was working with an outdated IT environment. A catch-up effort is needed to not only be up to date but to build a future-proof organisation. A future where healthcare is changing, more collaboration is taking place in the chain, and the client stays independent longer based on data-driven technology.

A CLOUD-BASED WORKPLACE TAILORED TO HEALTHCARE WORKERS AND THEIR PATIENTS.

The ambition of ZNWV is to provide valuable customised care and to be a leader in healthcare and well-being. As a specialist in regional elderly care, the healthcare workers are close to the people and the healthcare organisation aims to be innovative and connecting. This was also the starting point for the digital transformation, led by the IT department.

In concrete terms, this meant that a slow, user-unfriendly, and unstable traditional workplace was replaced by a workplace tailored to healthcare workers and their patients, based on the Microsoft Cloud. Due to the increasing care at home and remotely, all 2000 employees are given a smartphone with relevant apps, such as the ECD and Outlook, and access to OneDrive. Safety is a top priority, guaranteed by, among other things, an additional login check via the smartphone and data encryption.

“The pressure was on to set up a completely new IT environment, migrate all data and applications, and set up thousands of modern workspaces in such a short time. We succeeded because we have a fixed approach supported by a toolset and through good collaboration within the team and with the customer.”

– Wilce Turnhout, cofounder of Rapid Circle.

Additionally, new all-in-one Windows 10 workstations are being set up to allow for flexible working, including from home. As a result of Covid-19, a significant number of laptops have been added to the mix. The entire process of migration, onboarding, and adoption is carefully guided, with workstations being acquired through a lease construction and management and security being provided as a service by Rapid Circle.

Ultimately, Rapid Circle is responsible for the entire ICT environment. This includes managing and securing the environment, managing the applications, and setting up and managing the PCs and devices, all for a fixed monthly price.

Much more time for actual care, thanks to innovative ICT

More pleasant work and more possibilities to carry out your work. Those are two of the benefits of the new workplace, with new apps such as the ECD, which now works on mobile devices. In the future, it will no longer be necessary to carry out major upgrades and changes, because the workplace continually renews itself and is always up to date. Perhaps the best thing about the renewal is that ZNWV can now implement many innovations. One of the examples that was quickly applied is making machines and items such as wheelchairs and lifting devices visible via Bluetooth and showing how much they are used at the locations. With Teams, employees communicate more easily with each other. Because everyone has a mobile device, it is easier to build new apps via Power Apps, which optimise processes.

As mentioned, Covid-19 accelerated the implementation of digital work within ZNWV. With a decidedly aggressive planning of 4 months, the entire organisation transitioned to working within a flexible and scalable cloud environment. Technically, a top performance has been achieved. The reactions from the work floor are very positive, for example, about the quality of Teams’ audio and video and the speed of e-learning.

“I am proud of our team, the collaboration with Rapid Circle, and the way we have implemented everything within 4 months.”

– Carolien Venhuizen, Head of ICT at Noordwest-Veluwe.

Thanks to the new workstations with faster computers and easy login procedure, there is less frustration and much more time for real care. And that is ultimately what it’s all about. ICT is a means to support healthcare professionals, to better serve clients, and to advance society.

“Ask employees beforehand which functionalities are important to them and don’t skimp on support for adoption of the new workplace.”

– Carolien Venhuizen, Head of ICT at Noordwest-Veluwe.

With this new IT environment, Zorggroep Noordwest-Veluwe is ready for the future. Technologies such as the Internet of Things, smart buildings, and machine learning are just around the corner, and the organisation wants to be able to use them first. And that is now possible for ZNWV.

ABOUT HEALTHCARE GROUP NOORDWEST-VELUWE

Healthcare group Noordwest-Veluwe provides quality care ranging from light to heavy and complex care. The organisation, consisting of 1700 employees, offers a wide range of services in the areas of living, care, and welfare, both in residential care centres and at home.

ABOUT RAPID CIRCLE

Rapid Circle was unanimously chosen as the best partner by healthcare group Noordwest-Veluwe among three parties. The decisive factors were the critical attitude of Rapid Circle’s experts, the future-oriented approach, and the continuity provided by the globally available talent.

With more than 430 experts, Rapid Circle helps various organisations every day to extract more value from the Microsoft Cloud. From Amsterdam, Pune (India), Australia and New Zealand, Rapid Circle collaborates with commercial companies and organisations in healthcare and education.