Virtualization Initiative Cuts Costs and Improves Security and Management of Computing Infrastructure
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Wyse Technology, the global leader in thin computing and client virtualization, today announced another success story at Raritan Bay Medical Center. As a result of their desktop virtualization efforts, Raritan Bay Medical Center (RBMC) has improved staff efficiency and patient care, simplified IT management and maintenance, improved patient data privacy and IT security, all while reducing overall costs.
With two facilities located in central New Jersey, RBMC is ranked among the nation's top ten percent of hospitals in the care of stroke patients, a position the hospital has held for the past five consecutive years. RBMC is also one of less than two percent of hospitals nationally to achieve re-designation as a Magnet Hospital, recognizing nursing excellence, and has received the New Jersey Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield patient care quality award for the past three years. Licensed for 501 beds with a medical staff of more than 500, RBMC provides medical-surgical, maternity, pediatric, general and critical care, as well as adult behavioral health, emergency and interventional cardiac and same day surgery services.
Like other medical institutions, RBMC must control costs while maintaining the highest levels of patient care, safety, and privacy as required by HIPAA. RBMC relies on technology to help it meet these high standards. Its technology environment is as complex as its staff is busy. Various departments use multiple specialized applications, such as several from Siemens Healthcare including, Med Administration Check™ used heavily by nursing staff, and a patient management and clinical records system, called INVISION®, that is used throughout the facilities; and multiple third party applications including a Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS) and scheduling systems. Staff accesses the applications via RBMC's secure intranet using fixed workstation and mobile units.
As the technology needs of the medical staff grew and rapid access to applications increased, RBMC began to outgrow its technology solution. It needed a highly secure environment, better performance, and space-efficient hardware. RBMC wanted to be sure that as its infrastructure grew it had a secure environment in which patient data could be accessed efficiently; only by the appropriate medical staff.
RBMC has now re-worked its computing infrastructure, resulting in better stability and security, increased end user productivity and satisfaction, and simplified management.
Among the most significant challenges facing RBMC inefficiencies resulting from configurability issues with Windows CE on the PCs. When physicians zoomed in on images, such as X-rays, at PACS workstations, they were blurry because those units couldn't deliver high enough resolution. Doctors had to share a single system at each nurse workstation that was able to display sharp images.
Physicians used to line up four deep to view images on a single nurse workstation that provided correct resolution, for example. Now, they can go to any available Wyse device on the floor, zoom in on their images and get a sharp picture.
"Between an 84% drop in help desk tickets, a 75% reduction in provisioning time, and the cost savings gained from replacing PCs with Wyse virtual clients, Raritan Bay Medical Center is truly benefitting from their implementation of Wyse and Citrix solutions," according to Maryam Alexandrian, Senior Vice President Worldwide Sales and Channels at Wyse. "We're honored to be playing a role in improving the technology infrastructure at such a prestigious healthcare organization."
Another major concern with the PC desktops was the easily corrupted user profiles that impacted medical staff productivity. For example, when one device went bad, it affected three or four others. If this happened in the lab, some employees wouldn't have to access the applications they needed to process samples. That translated into lower productivity for medical and support staff and also resulted in numerous help desk complaints. Every week, RBMC spent several hours fixing corrupted user profiles.
When RBMC decided to upgrade its solution, its main goals were simplification, consistency among systems, and improved security. Although the medical center considered a competing virtual client solution, it ultimately selected Wyse Technology.
RBMC liked the compact footprint of the Wyse virtual clients, the space savings afforded by being able to affix the devices onto walls, as well as the ease with which it could add wireless capacity to its mobile devices and the number and variety of ports available. RBMC has a lot of devices with different connection requirements. With Wyse, RBMC is able to customize the units to fit nearly any kind of environment.
RBMC has deployed approximately 300 Wyse V90LE virtual clients running Microsoft XP Embedded (XPe) on Citrix XenApp servers. The Wyse virtual clients are mounted to the back of monitors, some of which are attached to walls at nurses' stations. Others are used as mobile workstations or with handheld devices.
RBMC will continue replacing PCs wherever feasible.
Wyse Technology and Healthcare
Wyse has been providing thin client and client virtualization solutions to the healthcare industry since 1995. With Wyse in place, IT administrators are replacing their high-cost, high-maintenance PCs with thin clients. The benefits to healthcare organizations include having a safer computing environment, lower TCO, greater energy efficiency, and less maintenance; all while helping organizations make the move to Electronic Health Records, maintaining HIPAA compliance, safeguarding sensitive patient and employee information, and supporting a mobile medical staff.
About Wyse Technology
Wyse Technology is the global leader in thin computing-based virtualization software and hardware solutions. Wyse and its strategic partners, including, Citrix, CSC, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, Novell, VMware and others deliver the most innovative hardware, software, and services that optimize the benefits of cloud computing, virtualization and green IT. These thin computing solutions allow consumers, SMEs and large public and private enterprises to access high definition voice, data and video content they need, with optimized security, manageability, and user experience at a much lower total cost of ownership than other traditional end user devices, including PCs. Wyse has the largest global distribution network in the thin computing market through its partners and offices worldwide. Wyse was founded in 1981, and it is headquartered in San Jose, California, USA.
For more information, visit the Wyse Web site at http://www.wyse.com or call 1-800-GET-WYSE.
* All brands and names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective holders.
CONTACT:
Element Public Relations
Tim Smith, 415-350-3019
[email protected]
KEYWORDS: United States North America California New Jersey
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Technology Data Management Hardware Health Hospitals
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