St. Elisabeth was the first hospital in Cologne to offer comprehensive WLAN coverage. More than ten years ago, digital devices such as smartphones and tablets became part of the everyday work of medical and nursing staff. Since then, mobile devices have become an integral part of medical examinations, daily rounds and documentation, individual medication, and updating digital patient files.

Conveniently equip managed devices

Increasing networking leads to a large number of mobile devices that - regardless of operating system, type or manufacturer - must be securely managed, configured, inventoried and equipped with the required programs. In order to keep the effort low as well as to optimally meet the requirements of the medical staff, St. Elisabeth Hospital was on the lookout for a suitable mobile device management system. However, none of the solutions, even those from well-known providers, were convincing in the long term.

A solution for all problems

After detailed market analyses and tests, the choice fell on Relution. Relution's Mobile Device Management has been in use since the end of 2022. "The most important thing is that the MDM works smoothly and we can rely on it. Relution delivers technically what it promises - what the previous MDM software solutions of other vendors could not fulfill", says Michael Flohr, Head of Department EDP at St. Elisabeth Hospital. Not only the technical aspects are convincing, but also the German support stands out. "Relution works reliably and shows us how great it is to have the right partner on our side," continues Flohr.

The right data at the right hand

At the moment, St. Elisabeth Hospital has 200 Relution device licenses, but it is already thinking in larger dimensions: another 100 licenses for the iOS operating system are in direct planning. The iPads and iPad Minis fit perfectly into the pockets of the medical staff's professional clothing. Some of these are personalized terminals assigned to a person or intended for an entire ward. Secure login takes place in multi-user mode - with personal user account as well as individual login.

The many stationary devices are linked to the hospital information system and are used in mobile rounds and in the management of digital patient records. Paper-saving, all data can be captured, linked and shared. This means that the latest data is available and shareable in seconds: medical staff are informed at all times - saving lives in the event of a decision.

In addition to the benefits and opportunities brought about by the increased use of digital devices in medicine and care, there is also an increased security risk as more and more confidential patient data is generated.

Independent, flexible and secure

When it comes to the sensitive issue of data protection, the hospital's ambitious quality goals are clearly evident: "We have very high expectations of ourselves, but also of our suppliers - and of the secure hosting of our data," explains Michael Flohr. For this reason, data protection-compliant operation is only an option for St. Elisabeth Hospital in its own infrastructure (On Premises). "We believe that due to advanced digitalization, data protection can best be adhered to if we host the data on our premises and do not pass it on externally. I'm a big fan of having full control over hardware and software," adds Michael Flohr.