Processing data in modern medical practice

A powerful data management system goes live in the Central Baden Fertility Center

Family planning and data processing are not the sort of terms you’d expect to hear in the same breath, at least not in everyday conversation. But the two can be closely connected, as the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Technology Consultancy at the University of Karlsruhe can confirm. The center recently set up a customized data management system at the Central Baden Fertility Center, which will shortly be opening its doors in Rastatt.

The Central Baden Fertility Center has set itself a clear goal: to provide patients with ongoing support in fulfilling their desire to have children, through state-of-theart medicine. To assess the realistic likelihood of successful treatment, doctors and scientists use some of the most modern laboratory equipment in the world. Yet the technology is not still far from ideal, as the underlying software typically used in medical establishments is not designed to store the type of detailed data required by doctors and physicians. Not only must the system store data on individual patients, the rest of the team needs access to general information. At the same time, however, respecting patient confidentiality is paramount.

The fertility clinic took its problem to the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Technology Consultancy, based at Karlsruhe University. To capture the type of data processing and information management actually needed, the Steinbeis experts organized a series of workshops with staff from the clinic. The result was a detailed specification list, ranking each item by priority. This formed the basis of a road map for organizing fertility clinic procedures. The team also laid down data hierarchies which met the staff’s need to share as much information as possible without violating patient confidentiality.

Armed with the workshop results, the Steinbeis Transfer Center set about identifying a partner capable of addressing the specific requirements of the Central Baden Fertility Center. The solution had to be based closely on systems currently used in clinic administration. Management was also keen to work with a regional supplier in a position to provide hardware and software support. Three companies made comprehensive presentations to the clinic, carefully addressing its specific requirements based on standard applications. After examining reference customers, the team eventually chose Setronic from Waldbronn.

Project managers from the Steinbeis transfer center are currently installing the hardware in clinic consulting rooms. They are also installing the software, capturing master data and putting the system through its paces, with early involvement of fertility center staff to ensure that they know how to use the system. By the time the clinic opens its doors, staff at the Central Baden Fertility Center will have a powerful data processing system at their fingertips.

Contact

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Ingo Tillhon
Steinbeis Transfer Center for Technology Consultancy at the University of Karlsruhe (Karlsruhe)

Dr. med. Markus Knoll
Kinderwunschzentrum Mittelbaden (Rastatt)

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