Medical services provider leverages digital workspace solutions

The future of healthcare is digital. And with the help of Citrix Systems, Inc., The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust (RBFT) is working to deliver it today.

“At RBFT, our legacy is one of innovation and change and we are always looking ahead to the challenges of the future and how we can apply technology to overcome them and enhance the health and wellbeing of the people we serve,” said Heather Allan, Director of IM&T, RBFT.

And it is working in partnership with Citrix to achieve this goal.

“We need to make information available quickly, wherever it’s required, while always ensuring that patient data is protected,” Allan said.  “And we need IT to be an enabler and not a blocker that causes delay in patient care.”

Creating the Space to Succeed

“User experience is very important,” Allan added. “And consistency is key. Clinicians expect their IT environments to be the same wherever they log in, because they have no time to worry about which applications are available on a particular machine, or what order the icons appear in. And they definitely don’t have time to call IT support.”

With Citrix, RBFT can enable faster decision making among its clinicians. And according to David Clarke, Emergency Department Consultant, RBFT, this leads to improved patient care and better outcomes.

“In the emergency department, everything moves so quickly. You only have a limited amount of time per patient and anything you can do to make that more efficient allows you to see more patients and to spend more time with each patient. It's a better, more efficient use of doctors' precious time,” he said.

Securing Data and Devices

For healthcare organisations managing sensitive data, security is critical. And Citrix delivers on this front as well, providing a single pane through which IT can dynamically manage security and quickly and easily apply patches, updates and policies on all endpoints to maintain the safety of its systems and data.

“It's a 21st century platform which gives medical staff consolidated authentication through tap and go, and it saves considerable  time in time-critical situations like drug dispensing,” Allan said. “You don't want patients waiting for, say, morphine, while a doctor and his co-authorising peer have their successive logins authenticated to dispense the drug. With Citrix, it's seamless.”