Preventive diagnosis: PRTG by Paessler acts as an early warning system for DR. ERLER KLINIKEN
About DR. ERLER KLINIKEN
Founded in 1963 by Dr. Fritz Erler, DR. ERLER KLINIKEN is a modern hospital that specializes in surgery and orthopedics. It offers a wide range of services – from intensive care medicine to visceral and vascular surgery – and is a leading healthcare provider in the Nuremberg metropolitan region/Germany. Boasting the region’s very first inpatient rehabilitation center of its kind and a medical care center (MVZ) for orthopedic diseases, DR. ERLER KLINIKEN has been setting standards in state-of-the-art medicine and patient care for over 60 years.
Monitoring as an ECG for IT and medical technology
For years, IT has played a fundamental role in the operation and organization of the DR. ERLER KLINIKEN. And in light of the rapid onset of digitalization and Germany's new Hospital Future Act (KHZG), this role is becoming increasingly important. In the world of medical IT, where precision and reliability can make a difference in the health (and in some cases, the lives) of patients, the DR. ERLER KLINIKEN has been consistently relying upon comprehensive monitoring based on PRTG by Paessler since 2017.
Like an ECG, PRTG measures and monitors the vital functions of both the IT and medical technology infrastructure — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By detecting anomalies at an early stage, PRTG allows for proactive maintenance. As a result, IT manager Michael Krappmann and his team can prevent downtime and additional costs, and provide the technical basis for the continual and reliable care of patients.
Michael Krappmann explains the reasons for choosing PRTG in 2017: “Our main job as the IT team of a hospital is to make sure everything is always up and running, and above all, to ensure that patient care is administered smoothly. We don't have the time or the resources to implement open-source systems such as Nagios, or to maintain them with the help of support forums. With PRTG, we get a mature, user-friendly solution and unbeatable support from the manufacturer Paessler. We also love the fact that Paessler is a German company based in Nuremberg.”
The advantages of comprehensive IT monitoring
PRTG covers a wide range of IT and medical technology components. The software monitors web and mail servers, core switches, the entire network, server hardware, storage systems, virtual and physical servers, databases, and various clients. For example, PRTG monitors storage locations for interface messages (with regard to the number of files) and the Windows services of application servers. PRTG also keeps a constant eye on critical medical technology systems such as the hospital information system (HIS), the picture archiving and communication system (PACS), medication systems, and payment machines, focusing on parameters such as runtime, drive capacities, LAN interfaces, and RAM and CPU usage.
Among other things, PRTG has helped Krappmann and his team manage a problem with the temperature in the server room caused by a partial failure of the building management system. By monitoring iLO, PRTG could quickly detect the problem, allow for rapid troubleshooting, and prevent more serious issues. This incident highlights the value of proactive monitoring — even with respect to compliance with the KHZG, which involves a shift from simply reacting to problems to implementing a predictive maintenance strategy.
For security reasons, Krappmann's IT team strives to keep the DR. ERLER KLINIKEN VPN as lean as possible. PRTG was therefore integrated with the Teamwire messenger service. The hospital hired a service provider to develop a bot that can receive email notifications from PRTG, and then send these notifications via Teamwire to the members of the IT team. This keeps the load on the DR. ERLER KLINIKEN VPN to a minimum, and allows the respective workers to receive the alerts and notifications via the usual means.
PRTG sunburst view
“Our main job as the IT team of a hospital is to make sure everything is always up and running, and above all, to ensure that patient care is administered smoothly. We don't have the time or the resources to implement open-source systems such as Nagios, or to maintain them with the help of support forums. With PRTG, we get a mature, user-friendly solution and unbeatable support from the manufacturer Paessler. We also love the fact that Paessler is a German company based in Nuremberg.”
Michael Krappmann, Head of IT at DR. ERLER KLINIKEN
Increased efficiency in the age of the KHZG
Since implementing PRTG, the infrastructure at the DR. ERLER KLINIKEN has become a lot more reliable, and the monitoring of its medical technology has improved significantly. PRTG enables the IT team to take immediate action at the first sign of a malfunction (rather than simply reacting), which has increased the efficiency of the team while allowing them to reduce downtime and the additional costs associated with interruptions.
Thanks to the outstanding reliability and transparency achieved by PRTG, the DR. ERLER KLINIKEN is also able to comply with the requirements of the Hospital Future Act: “The KHZG requires autonomous server room monitoring in order to be able to quickly identify effects on critical systems. We can meet this requirement with PRTG”, says Michael Krappmann.
Network map of DR. ERLER KLINIKEN
Summary and actions for the future
Michael Krappmann summarizes the importance of monitoring at the DR. ERLER KLINIKEN:
“Before using PRTG, we on the IT team used to always get calls to let us know that something wasn't working. Since installing PRTG, we can fix most malfunctions before anyone even notices them. By monitoring around the clock with PRTG, we've been able to significantly increase the efficiency — and above all, the reliability — of both our IT and medical systems.”
Looking ahead, Michael Krappmann and his team plan to use PRTG DICOM and HL7 sensors to reinforce the integration and monitoring of their medical devices and systems. This will not only optimize the monitoring of performance, availability, and security, but also boost the efficiency and quality of patient care by providing for even better checks of medical devices. Thanks to PRTG, the DR. ERLER KLINIKEN is perfectly equipped to actively meet the challenges of digital transformation in the healthcare sector.
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