Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt

Operating since 2007, Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357 (CCHE) in Cairo is the largest pediatric oncology hospital in the world in terms of capacity (320 beds). The hospital acts as a comprehensive institution for battling childhood cancer and is dedicated to providing the highest quality care for free across the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. As a direct result of its efforts, CCHE has set new standards for healthcare and introduced innovative fundraising concepts for charity work in Egypt.

The challenge: Accessing patient information easily and securely

Those who work in healthcare have hectic schedules and are not always able to complete tasks efficiently from a single location. CCHE was looking for a solution that would allow its employees to freely access patient data from any point, on any device, at any time, without compromising sensitive medical records. Its goal was to centrally manage its 1,000 computers and laptops and cut down on the costs and time-consuming tasks of replacing or updating them. In short, the organization wanted to improve its staff’s overall work experience.

The solution: Deploying virtual application delivery for better clinician mobility

After a thorough evaluation process to determine which solution would best suit the hospital’s requirements, CCHE selected Citrix® XenApp® to help meet its goal of becoming a leader in oncology treatment for children. The implementation was carried out across all departments throughout the hospital thanks to the expertise of Citrix local partner eSkyIT, and staff can now access electronic health records with ease.

XenApp, a complete system for virtual application delivery, offers both online and offline access through a combination of application hosting and streaming directly to user devices. By isolating applications from the underlying operating system, CCHE was able to increase compatibility and manageability and better enable clinician mobility. Now instead of relying on aging and expensive computers, CCHE can switch over to thin clients and take advantage of their cost, scalability, and security benefits. Through streamlining workflows and information access, CCHE also has the ability to reduce medical errors, deliver critical information at the point of care, and derive greater efficiency from the elimination of paper-centric processes. “Our main priority at CCHE is delivering the most advanced medical care that meets the highest international standards for our patients, free of cost and without any discrimination,” says Ayman Ibrahim, vice president of technology at the hospital.

Key benefits
 

Reducing IT costs

The task of updating more than 1,000 personal computers and laptops on a yearly basis was daunting for CCHE. It was expensive and inefficient for IT staff to address each user’s IT issues separately, to ship laptops and loaner machines, and to manage software updates on every device. With each upgrade, crucial hours were lost in downtime; nurses and doctors were left without access to important documents, resulting in a loss of even more productivity. With XenApp, necessary updates can be carried out without interruptions, and IT members can focus on more urgent matters.

Delivering web and Windows applications on the go

As a nonprofit organization, CCHE depends entirely on donations, which means it must maximize its budget and ensure there is no unnecessary spending. By centrally managing apps in the data center instead of on individual endpoint devices, XenApp allows CCHE to reduce costs significantly by avoiding funneling resources to address each user’s IT issues. With time and money saved, CCHE can use funds in areas where it matters most—to better the lives of children in need.

Enabling employee productivity while enhancing data security

The healthcare field is extremely demanding. Because medical staff is expected to make important decisions at a moment’s notice, they must have access to patient records wherever they are. XenApp allows employees to access patient information on numerous devices, on any network, while they are mobile. Now, doctors and nurses at CCHE can better direct their efforts to meeting the specific needs of their patients—while adhering to internationally accepted standards such as preserving patient privacy and medical record confidentiality without compromising clinician productivity or satisfaction.

Looking ahead

As a result of the successful implementation of XenApp, CCHE intends on evaluating other areas of the hospital’s IT infrastructure that Citrix technology could enhance. By transforming critical business processes for the better, the team at CCHE strongly believes they will continue to the unique worldwide icon of change towards a cancer-free childhood.