Swiss software company wins major contract for patient portal in Germany

The software company the i-engineers from Zurich has been awarded the contract for the "Mein-Krankenhaus.Digital" (MK.D) project by Klinik IT eG (KIG) as part of a tender. The independent software company has been developing innovative solutions for the healthcare sector since 2002. The core product, the health-engine^®is a proven and versatile interoperability platform for digitizing processes in hospitals, clinics and other healthcare organizations.

The aim of the project that has now been won is to improve patient care in Germany by setting up a patient portal with a shared database on an interoperable, centrally operated platform. The patient portal will support digital processes for the admission, treatment, discharge and transfer of patients, provided they agree to this.

Solution already in use in Switzerland

Through the KIG, 20 hospital operators throughout Germany with a total of around 40 hospitals and clinics and a capacity of 8,500 beds are involved in the project. The number of participating facilities corresponds to a good 15 percent of all hospitals in Switzerland. They are all to be connected to the system efficiently and without additional hardware by the end of the year using a standardized procedure. In Switzerland, hospitals such as Basel University Hospital and Baselland Cantonal Hospital are already using the i-engineers patient portal.

Tangible relief for patients and clinics

The new patient portal makes things noticeably easier for patients: they can book appointments online, fill out referral forms and questionnaires digitally and release findings to the participating healthcare facilities. This shortens waiting times, avoids duplicate examinations and improves medical care. There are also advantages for the hospital facilities: they benefit from a reduction in the workload and acceleration of administrative processes, as manual work steps can be reduced or automated. Communication costs can also be reduced as information can be shared more quickly and efficiently. This ensures a smoother workflow in everyday clinical practice and a higher quality of treatment.

Exchange of health data across almost 150 clinics

The interoperability of the MK.D patient portal not only enables the technical connection of IT systems and services of a connected hospital via standardized integration components (gateways), but also networking with other joint projects. For example, the MK.D portal can and should be linked to the interoperable patient portal "Mein Krankenhaus Bayern" (MK.B), which is currently being implemented in 110 Bavarian hospitals - also coordinated by the KIG. Once both projects have been completed, patients will be able to benefit from a much simpler exchange of health data across almost 150 facilities throughout Germany, according to the statement.

Source and further information: the i-engineers