RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG diligently presses ahead with digitalization

Bad Neustadt/Saale, 25 September, 2017

RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG diligently presses ahead with digitalization

• RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG now uses the Mindbreeze InSpire semantic search engine to provide efficient applications for the medical sector
• Company discontinues AI project based on IBM Watson
• Regulatory and budgetary pressures call for more drastic efficiency gains: digitalization is a major driver

RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG is forging ahead with the implementation of its digitalization strategy and is launching a new collaboration with Austrian enterprise search and big data provider Mindbreeze, a subsidiary of the publicly listed Fabasoft AG. The clinic group will use Mindbreeze’s AI-based (artificial intelligence) search engine technology.

With this application ─ in the form of a medical cockpit ─ that has been further developed in close cooperation with RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG, the entire medical staff can orient themselves more quickly and their workload is immediately alleviated. “This new approach to medical information will help us to structure the increasing amount of data and then make the information analyzable and evaluable. This is another aspect in which digitalization presents a tangible, concrete benefit,” says Stephan Holzinger, CEO of the group. The medical cockpit is initially being introduced at the new Campus Bad Neustadt; use at the group’s other clinic locations is planned.

With the application, the company implements an intelligent system for automatic document processing. The application can collect data from very diverse and unstructured medical documents − medical reports, laboratory or surgical reports, radiology tests − glean what is relevant to the doctor in a precise and targeted way, and filter and prepare the data.

Using semantic analysis, the system supports information retrieval in heterogeneous and predominantly free text-based patient records, taking into account medical terminology and syntax as well as networked searching. This has far-reaching implications in the clinical sector and the field of research, allowing patterns in clinical findings, illnesses, and medication to be accurately detected, and providing doctors with a quick overview of voluminous cases. All patient records and structured current patient data are presented to the physician chronologically on a central user interface, a so-called medical cockpit.

RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG will also be joining forces with other partners in the future to work on more advanced AI-based systems. To this end, the company is establishing a corresponding cooperation platform to develop solutions with measurable added value.

 “Because of the consistently high level of regulatory and budgetary pressure, we strongly believe in the use of intelligent assistance systems for becoming even more efficient. That is the future − there is no getting around this, both in administrative processes like the clinical documentation and calculation of patient care services, as well as perspectively for diagnosis support. Accordingly, we are driving the digitalization strategy forward, and are also incorporating telemedicine and robotics. Our new digital transformation department integrates the medical staff and other users extensively into this process − that is essential for internal acceptance,” says Holzinger.

The previous collaboration with IBM Watson will not be continued after the completion of the pilot project.

RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG is one of the largest healthcare providers in Germany, employing approximately 16,500 staff members. The clinic group provides top-quality healthcare with a direct link to universities and research facilities. More than 800,000 patients are treated annually at the five locations in the Zentralklinik Bad Berka, Campus Bad Neustadt, the Klinikum Frankfurt (Oder), and the University Hospital Giessen and Marburg.

With the RHÖN campus concept, the company is currently implementing an innovative and forward-looking project that aims to elevate cross-sectoral medical care in rural areas to a new level of excellence, oriented to growing patient needs.  www.rhoen-klinikum-ag.com

Mindbreeze GmbH, headquartered in Linz, Austria, is a leading European provider of enterprise search, big data, and knowledge management appliances. The Mindbreeze products understand information and enable a consolidated view of corporate knowledge, regardless of where (data sources) and how (structured, unstructured) the information is stored. www.mindbreeze.com

Your contact:

RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG
Kai Knitter, Head of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations
97616 Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale, Schlossplatz 1
T. 09771 65-1328, F. 09771 65-1820, kai.knitter@rhoen-klinikum-ag.com