S U C C E S S S T O R Y
John C. Lincoln Health NetworkClearCube Solution Delivers Secure Remote & Mobile Computing to Expansive Health Network
OVERVIEW
4The Challenge
Dramatically reduce PC support costs and downtime at on-site and remote facilities, meet HIPAA data security standards, and improve employee comfort and flexibility
4The Solution
Deploy ClearCube blades in a central
location and provide Ethernet-con-
nected access devices (I/Ports)
throughout the health network, includ-
ing its mobile computing carts and
remote transcriptionist locations
4The Benefit
80% reduction in help desk calls, 80% faster repairs, lower operating costs, stronger HIPAA security and improved user work environments
The John C. Lincoln (JCL) Health Network
has served the Phoenix community since
1927, with a level of commitment that
makes them the only Arizona hospital
to have earned the McGaw Prize for
Excellence. The JCL network includes two
hospitals (Deer Valley and North Mountain)
and 11 clinics with nearly 3,000 employees.
The Challenge
Rob Israel, CIO of JCL, was frustrated with
the limitations of traditional desktop PCs in
the hospital environment. Traditional PCs
required heavy IT support (help desk and
repair), took up too much room in constrained
work areas (e.g., nurse’s stations), posed
a security risk because patient data was
stored on the local drive, and were inflexible
because they could not be easily moved or
redeployed.
The health network was also looking for an
alternative computing system to support
its nationwide network home-based
transcriptionists. Working on their own PCs,
the transcriptionists access and transcribe
audio files through the health network’s
dictation system. Although crucial to JCL’s
operations, the remote transcriptionists raised
significant IT maintenance and security issues.
“We had problems with other people in the
household using the PCs, or the users would
load conflicting software onto the computers,”
says Israel. “Sometimes the transcriptionists
would download documents locally so they
could work offline, which was a huge data
security risk. There was always the fear of
the PCs getting stolen or that a user would
not properly data scrub the computer before
getting a new one.”
To comply with HIPAA security and privacy
regulations, JCL had their transcriptionists
sign a remote access agreement that required
each user to install a series of antivirus and
firewall software. The hospital would also
randomly send out technicians to inspect
the transcriptionists’ work environments.
“Considering how far some of these users
were located, this process was really time-
consuming and tedious,” says Israel.
Delivering IT support for the remote users
was just as frustrating. “Sometimes we would
do remote desktop support; sometimes the
transcriptionist would mail the PC in and
we’d send them a new one; sometimes we
would go out to their homes if they were close
enough. We never really had a good system
for it,” says Israel.
The Solution
JCL chose ClearCube to address their
PC management and security challenges
for both on-site and remote computing.
ClearCube removes the PC from the user’s
work area, condenses it into an Intel®-
based blade form-factor, and rack-mounts
it in a central location. All that faces the
user are the peripherals (mouse, monitor,
keyboard) and a small access device called
a ClearCube user port that connects back
to the allocated blade via cable, fiber or
Ethernet. Utilizing ClearCube management
and allocation software, IT personnel can
remotely manage users and deployments
located anywhere in the world.
JCL chose to install Ethernet-connected
user ports (I/Ports) throughout the health
network, including its mobile computing carts
and remote transcriptionist locations. The
8834 Capital of Texas Highway North Austin, Texas 78759 Voice 512.652.3500 Fax 512.652.3501 Toll Free 866-652-3500
www.clearcube.com
Monitor mounted I/Ports
Admissions, JCL Deer Valley Hospital
I/Port enables JCL to leverage its existing
Ethernet infrastructure, including routers,
switches and other networking equipment.
Connecting via Ethernet also allows users to
access their blades over any distance.
The Benefit
JCL installed its blade deployment in the
North Mountain facility, which supports
over 700 end users in two hospitals and
associated regional clinics. By centralizing
its computing assets and connecting to the
blades via Ethernet, the hospital system
can expand without adding PC support
staff. For example, JCL recently expanded
at Deer Valley (ER, ICU) but did not hire
more IT support staff.
The ClearCube solution also helped
the health network comply with HIPAA
regulations by hardening asset and data
security. Only authorized personnel can
access the blades in the secure data center,
and IT administrators can “lock out” users
from attaching mass storage devices (disk
drives, CD drives, etc.) to the user ports.
Unauthorized users cannot download
sensitive patient data onto removable media
devices or upload unwanted software onto
the system.
This hardened security has become crucial
to the health network’s remote transcription
services. “Now the transcriptionists work on
blades that are located here at the hospital
through a secure VPN,” says Israel. “That
eliminates data being downloaded onto
computers outside the facility. It also saves
us money since we don’t have to add extra
security measures like antivirus software.”
Regardless of the end users’ locations, IT
personnel can remotely support them through
the ClearCube management software. In the
event of a system failure, an IT administrator
can reallocate the affected user to a spare
blade in minutes.
“With traditional PCs, it would take us at
least two to four hours to get the users back
up,” said Israel. “The remote management
is especially helpful with our home-based
transcriptionists. We used to dedicate a lot
of time supporting them, but now we can do
everything right here in the hospital. That’s
probably saved us fifty to sixty hours of
maintenance per month.”
By eliminating on-site maintenance, the
ClearCube solution relieves JCL’s IT staff
from entering traditionally difficult to service
areas like ORs, EDs and infectious disease
wards. The remote management prevents
technicians from accidentally introducing
contaminants into sterile environments or
interrupting medical procedures.
To provide the hospital with mobile
computing, ClearCube partnered with a
healthcare cart manufacturer to create
blade-powered carts. Whereas traditional
mobile carts utilize laptop PCs, JCL’s carts
comprise of just the computing peripherals
and a ClearCube I/Port. These carts offer
greater security since the I/Ports do not store
data locally and cannot utilize mass storage
devices without IT authorization. The small
I/Ports also does not require nearly as much
power as a laptop. “We’re getting up to twenty
hours of battery life on the carts. Needless to
say, that’s impressive,” says Israel.
Furthermore, the small footprint I/Port gives
back critical space to the health network’s
fixed computing locations (nurse’s stations,
EDs, ORs, labs). Approximately the size of a
paperback book, the I/Port can be mounted
behind a user’s monitor or underneath the
desk. Since the I/Port has no fans or other
moving parts, it does not emit the disruptive
noise or heat of traditional box PCs.
Summary
The John C. Lincoln Health Network is
pleased with the security, operating cost and
work space improvements it has realized
since deploying the centralized ClearCube
solution. “All our users – physicians, nurses
and transcriptionists – appreciate the space
savings and high availability. They also like
the fact that no re-training was involved to
use the system,” said Israel.
Mobile cart with
I/Port secured to
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