Helse Vest had an urgent need to upgrade the software across all health enterprises in the region. - I have never experienced a better process in CheckWare than what I have seen in the past year. There has been truly high quality throughout the upgrade process, says advisor and system manager Nina Eltvik at Helse Bergen.
The upgrade to CheckWare Helium had to be planned and tested in the middle of a pandemic. This required a range of preparations and careful planning. CheckWare’s project manager Odd Ivar Abusland viewed it as a really exciting challenge.
The gap from the version they were on to the version to be upgraded was definitely large. Abusland now concludes that the complicated upgrade was a real success.
- This is a very good client, a client who has been with us a long time, where there is full mutual trust and openness in communication. Helse Vest has an enormous level of expertise, with knowledge that is hard to find elsewhere. Their level really put us to the test. They went "all-in"! They dived deep and asked all the necessary questions during the testing phase, says Abusland.
Many pieces had to fall into place
A total upgrade was carried out for ten different installations, where consideration was given to new user interfaces both for employees and patients.
- I feel that CheckWare has become much more professional. When we started several years ago, there were few people available, which made the processes highly dependent on individuals. Now I see that there is a team where many can support each other. Several issues can be resolved simultaneously. The improvement has been gradual, but perhaps especially much has happened over the last year, says system manager Nina Eltvik at Helse Bergen.
She is supported by special consultant Erlend Johnsen at Helse Vest IKT, who has been the coordinating link between the enterprises in Helse Vest and CheckWare.
- We have been prioritized, there is no doubt about that. When we installed the new version and things didn’t work exactly as promised, we worked together on the unfinished version until it was completed. We worked intensively, and CheckWare fixed the errors that were there. Quite a lot could be done over a weekend, he says, and believes the openness in the process between the customer and supplier has been crucial:
- We are good at detecting errors early and provide detailed descriptions of what is wrong. We try to deliver in a very acceptable manner, factual and documented, when not everything functions properly. And CheckWare acts on this immediately. In this way, I feel we are one big team that has worked step by step together, tested thoroughly and solved challenges along the way. I believe everyone agrees this has gone very well, says Johnsen.
- It has almost gone too well. When September is over, nearly all the healthcare trusts will have been upgraded and we find no errors. I believe this is the result of very good planning and execution, says the specialist consultant at Helse Vest IKT.
I experience that CheckWare has become much more professional. When we started several years ago, there were few people available, which made the processes dependent on individuals. Now I see that there are teams, where many can rely on each other. Multiple lines can be solved simultaneously. The improvements have been gradual, but perhaps especially much has happened in the last year.
Frequent meetings and good rapport
A main challenge was to coordinate the user interface among the various healthcare trusts.
- It is complex and there are many challenges when introducing new versions. In the transition to Helium, of course security and privacy are central, and we have to perform risk analyses. Perhaps the biggest was that the trusts had their own setups before we upgraded. They therefore had individual needs which we tried to streamline as much as possible. Now we have cleaned up to make the setups uniform, says Erlend Johnsen.
The frequent meetings and good tone in the dialogue, despite the challenges, made it much easier to find solutions.
- It has been important to have a forum where everyone meets regularly, so we avoid the need to inform many different links at all times. At the same time, it has been essential to talk openly with CheckWare weekly about everything; what is ongoing and what needs to be done. We have had the feeling confirmed that we are one team and have stood together on the tasks, he says.
Project manager Odd Ivar Abusland explains that a project like this, with so many stakeholders, requires CheckWare to be on their toes all the way, with control, overview and good routines.
It has been important to have a forum where everyone meets regularly, so we avoid the need to inform many different links at all times. At the same time, it has been essential to talk openly with CheckWare weekly about everything; what is ongoing and what needs to be done. We have had the feeling confirmed that we are one team and have stood together on the tasks.
Helse Bergen
Helse Bergen HF is the legal name of Haukeland University Hospital.
Approximately 13,000 employees work here across 229 professional groups.
The hospital had nearly one million patient encounters in 2021.
About 2,000 students annually complete parts of their education at the hospital.
Helse Bergen has been a customer of CheckWare since 2015.
Strong ownership of CheckWare
For Nina Eltvik, having an open relationship of trust with CheckWare becomes almost personal.
- We were the first in Helse Bergen with eMeistring, and over all these years we have developed strong ownership of CheckWare. The personal commitment probably applies not only to me but to several of us in Helse Bergen. It started with mental healthcare, and now we see a huge demand for CheckWare’s tools within somatics as well, she says, estimating that the use of CheckWare in the somatic field today is at least as extensive as in mental healthcare.
- I feel that we in Helse Bergen are constantly the drivers of CheckWare use in Helse Vest. We have greater resources with more people involved in the project. Someone has to be the engine, and I think that's wise, she says, emphasizing that she is thrilled that much of the paper-based case processing and the many paper forms will soon be history.
