Customer:	Medical Centre “Intersono”  (www.intersono.com.ua)
Team size:	15 persons
Duration:	June 2005-till present
Technologies:	.NET Framework 2.0, ASP.NET, MS IIS, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, SQL Server 2005, Microsoft AJAX
Programming languages:	C#, TSQL
Databases:	MS SQL Server 2005
Operating systems:	MS Windows XP

Customer profile

INTERSONO (Lviv, Ukraine) – is a leading medical institution for extracorporal fertilization in Ukraine, with about 35 highly qualified medical specialists. The clinic is supplied with the most up-to-date medical equipment (Medison 9900 and 8800 ultrasound devices, IVF laboratory Narishige-Zapf-Olympus, cryopreservation Planner, photocolposcopy Leica, etc). Its doctors are members of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.
The clinic provides high-quality services to clients not only from Ukraine, but also from Australia, Austria, France, New Zealand, USA, and other countries. In 2004, INTERSONO received a certificate of compliance with ISO 9001-2001 standards, thus becoming the first certified IVF clinic in Ukraine.

Challenge

Most medical institutions in Ukraine have been traditionally working with paper documents. That sometimes led to mistakes during patient data input, to problems with storing and retrieving test results and other medical examinations (radiography, tomography, ultrasound, etc) and, therefore, to undesired consequences. Moreover, a large amount of paperwork required significant time for locating and updating patient records and performing other routine tasks. Though automation of document workflow was becoming critical for many medical institutions, there was practically no choice of software that could solve these kinds of problem.
Initially, INTERSONO has been using its own EMR system, but this system could no longer satisfy the increasing demand of the clinic. The medical centre required a full-fledged solution that would automate document workflow across all departments, allowing its staff to exchange patient data and other medical information quickly and easily.

Solution

When choosing software tools for the solution, ELEKS specialists relied on their vast experience of working with Microsoft Corp products. The future medical information system was one of the first projects written using Microsoft® SQL Server 2005 & Microsoft® .NET Framework 2.0. When Eleks started to develop its software, Microsoft® SQL Server 2005 was not officially released yet, and the developers were using a CTP version available only to Microsoft® partners. One of the key features of the system is an Electronic Medical Record that contains all the patient data, including medical examination results, laboratory tests, and different medical images (X-ray, ultrasound, etc). It is important that the data input is based on a unique Tree View Template technology that does not require typing large portions of texts.

The final version of the system deployed in INTERSONO included the following subsystems:

• Patient Electronic Medical Record
  
• Document Template Editor
  
• Schedule
  
• Activities Analysis
  
• Integration with Medical Equipment
  
• Video and Image Processing
  
• Security and Access Control
  
• Journals
  
• Director
  

Use of Windows Server® 2003 allows setting proper security features and managing user access permissions, thus providing high level of system security. This is especially important since the system is functioning in a network environment, making all the data available only to authorized personnel. An easy-to-use graphical interface, characteristic for Microsoft products and a familiar Windows operational environment make the system easy to operate even for inexperienced users.

Customer benefits

As a result of the system implementation, the customer can enjoy the following benefits:

• Full automation of document workflow and appointment management
• Data input speed-up and increased accuracy of input data
• Integration with various medical devices
• Optimized digital video and image processing
• Well-structured and appealing discharge reports
• Analytic and statistical opportunities, and
• System scalability and high security level.

After automating its document workflow with the help of “Doctor ELEKS” system, INTERSONO managed to dramatically improve its quality of service and optimize the work of its personnel.
See also a case study about “Doctor Eleks” installation at Intersono Clinic (Lviv) on Microsoft Ukraine  Web site (Ukr).