6 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2014

Mirjam Spanjaardt and Richard Kamman from Amphia Hospital

A HEALTHY
SERVICES SYSTEM

CUSTOMER IN FOCUS
Amphia is a progressive hospital that
prioritizes the quality of care. In order to
safeguard excellent care in the future,
Amphia has invested in one tool for all
supporting departments. This lets them
streamline internal processes, but above all
provide better services to their end users.
TEXT: MILOU SNATERSE PHOTOGRAPHY: AAD HOOGENDOORN

Amphia is one of the biggest peripheral, top-clinical hospitals in the

An application to make life easier

Netherlands, with four locations in the south of the country. The

The IMT, HR, Housing and EHR/Medical and Organizational

hospital pays a lot of attention to quality care and certification. It also

Information knowledge centres already use TOPdesk as a service

provides training for a variety of specializations. Amphia is progressive;

management application. This has made TOPdesk a crucial system

this is demonstrated by the fact that they were one of the first Dutch

in which all processes come together. The final knowledge centre,

hospitals to introduce a large-scale Electronic Health Record (EHR).

Facilities, is currently switching to TOPdesk as a CAFM system. The

This was an important step towards a better quality of care and

laboratories will also switch in due time.

patient security. Amphia also continually improves its information

Kamman says, We are always looking for applications to make

provision. The hospital strives to achieve optimal information

life easier. We want to implement the applications we eventually

provision with as few applications as possible. This was an important

choose on as grand a scale possible, so that we dont end up with a

reason to roll out TOPdesk throughout the entire organization.

fragmented application landscape. This was an important reason to

A single incident registration system

roll out TOPdesk across the entire organization. The entire chain must
eventually work from a single source to make collaboration easier.

Amphia is subdivided into care centres and knowledge centres. All

Also, the care is so interconnected that we simply cant allow ourselves

the hospitals care departments belong to care centres. The knowledge

to work in different systems.

centres comprise the supporting departments. In 1997, the Information

and Medical Technology (IMT) knowledge centre was the first to start

The ease of collaboration in one tool

working with TOPdesk as an incident management system.

Working together in one system has proven to be a success. Were

Mirjam Spanjaardt, Head of IMT Application Management,

seeing more and more connections develop, says Kamman. For

explains how TOPdesk is used within the knowledge centre: We

instance, when a new employee commenced before, there was a

use TOPdesk for everything: from something simple like a forgotten

mountain of paperwork to do. Now we register this whole process in

password to the most complex matters, like equipment that no

TOPdesk in one go. A series of events is created, and these make sure

longer works. In most cases we have to find out whether we can

that the right actions take place. When the employee actually joins

resolve the problem within our own knowledge centre, or have to

the organization, their email address is ready and they can get straight

escalate it to a second party.

to work. There is a similar exit process. This shows us that an HR action

TOPdesk is used intensively as an incident management system

within IMT. Richard Kamman, IMT Knowledge Centre Manager,
illustrates this: When the EHR was introduced, TOPdesk was used to

had immediate consequences for IT, and vice versa. And this is how we
continue to expand TOPdesk.

register all incidents. During the implementation period, we received

Increased efficiency

as many as five thousand calls a month. The number has since

One of the most important reasons for Amphia to bring its processes

dropped to two thousand a month. Amphias use of TOPdesk is not

together in one service management application is efficiency.

limited to just IT questions, however: the application is also used for all

Everyone had their own hobby horse, but if we hadnt stepped in,

questions regarding HR and housing.

there is a fair chance that more comparable tools would have been
purchased, says Kamman.

8 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2014

For Amphia, TOPdesk is the incident management system for an array of applications.
In addition to TOPdesk, Amphia has introduced a large ERP system, CareCTRL, for all
calls relating to medical apparatus. The hospital wants to use both applications to
create an optimal information provision set-up.
Kamman says, Eventually we want a link between TOPdesk and CareCTRL, so
that all calls registered in CareCTRL are synchronized with TOPdesk. In time, all
incident registrations and assets have to end up in TOPdesk, so that we have just one
registration system. This will make it even easier to collate questions in the future.

Continuous improvement
One of the next steps forward will be using the Self Service Desk. In hospitals,
everyone is in a hurry, says Kamman. If the help desk cant be immediately reached
by phone, people register their problems later, or even not at all. This isnt what we
want. It is much easier if people can register their calls themselves, from their own
workstations. This lets users register calls when theyre ready and able. Meanwhile,
we can immediately see who logged the call, and have access to all the information
we need to respond effectively. The help desk is now busiest at the start of the day.
This is also set to change when we start using the Self Service Desk. Well be taking a
big step forwards in terms of efficiency.
Kamman says that he does not see TOPdesk as a system for supporting
departments, but rather a system for end users. Spanjaardt adds, This is why we
use the term call rather than incident. This is easier and better for everyone. With
Facilities joining in, we are taking the next step towards a user-friendly, integral
system for the end user. We are working towards more chain formation, collaboration
and clarity.

Looking to the future

There are big changes ahead for Amphia. A new Amphia hospital will enter use in
2018. Currently under construction is a future-proof, modern hospital that can offer
high-quality care, with plenty of attention for high-quality education. A new building
means a lot to move and a lot of changes for the supporting departments. Kamman
says, Moving offices affects the room number, telephone number and IP address.
Soon all processes will be in TOPdesk, so we wont need to set up isolated actions.
Instead, we can set up a chain of actions, increasing the efficiency of our efforts.
Spanjaardt and Kamman have big plans for the future. What we would like is that
in three years, end users have an app on their phone that lets them register calls.
The location is immediately clear thanks to the phones GPS. Maybe the caller could
include a photo, or scan an object using a bar code. If this is the scenario were facing,
it means someone can register their problem in a few seconds. And that we can
process it quickly at the back end.
Making everything as straightforward as possible for the end users, so they can
easily register problems. That is Amphias goal.

TOPDESK MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2014 9

WE CANT ALLOW
OURSELVES TO WORK IN
DIFFERENT SYSTEMS
Richard Kamman
IMT Knowledge Centre Manager

Tips from Amphia

Bringing together different supporting departments is no
mean feat. Kamman and Spanjaardt provided some tips for a
successful integration.

1
2
3

Define the problem, then look for the best solution. Can
TOPdesk provide the answer?
Start training people on time. Make lessons part of the
project. The more familiar people are with the product,
the greater the support within the organization.
Make sure the functional management is set up properly
right away. The knowledge you gain during a project
is crucial for functional management: when you make
decisions about the tools set-up, you are also making
decisions about the functional management.

4
5

Be open to change. In the end, you have to be able to

collaborate. Having the right to veto doesnt work.
Always remember that you are dealing with a user
project. The end users have to be able to get to work. This
is why you shouldnt approach the project as a technical
process. Instead, stay close to the users and let them
think about the problem and a possible solution.

Make sure you understand each other. For instance, it is

easy for miscommunication to occur between you and
a supplier. If necessary, draft a glossary. This will make
it clear to everyone whether a call is the same as an
incident.