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

back