“Hospitals expect a future-proof, flexible infrastructure”

What are the big DMEA topics at NEXUS AG this year?

Daniel Heine: The topics that have kept us busy in recent years continue to engage us, and that is where we are once again focusing at this year's DMEA. One of these is the replacement of the SAP billing software IS-H and the IS-H-based HIS i.s.h.med, which affects a large number of hospitals. This topic is closely linked to the question: What does a future-proof HIS infrastructure actually look like? What role do the cloud and the web workstation play? To what extent are managed services used? We will be able to show a lot about this whole area at the DMEA. The second major topic is that hospital IT must become increasingly intelligent in times of ever more serious staff shortages in order to reduce the workload for doctors and nursing staff. We are using artificial intelligence in various facets for this purpose, and this can also be seen in concrete terms at the DMEA.

What does the future-proof HIS infrastructure look like?

Tobias Schlecht: More and more customers want their HIS to also function as a cloud application. This is not just about private cloud installations, but increasingly also about using the public cloud. Perhaps not for the entire HIS, but for sub-functions that need to be integrated into the overall HIS infrastructure in the best possible way. For us as an HIS provider, this means that we need to be able to offer complete web workstations. We showed the first steps in this direction at last year's DMEA and are now quite a bit further along, so the topic of web HIS will take up a lot of space at our DMEA presentation this year.

Will the hospital reform make cloud and managed services even more attractive?

Tobias Schlecht: We don't feel it in the market yet, but the hospital reform hasn't even really started yet. In general, we are convinced that the times when hospital digitization was synonymous with large, monolithic HIS are over. Hospitals today expect a flexible infrastructure that can also serve smaller units and that allows new functions to be added flexibly in politically dynamic times. With our new HIS generation, NEXUS / KISNG - and all our other solutions - we can offer exactly that. We follow an interoperable platform concept. Individual applications can be implemented separately or brought forward, and cloud modules can be interlinked with on-premise installations. This is particularly interesting for clinics that need to replace SAP IS-H. We also have our own research and development project, called Hybrid-HIS, in which cloud-based functions and on-premise installations run seamlessly under a common interface. We are starting with clinical workstations: We can already provide the ward round workstation completely independent of the end device. Ultimately, the aim will be to be able to move HIS functions of all kinds back and forth dynamically. Then, for example, a hospital would no longer need a huge server just because a large number of nursing staff log on to the system at the same time in the morning. This is where the cloud would come in.

Keyword IS-H replacement: how great is the pressure from the market now?

Daniel Heine: There is still a lot of uncertainty, but we can help to reduce it. As an SAP partner, we have over ten years of extensive experience with SAP infrastructures. This includes the changeover to S4/HANA, which is relevant for many companies, but also IS-H. We have now converted the billing of around 35 existing customers from IS-H to our own system. However, many customers don't just want a new billing system, they also want a new HIS. And we can make them an attractive offer - right up to a complete web HIS. The charm of the web HIS approach is that an IS-H/i.s.h.med replacement does not require the entire infrastructure to be turned inside out. Instead, it is possible to proceed step by step. The concept appears to be attractive, as NEXUS AG has received a disproportionately large slice of the cake from the tenders that have been issued to date. We are increasingly becoming a real specialist for IS-H replacements.

Does the web HIS approach also make it easier to implement AI modules?

Daniel Heine: It definitely does. And this is really picking up speed right now. We are now talking about mature applications that are suitable for everyday use and are being actively used by more and more customers. One area in which we can demonstrate a whole range of applications is risk prediction. Here we have our own modules, for example, for the early detection of sepsis, for estimating the risk of falls, delirium, pressure sores and thromboembolism and for determining the need for care. In addition to such prediction models that work with pattern recognition, we also offer a whole range of rule-based models, such as classic alert functions that use a wide variety of HIS data to support medical staff in their day-to-day work.

How flexibly can these AI tools be adapted to individual needs?

Tobias Schlecht: As always with NEXUS solutions, this is very flexible. We can also easily integrate modules from third-party providers. And we normally supply our own tools preconfigured. This means they can be used immediately, but can be individually adapted using an editor if required. We also use AI for the automatic recognition of document types on a PDF basis. This is quite successful, runs completely in the background and relieves the burden on medical staff both in terms of documentation and searching. Such AI assistants in the background are becoming increasingly important in times of increasing staff shortages.