The Medical University of South Carolina Simplifies Network Management with BlueCat
Company Size
1,000+
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- BlueCat Address Manager
Tech Stack
- IP Address Management (IPAM)
- DNS/DHCP core services
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Digital Expertise
- Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
- Networks & Connectivity - Network Management & Analysis Software
Applicable Industries
- Education
- Healthcare & Hospitals
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Maintenance
Services
- System Integration
- Training
About The Customer
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is the only comprehensive academic health center in South Carolina. It offers educational programs in the biomedical sciences, dentistry, health professions, medicine, nursing, and pharmacy. Each year, MUSC admits almost 33,000 patients to its hospitals, while its outpatient facilities serve 800,000 patients. The university has nearly 3,000 students in six colleges and 1,500 full and part-time teaching staff. MUSC's network spans 30+ remote sites and its IP address space is comprised of approximately 30,000 IP addresses. The network must support the diverse needs of both the hospital and university, as well as the intensive demands of medical researchers for online collaboration.
The Challenge
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is a comprehensive academic health center with nearly 3,000 students, 1,500 teaching staff, and a 750-bed medical center. The university's network spans over 30 remote sites and comprises approximately 30,000 IP addresses. The network must support the diverse needs of both the hospital and university, as well as the intensive demands of medical researchers for online collaboration. The number of IP-connected devices on the network is growing exponentially, including smart phones, tablets, and specialized healthcare devices like wireless IV pumps. In addition, security cameras and door locks that used to be hard-wired are now IP-enabled. To maintain the reliability of the network and better serve its users, MUSC needed an efficient way to manage, automate, and delegate day-to-day network administration tasks.
The Solution
In March 2011, MUSC’s network and UNIX administration teams began to look at options to replace their defunct Nortel NetID system. They needed a new solution that would simplify and automate IP Address Management (IPAM) and DNS/DHCP core services for all networks across the organization, while also allowing tasks to be delegated among administrators and field engineers. They evaluated other IPAM solutions including BT Diamond and Alcatel-Lucent (VitalQIP) before finally selecting BlueCat. BlueCat’s IPAM solution provides centralized management and visibility into “everything IP” in the network including IP addresses, DNS, and DHCP. The solution includes a built-in workflow engine and change control system to free up time and resources by pushing recurrent network administration tasks out to the field with full approval and auditing controls. The BlueCat solution was successfully deployed using a phased approach to minimize the risk of network disruption or downtime.
Operational Impact
Case Study missing?
Start adding your own!
Register with your work email and create a new case study profile for your business.
Related Case Studies.
Case Study
Hospital Inventory Management
The hospital supply chain team is responsible for ensuring that the right medical supplies are readily available to clinicians when and where needed, and to do so in the most efficient manner possible. However, many of the systems and processes in use at the cancer center for supply chain management were not best suited to support these goals. Barcoding technology, a commonly used method for inventory management of medical supplies, is labor intensive, time consuming, does not provide real-time visibility into inventory levels and can be prone to error. Consequently, the lack of accurate and real-time visibility into inventory levels across multiple supply rooms in multiple hospital facilities creates additional inefficiency in the system causing over-ordering, hoarding, and wasted supplies. Other sources of waste and cost were also identified as candidates for improvement. Existing systems and processes did not provide adequate security for high-cost inventory within the hospital, which was another driver of cost. A lack of visibility into expiration dates for supplies resulted in supplies being wasted due to past expiry dates. Storage of supplies was also a key consideration given the location of the cancer center’s facilities in a dense urban setting, where space is always at a premium. In order to address the challenges outlined above, the hospital sought a solution that would provide real-time inventory information with high levels of accuracy, reduce the level of manual effort required and enable data driven decision making to ensure that the right supplies were readily available to clinicians in the right location at the right time.
Case Study
Gas Pipeline Monitoring System for Hospitals
This system integrator focuses on providing centralized gas pipeline monitoring systems for hospitals. The service they provide makes it possible for hospitals to reduce both maintenance and labor costs. Since hospitals may not have an existing network suitable for this type of system, GPRS communication provides an easy and ready-to-use solution for remote, distributed monitoring systems System Requirements - GPRS communication - Seamless connection with SCADA software - Simple, front-end control capability - Expandable I/O channels - Combine AI, DI, and DO channels
Case Study
Driving Digital Transformations for Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices
Diagnostic devices play a vital role in helping to improve healthcare delivery. In fact, an estimated 60 percent of the world’s medical decisions are made with support from in vitrodiagnostics (IVD) solutions, such as those provided by Roche Diagnostics, an industry leader. As the demand for medical diagnostic services grows rapidly in hospitals and clinics across China, so does the market for IVD solutions. In addition, the typically high cost of these diagnostic devices means that comprehensive post-sales services are needed. Wanteed to improve three portions of thr IVD:1. Remotely monitor and manage IVD devices as fixed assets.2. Optimizing device availability with predictive maintenance.3. Recommending the best IVD solution for a customer’s needs.
Case Study
HaemoCloud Global Blood Management System
1) Deliver a connected digital product system to protect and increase the differentiated value of Haemonetics blood and plasma solutions. 2) Improve patient outcomes by increasing the efficiency of blood supply flows. 3) Navigate and satisfy a complex web of global regulatory compliance requirements. 4) Reduce costly and labor-intensive maintenance procedures.
Case Study
Harnessing real-time data to give a holistic picture of patient health
Every day, vast quantities of data are collected about patients as they pass through health service organizations—from operational data such as treatment history and medications to physiological data captured by medical devices. The insights hidden within this treasure trove of data can be used to support more personalized treatments, more accurate diagnosis and more advanced preparative care. But since the information is generated faster than most organizations can consume it, unlocking the power of this big data can be a struggle. This type of predictive approach not only improves patient care—it also helps to reduce costs, because in the healthcare industry, prevention is almost always more cost-effective than treatment. However, collecting, analyzing and presenting these data-streams in a way that clinicians can easily understand can pose a significant technical challenge.
