Vercelli Health Center communicates via video

Given such stringent technological constraints, the Vercelli ASL looked for Cisco partners in Italy with Gold certificates for this kind of solution, and Italtel was therefore selected as a suitable partner for working with Public Administration tools (MEPA and CONSIP).

The Vercelli ASL explained its needs, indicating the technological constraints and outlining the project. Italtel promptly replied, offering hardware, software and professional services. Italtel’s services during this first planning stage were particularly appreciated.

Once Italtel was selected as the supplier, the installation and activation of the videoconferencing system was also a straightforward process, from the logistics aspect of identifying the materials to the professional consultancy aspect, on-site installation, configuration, and testing. To carry out the testing, Italtel provided a videoconferencing system at its Settimo Milanese headquarters for remote connection, as there weren’t any active rooms in other ASL facilities at the time. Italtel has also supervised the training of the medical and nursing staff who will use the videoconferencing system.

This training made it possible to achieve the goal of making users autonomous, so as not to require the involvement of ASL technical staff for activating video-conferences. Subsequently, the Vercelli ASL launched the system which is currently available to the clinical staff. The system can be used to offer oncological consultations across different hospitals, benefiting, for instance, patients who need to go to another health facility for clinical reasons or due to change of residence. In fact, due to greater hospital specialization, there is now a higher patient mobility and interchangeability.

Italtel’s technology has brought in many benefits; the main one is that these video communication systems are capable of achieving economies of scale and optimizing both human and economic resources – a strategic element for health facilities, as they can now share highly skilled personnel.

The Vercelli ASL has also expressed its appreciation for the collaboration with Italtel.

The key factor was the ease with which the Vercelli ASL found the right partner through Italtel’s online presence, as it helped overcome the difficulty of identifying companies that could meet the project’s stringent technological requirements. Another important factor was the fact that Italtel is an eligible partner for the Public Administration’s so-called Dynamic Procurement System, which aims to maintain procurement traceability – now a mandatory PA procedure when requesting tenders and procuring packages so as to ensure greater economic efficiency.

A second advantage was having only one partner. In fact, given the Public Administration’s procurement volume, managing a project of this kind – which is relatively modest from a technical complexity and economic commitment point of view – can be rather inefficient if it requires the procurement of individual components (software licenses, hardware platforms, etc.) and the burden of all installations and configurations.

Italtel also provides technical assistance and maintenance services.

Italtel has simplified the process significantly by handling all project elements – hardware, software, and professional services.

Another aspect was Italtel’s attention to the specific needs of the project: in fact, the Vercelli ASL pointed out that, in the initial stage of the tender, while still studying the project’s requirements, Italtel immediately delivered an excellent customer management process with great attention to the ASL’s specific needs, from the features of the facilities to technological and cost constraints.

Finally, the videoconferencing training service provided to the ASL medical staff was also highly appreciated. This training allows the medical staff to conduct video-conferences without the intervention of the technical staff. This led to a reduction in the activities of the technical staff, which is already involved in the management of numerous problems within the structure.