“With Teamwire, we have a communication solution that supports us in our day-to-day internal communication but also in exceptional situations such as a system failure.”

Initial Situation and Challenge

The Bremen Medical Service faced several challenges:

• Independence: With its independence at the beginning of 2024, the entire IT infrastructure of MD Bremen had to be rebuilt.

• System failure: In the summer of 2023, a system failure paralyzed the service for three weeks, preventing digital communication. This led to considerable restrictions on internal organizations and coordination with health insurance companies. Everything had to be done in analog form, as the IT failure prevented the people in Bremen from transmitting the requests for expert opinions digitally.

   

  The employees at MD Bremen made a virtue of necessity and switched to analog processes without further ado. Daily, orders were collected directly from the health insurance companies, and assessments were returned. Tours for the on-site care assessment of insured persons were determined by hand and on the city map. Applications were filled out manually, and documents were pinned to walls or spread out on the office floor for a better overview.

   

  “We agreed that the system failure must not be at the expense of the insured persons in our country and medical care in the hospitals. We rolled up our sleeves and transferred all processes to an analog emergency operation.,” says Silva Hausmann, Team Leader of Nursing Assessment.

• Decentralized structures: Experts are often on the move and work outside the offices, which requires fast and secure communication.

Employees used private messengers to communicate internally with the head office in the past, but this was unacceptable due to data protection concerns. Therefore, it was imperative to introduce a secure and GDPR-compliant communication solution.

“With Teamwire, we have a communication solution that supports us in our day-to-day internal communication but also in exceptional situations such as a system failure. The intuitive operation and security are decisive advantages for us.”

– Sebastian Adams, Medical Service Bremen – Corporate Communications

Requirements

The Bremen Medical Service needed a communication solution that

• is GDPR-compliant and meets the highest security standards.
• enables intuitive use to minimize training effort.
• connects mobile employees efficiently.
• works reliably in a crisis, even if other systems fail.
• offers additional functions such as alerts and location sharing.

Comparison and Decision-Making

Teamwire was introduced before the service became independent but was initially only used sporadically. After the system failure, it became clear how important a secure communication solution is. For this reason, those responsible intensified the use of Teamwire.

The ease of use and the ability to use group communication and location sharing were convincing.

“The system failure showed us how important a reliable communication solution is. With Teamwire, we can react quickly in an emergency and communicate in compliance with data protection regulations – a decisive advantage.”

– Sebastian Adams, Corporate Communications

Introduction of the Software

Teamwire was introduced step by step. The IT department prepared the application and informed employees via an internal email. It was ensured that the app was installed and ready to use on all devices. Its use was actively promoted, as many experts work on the move and do not have fixed offices.

“Onboarding was straightforward. Our IT department gave us great support, and the intuitive operation meant that all employees could get started quickly.”

– Silva Hausmann, Team Leader Care Assessment

Efficient Communication

Reviewers can send messages, coordinate appointments, or quickly exchange information while on the move. The read confirmation function lets the team leaders know whether essential messages have been read. This is particularly helpful during last-minute changes or important information, such as road closures due to bomb disposal or other impassable situations.

In addition, many things can be clarified more quickly and easily via Teamwire without lengthy email correspondence, which helps to set priorities better.

“Our experts are often on the road and don’t have fixed offices. With Teamwire, they can quickly send messages, coordinate appointments, and share information, making their work much easier.”

– Silva Hausmann, Team Leader Care Assessment

Intranet for Employees

The Bremen Medical Service is currently working on implementing an intranet for employees. Teamwire will also play a unique role in this.

A simple example, but one that comes up regularly in every company: the organization of the summer party or Christmas party. A group can be created for this in Teamwire, and the organization team can distribute all the crucial information with a single click – as easily and quickly as WhatsApp, for example.

A helpful Teamwire feature for these occasions is the survey function. It allows you to create surveys in individual and group chats in no time to obtain results or clarify questions more quickly and in a more targeted manner.

Crisis Management

As the Bremen Medical Service has already experienced a system failure, Teamwire will be used in similar crises in the future. Even if standard communication fails, important information can be passed on internally without violating data protection regulations. Teamwire operates independently of the rest of IT and is, therefore, available even if it fails.

Teamwire offers an alarm function for emergencies. This allows you to trigger an alert and send it to all users, certain groups, or a specific group.

This function even overrides the silent mode of a device and alerts help.

In the day-to-day work of MD Bremen, this function can be used in an emergency if, for example, staff get into difficulties during home visits.

Security and data protection

Handling highly sensitive insurance data requires the highest security standards. Teamwire meets these requirements and is valued by all departments as a GDPR-compliant solution.

“We work with sensitive data, and with Teamwire, we ensure that communication complies with data protection regulations.”

– Sebastian Adams, Corporate Communications

Conclusion

With Teamwire, the Bremen Medical Service has found a communication solution that combines efficiency and security. From day-to-day communication to crisis and emergency management, Teamwire is a central component of the service’s modern working method and offers long-term benefits. Its intuitive operation and GDPR compliance make Teamwire the ideal solution for the healthcare sector’s requirements.

“Our colleagues rely on using Teamwire, especially in our nursing division.”

– Silva Hausmann, Team Leader Care Assessment