Wentworth-Douglass Hospital Improves Employee Productivity Using �Messageware OWA Suite 2009�

Messageware, a provider of enterprise productivity, security and customization solutions for Microsoft (News - Alert) Office Outlook Web Access, announced that Wentworth-Douglass Hospital has deployed the “Messageware OWA Suite 2009” for Exchange 2007 to solve employee productivity concerns as it transitions from GroupWise to Exchange systems.

 

Wentworth-Douglass Hospital is one of New England’s most progressive medical centers and the largest acute care center in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire. The hospital recently adopted a unified communications strategy with an aim to standardize on the Microsoft platform as a means to get them prepared for future technologies including VoIP telephony and RFId for their staff.

 

However, authorities at Wentworth-Douglass found that before they could standardize they needed to transition their e-mail/collaboration infrastructure from Novell (News - Alert) GroupWise to Microsoft Exchange. Running both Novell and Microsoft servers added needless complexity, according to officials at the hospital.

 

“We had a dual infrastructure that was an administrative nightmare to maintain. It made sense to focus solely on Microsoft -- especially Outlook and Outlook web access -- for our email and group calendar needs,” said Scott Heffner, network operations manager for Wentworth-Douglass. 

Wentworth-Douglass had chosen Outlook as the default personal information manager platform for the hospital’s 2,200 employees of which 350 employees needed a secure and productive way to access their email on the hospital’s shared computers. In addition, 250 hospital personnel, remote workers and doctors needed to have a Web access alternative that would let them check e-mail and appointments remotely.

 

However, the native Outlook Web Access (OWA) did not have the capability to set sharing permission or easily view multiple calendars. To make the hospital’s transition to OWA smooth, they required to provide not only a “calendar share” capability, but also other productivity functions like spell check and address auto-complete, said officials at Wentworth-Douglass hospital.

 

Messageware OWA Suite 2009 was chosen as the appropriate solution because it combines high-value features like Outlook-style addressing, SharePoint contact lists and roaming personal dictionaries, with other essential tools such as the ability to view multiple calendars side-by-side in order to book meetings and appointments, they said.

The software consists of seven applications -- ActiveSend, AttachView, CalendarShare, NavGuard, OWA Print, Plus Pack and TimeGuard, with which OWA users are able to print their calendar on demand, quickly attach files to e-mails, and even send e-mail using OWA from within other Microsoft Office applications.

 

Messageware OWA Suite 2009 also offers security upgrades that are very useful for hospitals and enables them to comply with HIPAA regulations. In addition, OWA with the Suite provides them with flexibility in the case of disasters, officials at the hospital said.

With the help of Messageware OWA Suite 2009, hundreds of doctors and nurses at Wentworth-Douglass now have a built-in medical dictionary, as well as roaming personal dictionaries. They are also able to access e-mail anywhere. Both the clinical staff and their administrative assistants can view multiple calendars side by side to quickly schedule internal and external meetings.

Later this year, the Wentworth-Douglass IT team intends to roll out the application’s AttachView and OWA Print components, officials at the hospital stated.