HammondCare bolsters IT infrastructure with Paessler PRTG's proactive monitoring

HammondCare, a significant aged-care provider in Australia specialising in dementia and palliative care, has implemented Paessler PRTG's proactive monitoring for its nationwide IT infrastructure. The organisation, founded in 1932, provides care for more than 34,000 patients throughout 92 locations across Australia, heavily relying on their IT network to deliver personalised healthcare services.

As Charles Gonzalez, HammondCare's Head of IT Security & Risk enunciated, "We pride ourselves in providing high-quality care, above and beyond the guidelines set out in the Royal Commission into Aged Care." However, pre-implementation of PRTG, HammondCare experienced regular IT outages and their IT department was often called upon to resolve reported technical problems stemming from the lack of overall visibility over the IT infrastructure across its 76 nationwide locations.

Kasun Haputhanthri, Infrastructure and Cloud Manager at HammondCare, highlighted the problem, stating, "If you can't see a device on the network, then you can't monitor it to ensure it is working at an optimal level and then fix it quickly when it stops working." As such, the firm embarked on a digital transformation journey in late 2021, intending to transition all IT assets onto the corporate network, therefore, enabling centralised monitoring and reducing the risk of service outages and equipment failures.

Recognising the need for a proactive, centralised solution, HammondCare implemented Paessler PRTG to monitor its IT resources and mobile point-of-care devices across its sites. As a result of the implementation of 2500 sensors monitoring the wide range of services, including LAN, WAN, servers, applications, storage, virtual environments, routers and switches, the organisation has managed to maintain the continuity of its IT infrastructure at all locations. Crucially, this has led to a reduction in the number of incidents experienced by allowing the IT team to rectify potential issues before they escalate into more significant problems.

Looking ahead, with the platform's augmentation, HammondCare aims to utilise Paessler PRTG for resource utilisation analysis and capacity planning. This initiative will facilitate better system management, contributing to the efficiency and productivity of healthcare service delivery across the organisation. Moreover, the firm has plans to digitise all its assets to ensure comprehensive monitoring, and intends to add an additional 200-300 sensors across its IT infrastructure. Their ultimate goal is to consolidate all medical equipment into a single dashboard, enabling more efficient monitoring and management.

The steps taken by HammondCare illustrate the insistence on delivering high-quality, seamless and personalised healthcare services - an expectation that its patients, visitors, and clinicians hold. As it stands, they have set the bar high for aged-care providers and signify how technology can enhance healthcare provision.