Thursday, March 18, 2010

They came to see Florence

Yesterday, Torrevieja hospital played host to a group of technicians from Microsoft accompanied by managers and directors from hospitals in Germany, Belgium, Croatia and Russia. They were all potential clients of Microsoft keen to see how the “Florence” database system pioneered by the Torrevieja hospital in 2006 works. In particular they wanted to know how they system had saved the hospital 2.4 million Euros since it was implemented.

Of great interest to the visitors was the nerve centre of the operation, a room where engineers beaver away 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to keep the system working. They were fascinated to learn that the data is carried along forty kilometres of fibre optic along with one hundred and thirty eight kilometres of copper cable and pleased to discover that the technology will be extended by linking the hospital in Torrevieja with the new one at Vinalopó which will be operated by the same company. The representative from Microsoft pointed out to the visitors that the system used at Torrevieja will also be used in the hospitals at Elche, and at  Torrejón and in 45 health centres in Chile.

It is fascinating that a country that lags behind its European neighbours in many ways, is so far advanced in others. In our opinion, the standard of health care in  Spain is far ahead of that we received the UK. The innovative systems used in the nearby hospital prove us right.

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