ZOL has been digitising with iGuana for years: ‘Everything is immediately where it should be, and it just works.’

The East Limburg Hospital (ZOL) has been using iGuana for many years to manage, scan and retrieve medical documents. What once started as a digitisation project in the former Maas & Kempen hospital has grown into a single central document engine for the entire organisation.

We spoke with Gert Raemen – IT Domain Architect ZOL – who sees the system at work every day, and who has witnessed its success first-hand.

“We have been using iGuana for years. And honestly? It just works.”

It all started in Maas & Kempen, Gert explains: “iGuana was already running there. After the merger with Genk, we took the entire setup with us. Now, every single piece of the archive is in there: the old paper files, the digital files, Arcline… you name it. It’s incredible what has ended up in that one system.”

But it’s not just about volume. The satisfaction of the end users is particularly striking. “At MKA, they scan everything at the reception desk. The doctor opens the file and hey presto, everything is ready. No folders, no searching. They are really super happy. You don’t hear that often with new tools,” he laughs.

Ease of use above all else

What does Gert hear most often from his colleagues?

“It’s just easy. That sounds simple, but in hospitals, it’s rarely a given. Secretaries don’t want complicated hassle — they want something that moves things forward. iGuana isn’t clunky, it’s fast and clear.”

The system also performs well technically. ‘You can tell that the platform is designed to handle large volumes. We’ve already fed so much data into it, and it keeps running.’

A major advantage: integration with the EPD

One of the things that really makes a difference, says Gert, is how iGuana connects to the electronic patient record. “From the EPD, you simply click through to iView and you are immediately at the right patient. That sounds obvious, but it’s not at all. It saves so much time and frustration.”

‘Contextual search? That’s not searching anymore, that’s getting answers.’

Soon, ZOL will be introduced to Mira, the successor to the current recognition layer on top of iGuana.
Gert has already seen the demos and is clearly curious.

“Yes, that’s something new. It’s no longer searching, but simply asking a question and getting an answer. I’m very curious to see how that will work in practice. If it does what I think it will do, it will be a real game changer.”

Continuing to grow together

ZOL has been with every new version of iGuana for years — and according to Gert, that’s no coincidence. ‘What strikes me most is that iGuana evolves without turning everything upside down. You get new features, but you don’t lose what works. I think that’s important. We have confidence in the technology.’

With the arrival of Mira, this collaboration becomes even more relevant: from digitising documents to truly understanding them.