Magentazorg innovates with IQ Messenger

Magentazorg delivers high-quality care with fewer people to more residents

With a rapidly ageing population and a shortage of healthcare staff, the Dutch healthcare sector faces major challenges. For Magentazorg, an organisation offering home care, rehabilitation care and nursing home care, the mission was clear: How can we still deliver high-quality care to more residents with fewer people? In cooperation with IQ Messenger, they found a future-proof solution in which care technology is central.

Doing more with less

At Magentazorg, we are constantly looking at how technology can contribute to relieving healthcare professionals and improving the quality of care. Jacco Vooijs, Manager ICT at Magentazorg, explains: ‘It is becoming increasingly difficult to find enough people in care, while the number of elderly people continues to increase. Therefore, we need to come up with innovative ways to do more with fewer people.’

This ambition translates into an approach with two focal points:

1. Informal care: Making more use of informal carers and volunteers to support care workers.
2. Care technology: Using home automation and other smart solutions to work more efficiently.

‘Technology can help us bring peace to nursing homes, improve residents‘ sleep and reduce the workload for care workers,’ Jacco continued. ‘It’s about being able to make better choices, such as when to act or not to act.’

The upstart: outdated alarm and communication systems

At the start of the project, Magentazorg faced a fragmented landscape of six different alarm and communication systems spread across 12 sites. These systems had several problems:

• Unreliability: Many false alarms led to frustration among caregivers and residents.
• Poor integration: The systems did not work well together, causing inefficiencies.
• Limited future-proofing: When two suppliers dissolved their contracts, it became clear that replacement was inevitable.

Timo Groen, senior ICT officer and functional manager of IQ Messenger, adds: ‘Residents were often unnecessarily disturbed at night by staff responding to empty alarms. This disturbed their sleep and caused irritation.’

The solution: brand independence and innovation

Magentazorg chose IQ Messenger as its central solution because of its brand-independent flexibility and proven reliability. The platform offers the ability to integrate various systems and technologies, resulting in a scalable and future-proof solution.

Virtual night rounds: One of the first implementations was the virtual night round. Smart sensors allow caregivers to remotely assess whether residents are safe at night. This prevents unnecessary disruptions and ensures better nights and days.

‘Residents sleep more peacefully, which leads to fewer falls and a better mood,’ Jacco said. ‘Caregivers can now make informed choices: am I going to check right away or can I finish my current task first?’

The IQ Messenger switcher: In addition, Magentazorg introduced the Switcher. This intuitive tool allows caregivers to manage alarm settings for each resident themselves. This makes them less dependent on the ICT department.

Timo: ‘Previously, we had to adjust settings manually. Now caregivers can easily do this themselves, which saves a huge amount of time.’

Implementation: step-by-step and people-oriented

The implementation of IQ Messenger was done incrementally. Magentazorg started with one site to optimise processes before rolling out on a larger scale. This ensured smooth adoption and reduced resistance.

Employee engagement: Magentazorg involved employees from the beginning. Demo environments allowed them to experience the new systems and provide feedback. Mandatory training and continuous support made it easier to make the technology their own.

‘Every morning we asked for feedback and adjusted the systems immediately where necessary,’ Jacco says. ‘This strengthened trust and enthusiasm within the organisation.’

Results: more peace of mind and less workload

The collaboration with IQ Messenger has yielded impressive results:

1. Improved sleep for residents: Thanks to virtual night rounds, residents are less frequently disturbed, which significantly improves their well-being.
2. Efficiency for care workers: Dynamic workflows and intuitive tools such as the Switcher reduce workload and increase care workers’ autonomy.
3. Lower operational costs: Efficient processes have even allowed Magentazorg to eliminate night shifts in some cases without loss of quality.
4. Future-proofing: Thanks to the brand-independent approach, Magentazorg can easily integrate new technologies and innovations.

Expansion and future plans

Magentazorg, together with IQ Messenger, continues to look for new ways to improve care. Currently being rolled out include the following technologies:

• Direct tickets in TOPdesk: Faults and reports of defects are created directly as tickets in TOPdesk.
• Integrated fire alarms (NEN2575): To replace pagers and manage notifications centrally.
• Kompy Nano solutions: New innovative devices such as GPS trackers, among others.

The ultimate goal is to centralise all notifications and processes on one user-friendly dashboard. Timo: ‘A unified system ensures that employees can switch between locations effortlessly, without additional training.’

What made this project successful?

According to Jacco and Timo, there are three key pillars for success:

• A strong network: A stable network is the foundation for any technology implementation.
• Adoption as a spearhead: Involving and supporting employees from the start is crucial.
• Cooperation with the right partners: IQ Messenger has proven to be more than a supplier; it is a true partner.

Jacco: ‘Contacting IQ Messenger feels like a collaboration. They listen to our needs and develop solutions that have real impact. This was the most fun project I’ve ever worked on.’

Tips for other organisations

• Invest in adoption: Make sure employees understand why new technology is being introduced and how it will benefit them.
• Work with trusted partners: Choose parties that think with you and offer flexibility.
• Keep testing: Optimise processes by continuously gathering feedback and implementing improvements.

Conclusion

Magentazorg shows that technology plays a vital role in modernising care. Thanks to their collaboration with IQ Messenger, they have found a solution that not only improves the quality of care, but also increases staff job satisfaction. This success story highlights how innovation, collaboration and people-centred adoption are future-proofing healthcare.

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