Secure File Transfer for Medical Laboratories & Healthcare Systems

Background

The SYNLAB Group provides pathological laboratory services in Europe for human and veterinary medicine as well as for environmental analysis. It operates around 300 facilities, including 175 full-service laboratories, reference laboratories, smaller routine laboratories and hospital laboratories. Headquartered in Augsburg, Germany, the company currently has approximately 7,000 employees in Germany, the UK, and 18 other European countries, as well as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai. Technology and innovation are understandably high priorities for SYNLAB, which provides reliable services that drive quality results through state-of-the-art technology and a clinically led approach. SYNLAB uses this experience to help its customer organizations redesign their own services and reduce costs while meeting the needs of clinicians and patients. In 2009, SYNLAB identified a need for a secure managed file transfer solution that would support a variety of protocols to transfer files both in-house and for customers. SYNLAB already had a legacy file transfer solution, but this could no longer fulfill the company’s needs. SYNLAB decided to look for an innovative replacement product and began by researching alternative solutions online. After making contact with SRT’s distribution partner Meco Systemhaus, SYNLAB began a trial to evaluate SRT’s Managed File Transfer platform.

Introduction

The use of ad-hoc consumer file-sharing services hidden from IT departments can easily jeopardize the security of customer information in any industry, but the healthcare sector is particularly sensitive. Every enterprise IT department must rapidly identify the issues and deploy Managed File Transfer systems that offer employees and customers an acceptable balance of usability, security, and productivity, or face a struggle to enforce security policies and to keep control of critical business data. Ultimately, SYNLAB selected SRT’s Managed File Transfer platform. Not only did SRT support all of the most commonly used industry protocols and regulatory compliance standards and provide an accountable alternative to unsecure FTP or complex VPN implementations, but it could also be easily integrated into SYNLAB’s existing environment by adopting Active Directory as well as user-defined authentication. “SRT guaranteed high-availability and encrypted data transfer, which were both major criteria for us,” explained Benjamin Weiss, system administrator for IT infrastructure at SYNLAB. “We frequently transfer very sensitive data, and this solution provides all of the methods and procedures that we needed and more. This made it easy for us to make a decision.” “We use our MFT solution to exchange all types of files and data, but our two main areas of application are the in-house transfer of information between our own IT systems, and the handling of customer file transfers. Because we exchange extremely sensitive data, we required a robust solution that was secure and offered support for a broad range of encryption methods.

The Challenge

Replace legacy file transfer systems with a secure, scalable solution capable of handling sensitive healthcare data across internal systems and external customer environments.

Solution

The transition for SYNLAB was supported by a collaborative evaluation and a strategic rollout designed to maintain high security standards without sacrificing speed.

Evaluation & Implementation with Meco

SRT’s distribution partner, Meco, played a pivotal role in the successful migration. Their involvement included:

• Thorough Evaluation: Assisting with a deep-dive product assessment to ensure it met SYNLAB’s technical requirements.
• Licensing & Support: Providing necessary information for licensing and resolving initial technical hurdles prior to the transition.
• Ongoing Adoption: Post-implementation, Meco continues to support the trial and integration of additional features as SYNLAB's needs evolve.

Secure File Transfer Across Systems

SYNLAB currently supports approximately 130 users on the platform. The Managed File Transfer (MFT) solution is utilized almost equally across two primary areas:

• Internal Data Communication: Ensuring seamless flow of information between departments and laboratories.
• External Customer Use: Providing a secure bridge for clients to exchange sensitive diagnostic and medical data.

"Networking and the seamless data exchange always needs to be readily available, secure, and guaranteed," says Weiss.

Rapid Deployment & Customer Enablement

The ease of deployment has become a competitive advantage for SYNLAB. Because the system is so simple to spin up, customers are granted secure access as soon as they need it. This speed is critical for security compliance:

• Eliminating Delays: By providing immediate access, SYNLAB prevents "Shadow IT".
• Reducing Risk: Users are never tempted to use unmanaged, consumer-focused file-sharing services that lack the necessary security protocols for medical data.

Results

SYNLAB’s partnership with South River Technologies and Meco has resulted in a high-value, cost-effective solution that satisfies both management and IT teams. Beyond the technical implementation, SYNLAB emphasizes the exceptional support and collaborative development process as key drivers of their success.

Key Outcomes

Improved data security and regulatory compliance: Replaced unsecured methods with a guaranteed secure environment, essential for sensitive medical and diagnostic data.

• Improved data security and regulatory compliance: Replaced unsecured methods with a guaranteed secure environment, essential for sensitive medical and diagnostic data.
• Enabled secure internal and external file transfers: Created a unified platform that serves 130 users across both corporate departments and external client networks.
• Reduced reliance on legacy and insecure systems: Immediate deployment of the MFT solution prevents users from turning to risky, consumer-grade file-sharing services.
• Delivered scalable solution for growing user base: Established a flexible infrastructure that allows SYNLAB to offer secure access to customers the moment it is required.
• Increased confidence in data exchange reliability: Robust product support and continuous feature development ensure that "seamless data exchange is always readily available."

“SRT is fantastic when it comes to product development, continuation, and support. You almost feel that you are included in the development process,” explains Weiss.