Katrin Faiß studied medical informatics at the University of Heidelberg and thus received training in the most important basics. During the development of a clinical cancer registry, she digitally imaged extensive tumor documentation. She then worked as a project manager for a manufacturer of digital image processing systems, where she was responsible for supporting the introduction of the system in the hospital, from kick-off to live operation. As a hotline employee and later as project manager, she worked in the hospital IT department. Here she was responsible for all aspects of clinical applications, the introduction of new modules and systems and later the planning of a research data platform. Before joining ZEQ, she was team leader for applications and was responsible for establishing agile project management with integrated process optimization.
„In Zeiten immer mehr zunehmender Digitalisierung des Gesundheitswesens dreht sich vieles um gute Planung, Beschaffung und Implementierungsbegleitungen der oftmals strategisch wichtigen Projekte eines Krankenhauses.“
Katrin Faiß
My decision to study Medical Informatics came from the fun I had during computer science lessons at school and the desire to "do something with people". Today, I can combine both in my job. Although I don't write source code, analyzing and structuring the next steps is very often part of my daily work. The (digital) world of healthcare has become increasingly complex in recent years. Applications must fit seamlessly into clinical processes and support users in their daily work. After many years of experience in the healthcare sector and the different perspectives (hospital and manufacturer), I wanted to change my perspective once again and use my experience for many different hospitals in an advisory capacity in a meaningful and target-oriented way.
Ready for another change of perspective
As I had started a family in the meantime, it was also important for me to be able to reconcile family and career. I also wanted to continue working in the healthcare sector, as this is where I can best utilize my experience. When I contacted other consultancies via headhunters, I usually didn't hear back after I said that I also had a family and didn't just want to be on the road. I knew ZEQ and the company was also relatively close to where we lived. Therefore, I got in touch with them, had an interview relatively quick and was then hired. In my opinion, ZEQ clearly sets itself apart from the competition and strives to achieve the best possible work-life balance.
Seeing the whole picture
My experience in the clinic was that IT unfortunately often has little insight into clinical processes and systems are introduced and operated without taking users and processes into account. In my opinion, IT and processes need to be considered together, partly due to the shortage of skilled staff, the pressure to be efficient and the rapid increase in digitalization. Unfortunately, I was often alone with this point of view in the clinic. At ZEQ, I had the great experience that my colleagues see it the same way and that the diverse ZEQ team always takes a wide variety of perspectives into account, not just IT and processes. We try to harmonize all perspectives in order to achieve the optimum for the respective hospital in the various projects. This is and remains interesting and exciting every time.
IT projects across the entire spectrum
The topics I work on are diverse, just like the individual clients themselves. In times of ever-increasing digitalization of the healthcare sector, a lot revolves around good planning, procurement and implementation management of the often strategically important projects of a hospital. But many hospitals are also faced with consolidating their existing system landscapes or individual systems in order to be equipped for the ever-increasing digitalization. Tailor-made solutions that suit hospitals and their individual needs and resources are required everywhere. It is therefore interesting and always a challenge to develop and pursue these paths with our clients.
For the best hospital you can be
In general, we offer comprehensive advice in the healthcare sector. Our customers appreciate the fact that we as consultants can draw on a wide range of experience to find the right solution for each customer.
