Executive summary
The client's Integration Competence Center (ICC) relies on Frontwalker specialists for both new development and ongoing management of its integration landscape, connecting approximately 300 applications handling sensitive healthcare data. Over four years, one Frontwalker integration developer contributed to the growth of the integration portfolio from around 200 to more than 300 integrations.
The challenge
1. Business challenge
The client needed to integrate internal healthcare and business systems with one another and with external national services, while maintaining high standards of security and availability across an extensive landscape of applications handling sensitive patient information.
Key business challenges included:
- The client needed to integrate internal systems (records, lab, radiology, surgery, finance) with each other and with national registries and the Swedish Medical Products Agency
- Roughly 300 applications carrying sensitive patient information needed high standards of security and availability
- Consultants were often involved in as many as ten projects simultaneously, requiring careful prioritisation and context-switching
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, an existing integration for home self-testing needed to be rapidly repurposed to support public PCR test ordering
2. Technical challenge
All integrations needed to be built on a standardised platform, with consistent development practices and ongoing upgrades to maintain the integration landscape at scale.
Key technical challenges included:
- All integrations needed to be built on a standardised platform (MuleSoft Anypoint) to remain maintainable at scale
- Consistent standards for development, logging, archiving, error handling and documentation were essential given the number and complexity of integrations
- Existing integrations needed periodic upgrading to avoid losing platform support, while also being incrementally improved
What we did
1) Frontwalker’s approach and solution
Frontwalker provided long-term embedded integration expertise within the client's Integration Competence Center, supporting both new integration development and the ongoing management of a large and sensitive integration landscape.
2) Delivered solution
- New development and management of integrations connecting roughly 300 sensitive healthcare applications
- A rapid repurposing of an existing 1177 self-testing integration to support public PCR test ordering during the pandemic
- Standardised integration practices covering development process, logging, archiving, error handling and documentation
3) Engineering & delivery
- Growth of the team's integration portfolio from around 200 to over 300 integrations during the engagement
- Deep specialisation in integration work across internal clinical, lab and financial systems as well as external registries and the Swedish Medical Products Agency
- Ongoing upgrading of existing integrations to maintain platform support and improve quality
4) Collaboration model
- Embedded within the client's own Integration Competence Center, working under a highly experienced internal team lead with over 20 years in the organisation
- Close, standardised ways of working that made it easier for new integrations to be understood, maintained and extended by the wider team
Business impact / results
Outcomes achieved
- Growth from around 200 to over 300 maintained integrations over four years
- A critical pandemic-response capability delivered ahead of need, ready exactly when the region and its citizens needed it most
- Consistent standardisation that made integrations easier to build on, maintain and hand over between team members
- Direct contribution to a safety-critical, socially important healthcare function
