Hospital Selects DataMirror for OS/400 High Availability

Published: October 10, 2006

by Alex Woodie

A Houston, Texas, hospital serving 60,000 residents has implemented high availability and database replication solutions from DataMirror, the software vendor announced last week.

Community Health Choice (CHC) implemented iCluster, DataMirror's OS/400 high availability software to boost the resiliency of its critical applications, including its Web site. Having a secondary iSeries server equipped with up-to-the-minute data will also enable the hospital to stay in business if a disaster, such as a hurricane, strikes.

CHC also installed Transformation Server, DataMirror's database replication software, to replicate data from its core OS/400 applications to Microsoft SQL Server, which powers a customer-facing Web portal.

Alfonso Rubio, CHC's vice president of information technology, says the hospital benefits in several ways from using the software. "Our providers are able to access real-time patient information, including claims, member eligibility, and authorizations via our Web site," he says. "Further, our employee reporting system is more relevant because it contains up-to-date data. These efficiencies allow us continued opportunities for growth and advancement."

The iCluster mirroring solution also brings other benefits. By being able to run read-only business applications, backups, or queries on the backup system, the hospital can increase its performance and response times.