Deployment Journal: Marseille - Episode 2

Changing the Engine in Mid-Air

Saint-Joseph Hospital never sleeps. Four weeks after our arrival, the adrenaline of the early days has transformed into a quiet, determined focus. In the hallways, the Galeon team continues to weave through stretchers and medical carts.

Deploying an Electronic Health Record (EHR) in a hospital of this magnitude is not simply about installing new software. As Thomas describes it, it is "like changing the engine of a car while it's still driving at 100km/h". We cannot stop; the flow of patients is incessant.

At the Heart of the Life Factory: Biology and Pharmacy

We have ventured into the basements and the most protected areas of the hospital. This is where technology must be invisible, for it is vital.

• The Biology Laboratory: Imagine a high-speed, ultra-automated mini-factory at the center of the hospital. Every day, 6,000 tubes (blood, urine... fluids of all kinds) circulate through high-speed production lines. Galeon must help biologists orchestrate the sending of these analysis requests and the reception of results without a single "grain of sand" jamming the machine.

• The Pharmacy: This is the "heart of the reactor". Here, every dose of medication is scrutinized. Galeon assists doctors in prescribing the right molecule and the correct dose (the dosage). Pharmacists test our tool from every angle because patient safety depends on the precision of every click.

"Everything isn't always rosy": The Test of Truth

A deployment of this scale is a test of truth. Sometimes, not everything goes as planned. Some healthcare workers, shaken in their daily habits, express their difficulties with the change. It is up to the Galeon teams to reassure them and, at times, adjust the user experience.

As software coded by humans, configuration bugs can sometimes appear. These bugs vary in severity. The ambition of an EHR is to cover every aspect of care provided in a hospital, which means interfacing with multiple external software systems. This includes sensitive areas like "activity coding," which measures healthcare workers' activity and directly impacts their remuneration.

This is where the strength of Galeon’s technology proves itself. We must react as quickly as possible. It requires being present in the departments—listening, taking notes, and solving problems as they arise.

The Art of Iteration

The value of being on-site is the ability to practice iteration. This somewhat scholarly word simply means that we improve Galeon every day based on what the healthcare workers tell us.

After stabilizing gynecology-obstetrics and the emergency department, we are seeing an incredible evolution. Faces are relaxing, and ease of use is setting in. The "resistance to change" from the first day is giving way to close collaboration to build the tool together.

The 9-Month Horizon

Our final objective remains our compass: the end of 2026 for a complete and stabilized deployment. We conclude this fourth week with humility and optimism. The road is still long, and the challenges will be many, but we move forward, hand in hand with the teams at Saint-Joseph.

See you soon for the next chapter!

Chapter 1 here.

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