Serving as the teaching hospital for Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli (Policlinico Gemelli) has led the way in medical treatment, education and research in Europe since opening its doors in Rome in 1964. For over 60 years, the hospital has earned a reputation for excellence by continually adopting innovative practices and providing accessible care to thousands of patients. Its advanced facilities include hybrid operating rooms, a medical simulation center and a highly specialized Advanced Radiation Therapy Center.
At-a-Glance
To empower its clinicians to make informed decisions faster, Policlinico Gemelli aimed to centralize and digitize all medical records; however, the resulting surge in data volumes strained its mission-critical IT systems, slowing application performance and threatening delays in patient care. By adopting SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, the hospital successfully resolved these performance issues and completed its digitization journey securely and effectively, all while maintaining excellent standards of care.
Challenge: digitizing and securing patient data
Driven by its commitment to improving patient experiences and outcomes, Policlinico Gemelli examined how it stored medical records and discovered that, across multiple buildings and departments, records were fragmented into siloed systems — some still recorded on paper. This fragmentation made it difficult for clinicians to locate patient information quickly, risking minor delays in treatment.
Because it operates in a highly regulated environment, the hospital places privacy and security at the core of its records management. Recognizing that a centralized digital system could protect its strong legacy of regulatory compliance while also streamlining reporting, Policlinico Gemelli began its digitization journey. However, as the second-largest hospital in Italy, these efforts caused data volumes to surge, threatening the performance of its mission-critical systems.
“As a hospital, we simply cannot tolerate any delay in our IT systems,” says Daniele Zanatta, Senior Unix System Operator at Policlinico Gemelli. To complete its digitization initiative, the hospital needed a solution that would ensure robust performance as data volumes grew — without compromising security or patient care.
“In 10 years of running SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, we have never had problems with patching or updates. Even on sensitive production machines, updates take at most one hour to complete, which helps us maintain the high availability of our infrastructure.”
Why SUSE solutions?
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
Working with a technology partner that provides core services for its environment, Policlinico Gemelli selected SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to support its digitization journey.
After a thorough assessment, both the hospital and its partner concluded that SUSE Linux Enterprise Server offered the best track record of stability and scalability — whether running on-premises, in the cloud or at the edge. In addition, its robust security certifications (like Common Criteria) gave the IT team confidence that confidential patient information would remain protected in the centralized digital archive.
Cost-effectiveness was another deciding factor. Because Policlinico Gemelli invests heavily in research and education, it must keep expenses low while maintaining high quality standards.
“We wanted an operating system that could integrate seamlessly with our complex on-premises infrastructure, without placing too much strain on our small IT team,” notes Zanatta. “We were impressed by how reliably SUSE Linux Enterprise Server adapts to any workload and how customizable it is.”
SUSE Support
With a lean IT team of just five people, Policlinico Gemelli also sought support from SUSE experts to ensure a smooth transition to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server — without jeopardizing mission-critical systems. The team wanted the peace of mind that, should any issues arise, they could quickly access expert help, minimizing potential downtime and preventing delays in patient care.
The impact of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
Enables digital transformation and innovation
By providing a reliable foundation, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server not only helped Policlinico Gemelli successfully complete its digital transformation, but also paved the way for innovative patient services. In addition to hosting digitized medical records, the hospital runs 50 virtual machines on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to support patient-facing services — offering individuals a convenient digital channel to access information about their health and treatments.
Because the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server platform scales seamlessly, Policlinico Gemelli remains confident that it can handle growing patient intake year over year without compromising performance. This ensures that clinicians have quick access to critical data and that patients always have timely support.
Supports robust security for sensitive records
The IT team at Policlinico Gemelli finds SUSE Linux Enterprise Server patching capabilities both simple and intuitive, allowing the hospital to keep systems secure without adding significant administrative overhead. The swift update process also helps maintain the 24/7 availability essential for emergency healthcare services.
“In 10 years of running SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, we have never had problems with patching or updates,” says Zanatta. “Even on sensitive production machines, updates take at most one hour to complete, which helps us maintain the high availability of our infrastructure.”
The impact of SUSE Support
Policlinico Gemelli has benefited from SUSE Support’s expertise in resolving technical issues and providing timely assistance. The SUSE team’s responsiveness over the years has ensured that any challenges are quickly addressed, helping to maintain smooth and reliable operations.
“Quick problem resolution is key for us,” Zanatta notes. “Any delay in fixing IT problems could ultimately affect timely patient care, and SUSE’s responsiveness has been second to none.”
What’s next for Policlinico Gemelli?
Building on a decade of success with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server underpinning its mission-critical systems, Policlinico Gemelli is deepening its partnership with SUSE to further evolve its IT environment. The hospital plans to adopt a microservices architecture — leveraging containerization with Kubernetes — to enable greater agility for its IT team and accelerate the development of innovative digital services.
To simplify container management and security, Policlinico Gemelli intends to deploy SUSE Rancher Prime and SUSE Security. “We look forward to continuing our mission of becoming the best hospital in Europe and offering new, inclusive services, all with the support of SUSE,” concludes Zanatta.