RTM saved vast amounts of time and transformed QA into its backbone
by going digital

About RTM

Radboud Translational Medicine (RTM) is a Dutch-based company that develops and manufactures GMP-complaint radiopharmaceuticals used in biomedical research and daily medical practice. Founded in 2011, RTM's state-of-the-art cyclotron facility provides a wide array of effective solutions for research and daily medical practice – from oncology to psychiatry & from bench-to-bedside.

As head of QA, Suzanne Buijs is responsible for ensuring quality is present across the whole company. Having worked in Quality Assurance and management for over 8 years, she brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to her role. For Suzanne, quality is vital.

In a video call with our Customer Success Manager, Trine Michelsen, Suzanne outlined how going digital with Scilife didn't just save huge amounts of time – it also provided space to keep improving QA...

The Search

Two years ago, RTM was using a completely paper-based quality management system. It was inefficient and very time-consuming. As Suzanne said:

"I was working in two separate excels, which was crazy as we had about 500-600 documents. Every time there was an update, I would have to do everything manually."

Suzanne Buijs, head of QA at RTM

Her whole time was spent either ensuring documents were correct or tracking people down to complete their training:

"Everything was paper-based and I would have to chase after people to get their signatures."

With the radiopharmaceuticals that RTM produces, it was vital that documentation was compliant with regulations and that all training was up-to-date. The solutions provided by their cyclotron facilities have the power to detect tumors, enabling efficient diagnosis and treatments. This impacts patients’ lives. So, quality must be assured. And that meant it was time to go digital. 

After a demo, Suzanne liked how the Scilife system looked. And the idea of starting with one or two modules, then extending really appealed to her:

"Switching to Scilife made everything a lot easier as you have a clear overview and the system reminds people when to do things. Now, it’s one click instead of having to update new versions of every document."

The Set Up

With her experience in Quality Management Systems, Suzanne gets used to new systems very quickly. But Scilife was also easy to use for other employees at RTM. After a short explanation from Suzanne, new personnel start using it on their first day. As Suzanne explained:

"Scilife is an intuitive system that is easy for everyone. After a 15-minute introduction, they get right to it. And in a matter of hours, they’re  using it without any problem."

At RTM, the first thing Suzanne needed to start with was documentation and training, as both were taking up huge amounts of time...

Favorite Features

For Suzanne, the best feature of Scilife is undoubtedly that it saves so much time. She no longer has to manually update every document or chase after every employee to complete their training. 

"Scilife has a lot of automatic triggers that save time, like yearly reviews. Now they just appear on the dashboard. It also feels a lot safer because it has an audit trail."

In the past, with excel, it was easy to make mistakes, which might not be detected. With Scilife, the audit trail helps ensure that documentation is correct. In excel, she would have to manually search for any error or piece of information, whereas the search option in Scilife means content can be found in an instant.

As well as the automatic reminders and search function, the other feature that Suzanne really likes is that by using Scilife, it frees up time to make improvements:

"It gave us the time not to just maintain QA, but to keep improving it."

Quality was no longer just a cost of doing business but was transformed into a company-wide mindset and asset. And using a digitalized QMS is something that Suzanne would recommend to any Pharma company...

Expert Advice

"At a certain point in time, there’s no choice but to go digital. So, the sooner you do it, the better – especially with documentation, which explodes at a certain point."

As Suzanne noted, if Pharma companies want to keep up with the times, be more efficient and improve their quality systems, they need to go digital. 

But switching from a paper-based system to a digital one means transferring a lot of data, which can take time. So, as Suzanne points out, a new system should be easy to use as some people are more digital-savvy than others. A system like Scilife.

The Results

Before using Scilife, all of Suzanne’s workday was taken up with document checking or chasing people up. And QA was viewed as a necessity rather than an asset:

"Sometimes QA is seen as annoying or an afterthought, when actually it’s the backbone. Quality should be a team effort. That is more present in our company now. By using Scilife, we turned QA into a company effort."

With their digital switch to Scilife, RTM didn’t just save huge amounts of time. This new efficiency empowered all employees to take responsibility for Quality. And with this change in mindset, new improvements can be made – turning quality into an asset.

Are you ready to go digital? 

If you want your organization to become more efficient, continuously improve & ensure quality is a company-wide mindset, then discover how with Scilife!