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Discover how UZA partnered with Dropsolid to build a patient-first user experience across multiple platforms and target audiences.

Challenge Solution Result

UZA’s outdated Drupal 7 website limited search functionality for patients and made content management difficult for internal teams. The key challenge was putting the patient at the center. Any downtime of the website could affect patients’ access to important information. Instead of just a technical upgrade, a fully patient-centric experience supporting UZA’s growth as a health hub was crucial. 

An upgrade of UZA’s website to Drupal 10, creating a scalable and fully accessible platform. It supports a personalized patient journey and a "create once, publish anywhere" content model, where all decentralised administrators can contribute content, while the central team retains full control. The web design was refreshed, teams were trained and the platform is fully hosted and maintained in line with UZA’s long-term goals.

The new uza.be website provides a frictionless digital experience tailored to patient needs, while enabling internal teams to work more efficiently across websites and channels. UZA is now fully equipped for future personalization and omnichannel publishing, all within a secure, high-availability environment.
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Laying the foundation for UZA’s digital transformation

UZA initiated a major strategic exercise to rebuild its digital platform from the ground up. The goal was to move beyond a content platform and toward a fully patient-centric experience, one that could support UZA’s evolution from hospital to health hub, across care, research, and education. 

This resulted in a new website: one that anticipates the needs of every visitor throughout their healthcare journey and integrates seamlessly with everything UZA has to offer digitally. At the same time, special attention was paid to online findability and visibility. The UZA website is one of their most important communication channels, and being easily found online is essential to reach and support patients effectively. 

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A patient-centric platform

UZA launched its brand-new website on Drupal 10, marking the end of an intensive strategic journey and the beginning of a truly patient-centric digital experience. The new uza.be is designed around the needs of patients, with structured content types for treatments, conditions, and studies that guide visitors logically through their care journey.

Thanks to a flexible CMS and smart editorial workflows, all decentralised administrators can contribute content, while the central team retains full control. Dropsolid also provided tailored training modules to prepare every type of editor for launch, ensuring a smooth go-live and a future-ready platform that reflects UZA’s mission in care, research, and education.

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Accessibility and inclusion as a core priority

Improving the experience for patients has always been a top priority for UZA, and that includes making the platform as accessible and inclusive as possible for all users. Therefore the new website proudly meets the WCAG 2.2 guidelines and has earned the AnySurfer label, reflecting UZA’s commitment to offering an optimal experience for everyone. 

An extensive UX/UI analysis helped shape an interface that’s user-friendly, inclusive, and meets the needs of a diverse audience. Combined with strong SEO foundations and a smooth content migration, the result is a platform that balances ease of use with broad reach and long-term scalability.

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Keeping healthcare accessible through reliable hosting

As part of the collaboration, Dropsolid provides the infrastructure and services needed to host UZA’s various websites. All applications run on a managed Drupal cloud solution, offering a scalable and high-performance environment tailored to the needs of a healthcare institution.

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One platform, many experiences

UZA’s upgraded digital platform now powers multiple distinct experiences tailored to different audiences and needs. From the UZA Foundation’s storytelling and donor engagement, to the branded recruitment site UZA jobs, linked with their ATS, and the accessible digital version of UZA’s magazine, Maguza. The UZA@home app is also part of this digital ecosystem. This unified setup ensures that content can be easily reused and distributed efficiently across websites, creating a consistent and engaging experience for patients, staff, and visitors alike. Furthermore, the platform is designed for future expansion, enabling the seamless addition of white-label websites to meet evolving needs.

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About UZA

Antwerp University Hospital (Universitair Ziekenhuis Antwerpen or UZA in short) guarantees standard-setting healthcare in a wide range of specialized treatments. As a large organization with many different stakeholders, digital transformation is key where knowledge sharing, research and innovation are concerned.

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Why Drupal was chosen

UZA needed more than just a technical upgrade. The hospital required a secure, scalable and accessible platform that puts patients at the center, while supporting internal efficiency and long-term growth. Drupal 10 was the obvious choice:

Patient-centric design

Structured content guides patients logically through treatments and care journeys.

Accessibility first

Fully WCAG 2.2 compliant and AnySurfer-certified for inclusive access.

Open source freedom

Open source Drupal guarantees no vendor lock-in and continuous community-driven innovation.

Future-ready platform

Built for personalization, multi-site expansion and seamless integrations.