Client name . Christian Blind Mission, Uganda

Sector . Healthcare

Summary comment . Andrew Hodges, Surgeon, Christian Blind Mission, Uganda

"FileMaker is so much better than any database I'd seen. There was no doubt it could solve the hospital's data problems in Uganda. It's fast, so straightforward to use and crucially, we've never lost a single piece of data despite it operating from a battered old hard-drive. I'm convinced that FileMaker could help solve problems in many third world hospitals."

Christian Blind Mission, Uganda

FileMaker Delivers Data to Ugandan Children's Hospital

"It's very simple to use. Much of the data is input by nurses with no computer experience and they input data amazingly well. We can now expand its use for lab investigations, X-rays, invoices and much more – its scope is exciting. In the future we hope to assist other hospitals to develop their own custom made data management systems based on a similar model."

Andrew Hodges
Surgeon at Christian Blind Mission, Uganda

Christian Blind Mission Client Mood Board

When reconstructive surgeon, Andrew Hodges, worked in Uganda in the early 90s he discovered there were no systems in place to record patients' medical records. In 2004, faced with a return to the country to work for the Christian Blind Mission in Anold children's hospital, he knew a comprehensive database could actually help save lives. But any solution needed to be robust enough to operate from a laptop in remote areas and capable of organising large amounts of complex medical data.

Andrew – who is part of a 60-strong medical team based in a new hospital in Kampala, where children with severe burns, cleft palates and disabilities are treated – had struggled to master databases in the past. Then he had a breakthrough moment when a consultant colleague showed him FileMaker.

Andrew returned to Africa with a copy of FileMaker and designed a database able to collect patient information, treatment outcomes and clinical photography. Crucially, it also provided medical staff with immediate access to patient records wherever they were in Uganda and neighbouring countries.

Now a CBM partner organisation, Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services Uganda – CoRSU – has opened a new children's hospital in Kampala, at which an expanded version of the FileMaker database not only organises records, but manages appointments, waiting lists and ward in-patients.

FileMaker's information management capabilities enabled highly valuable research including a long-term study on the death rates of children born with cleft palates – raising awareness of the issue at a national and international level.
The flexibility of FileMaker's platform allowed the integration of information such as clinical photography, X-rays and laboratory results into its database.
FileMaker's reliability has ensured no data has been lost in over four years operation – despite the harsh environment.
The intuitive nature of the system ensures local staff with little or no experience of computers can use the system easily.
The platform's speed has enabled effective patient management in theatre and in the clinics and ensured fewer man hours are spent on administration.
FileMaker has developed into an expansive database that is used to run the hospital's entire clinical operations.