International Hospital for Children

A Pioneering Electronic Medical Records Project for an Expanding “Hospital” without Walls

International Hospital for Children (IHC) — www.healachild.org — is a nonprofit humanitarian organization based in Richmond, Virginia. IHC’s vision is for every child, regardless of geography, to have access to lifesaving critical medical care.

IHC links worldwide pediatric surgical, diagnostic, and preventative resources to heal critically ill children in developing countries. At the same time, IHC helps build indigenous health care capacity — saving kids’ lives now and transforming pediatric health outcomes for years to come.

With the help of doctors, volunteers, and donors, IHC sends hope, help, and healing where there is little or none: Belize, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Honduras, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Eastern Caribbean Basin.

In 2008, IHC numbers tell a story of success: 1,292 children served, 562 heart surgeries and evaluations, 300 plastic reconstructive surgeries and evaluations, 139 orthopedic surgeries and evaluations, 93 ophthalmology surgeries and evaluations, 59 neurosurgeries and evaluations, 88 urology surgeries and evaluations, 48 general surgeries and evaluations, 24 teams sent, and three sickle cell evaluations.

In 2007, a team of IHC program managers contacted BSoft Solutions about how to create a better, faster, and more efficient way to manage critical information about so many patients in so many diverse locations.

Defining the Goals

According to IHC’s current database manager, Emily Sohn:

“Our initial connection with BSoft came about because we track and manage a large amount of information for a lot of patients. The mission teams IHC sends out evaluate and treat many, many children in six different regions. Children also come to Richmond for surgery when they have complex cases that cannot be handled in their own countries.

IHC not only supplies the initial treatment children need, but also closely follows their care, sometimes for a long period of time. These efforts demand detailed patient information, precise medical records, and a wide variety of demographic data.

We desperately needed a way to track and manage all of this data so that we could effectively follow each patient’s care, check on the treatment they needed, and make critical decisions about the specialists needed, the timing, logistics, funding, and so on.

Transforming IHC paper records into state-of-the-art electronic medical records was a huge, multi-faceted project, but the potential results made the effort worthwhile. If we can heal more children—and make their countries more self-reliant—it all is tremendously worthwhile.

Initially, we tried to develop the database on our own, but quickly realized that the advanced scope of the database needed—actually demanded—the discipline of an experienced, highly-competent professional firm like BSoft.”

Planning for Success

“We found BSoft unique in a number of ways: they were willing to work with a non-profit organization; they met our many needs; they deliver extraordinary customer service; and they paid close attention to every detail and nuance required for success.

After working with our program managers for four to five months to gain in-depth understanding of the complex needs of the IHC database, BSoft implemented functioning electronic medical records in early 2008.

IHC had very specific information that we needed to track, not only for the effect on the programs, but also for the effect on the countries where we work. So the data we acquire from each patient in each different country also is effective as a reporting mechanism to the country.”

Creating an Indispensible, Functional Custom Tool

“In a short time, the data management system BSoft created for IHC became an indispensable and very functional tool to keep our programs running effectively and efficiently. BSoft really came through for us.

BSoft not only produced a totally custom database, but also continues to support the development and maintenance of the production through a special maintenance agreement. We’re always discovering new information and new data we need to track in the countries where we work.

The new BSoft data management system is allowing us to increase our involvement and work in these countries in the most effective way possible. In fact, the electronic medical records database created by BSoft is really effective in helping us manage the data we need to achieve our goals.”

Data Drives Decision-Making and Development

“The data we collect drives our expansion and development. Because we have centralized the tracking—and now can track specific conditions and know how many patients have a certain condition in a specific country—we can better allocate and modify our resources and commitment in specific areas. In short, we’re both working smarter and working better—and maximizing the contributions of our donors.

Data produced by the BSoft database is used regularly to produce reports for IHC’s volunteer physicians, Board, and donors—to answer questions about how many surgeries were completed during a clinic or in a country or by a doctor, and how many children came for a follow up as well as how many children received surgery from the program last year, how many returned for follow up and so on.

Answering and tracking these questions adds to the effectiveness of IHC programs. In a very short time, we’ve increased our efficiency by getting information together in a way that we can convert immediately to practical use.”

Continued Committment and Customer Service

“BSoft’s level of customer service is exceptional: they want to know how the database is functioning at all times and are virtually instantly available to show us how to make a change, how to alter the design of a report, and so on. Whenever we have a question, BSoft is available and our contact there is always patient and very clear.

“The service BSoft provided us initially was wonderful and they’ve made a great contribution to IHC programs. Making certain that everything is effective and productive is more than just a project with BSoft—it is a heartfelt commitment to the ongoing success of IHC.”