Case Study: Abbott Northwestern Hospital achieves real-time bedside ultrasound tracking and improved patient care with Claris

Through a custom FileMaker solution and FileMaker Go for iPhone, Abbott Northwestern Hospital enhances bedside patient care

Abbott Northwestern Hospital’s Internal Medicine Residency Program faced the challenge of reliably training, evaluating, and credentialing physicians in the use of portable bedside ultrasound. Manual index-card tracking (and potential Excel/Access approaches) was time-consuming, error-prone, and did not support real-time documentation or integration with clinicians’ mobile workflows.

The program implemented a custom FileMaker solution with FileMaker Go for iPhone and FileMaker Server to record exams and wirelessly link ultrasound images to a central database. This replaced the card system, enabled immediate, accurate logging and trainee progress tracking, allowed trainers to compare bedside findings with formal imaging, and improved the efficiency and rigor of certification—resulting in better bedside diagnostics and patient care.

Abbott Northwestern Hospital

David Tierney

Director of IMBUS Program, Abbott Northwestern Hospital's Internal Medicine Residency Program