Our client, a heathcare facility, has been using a sophisticated FileMaker solution we developed for managing patient primary medical care data (an EMR system). The desktop FileMaker app integrates with DrFirst for ePrescription management and Labcorp for lab testing. They wanted their doctors to be able to view a subset of this data on their phones. The iPhone app would need to display this data as well.
We had previously written a simple FileMaker Go solution for this purpose, which has worked well for the client, but the advent of iOS 11 and the demise of a previous custom written app required the creation of a more complex iOS app that could be deployed via the App Store, Over The Air installation, and mobile device management.
Fortunately, this client is standardized on iPhones, so it fit right into FileMaker’s strengths. We have a couple of options for integrating FileMaker with the Android platform, but when on a tight schedule and budget, it’s helpful to only need to develop for one platform.
The Process
The project was starting later than would have been preferable since iOS 11 is already out and the old custom app already non-functioning. This also played to one of FileMaker’s strengths – rapid application development.
We started defining requirements in November with a number of enhancements over the existing application and a more sophisticated data synchronization methodology. Given that medical information is involved, a great deal of attention had to be paid to security and privacy. In the end, we decided to at least partially base security on device ID to limit access. This would require a hacker to both spoof the device id and break the username/password authentication.
The bulk of the development took less than a month, and we were able to deploy the first beta to the app store. We finished the product two weeks later.
Outcome
Below is a quick summary of features the app currently provides:
- Two-factor authentication for security
- Synchronized data for name, contact info, and selected patient data
- Email communications with other staff and patient
- SMS alerts for specific events
- Integration of location services
FileMaker’s strengths in rapid application development and mobile app development have helped us provide an extremely timely, yet well designed mobile application for this client.