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O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4
W
hen John
Hilinski,
MD, isn't
busy performing facial
plastic surgery at his
San Diego surgical
center, you might find
him at the keyboard
working on his other
passion: writing busi-
ness software. To help
his staff complete
"daily tedious tasks
and logs," he created
a paperless solution
called E-Log, where
the staff can track
daily duties like check-
ing OR temperatures
or malignant hyperthermia kits.
While it may sound complicated to invent your own software, Dr.
Hilinski insists it's something "any surgical center could do." He says he
taught himself, first using Filemaker Pro to create databases, and then
designing his own software as he learned more.
"Since there have to be logs kept every day, I decided to try and cen-
tralize that into one software for the whole facility," says Dr. Hilinski,
who owns the Hilinski Ambulatory Surgery Center. With the software, in
ONLINE STORAGE
Surgeon Builds His Own Software
l LOGGING SOLUTIONS Using the software
John Hilinski, MD, created to reduce paperwork
and streamline the logging of daily tasks, staff
can choose the task they are completing, fill out
the day's form, and then store it electronically.