Benefits
The collaboration between the CEBP and Databuzz resulted in the perfect online database for searching for research about the effects of physiotherapy treatments, and so PEDro was born.
Moseley commented, "As anyone can access PEDro, we needed a user friendly solution that would allow us to provide each staff member, physiotherapist and consumer with the correct level of access. Our administration manager indexes each trial, review and guideline evaluating physiotherapy interventions, after which our pool of raters confirms the eligibility, apply indexing terms and assess the quality of each record. Physiotherapists and users of physiotherapy services can then search for the best available evidence via the online portal."
When PEDro was launched in 1999, a paper-based system was used to store and rate the trials, reviews and guidelines indexed on PEDro. This required large amounts of data entry and storage space. In 2009 PEDro moved to a paperless system which uses an additional FileMaker database to manage the PEDro rating system. Now PEDro raters access PDF copies of the trials, reviews and guidelines and then enter data directly through a web-interface. This endeavour has increased the efficiency of keeping PEDro up-to-date. Moseley said, "It takes virtually no time at all to get staff confident using FileMaker and the PEDro web-interfaces. This has significantly streamlined the process of adding records, reducing our overhead costs as well as our environmental impact."
After creating PEDro for professionals within the physiotherapy industry the CEBP decided to launch a sister site that catered to needs of the average patient or consumer — Physiotherapy Choices. Moseley explained, "It was incredibly easy to develop a new search interface which was better suited to consumers. In addition it reduced our overhead costs significantly as we could repurpose what had already been built and avoided outlaying large sums of money to start from scratch."
Key benefits of FileMaker include:
- A user friendly interface that requires minimal staff training
- Password protected control to allow different users access to relevant database modules
- Remote access so data entry can be performed in any location
- Web hosting capabilities allowing anyone around the globe to access the database
- Reliable and robust enough to cope with large volumes of simultaneous searches
- Fully customisable and scalable to fit the organisation's evolving requirements whilst reducing overheads
Moseley concluded, "We have been blown away by the global success of PEDro. Since its launch the number of searches has grown every year — topping 1 million enquiries in 2009. We have been equally impressed with the reliability of the database as its FileMaker Pro foundation has proven itself robust enough to cope with the continuous increase in traffic and entry of records."
