By the time Dermot Dolan finished his computer science course at Institute of Technology, Sligo he was already an entrepreneur. With classmates Brendan and Colin O’Connor, Dolan co-founded a software development firm called Technical Ideas in 2004.The company, which trades as Socrates, aims to improve the way GPs enter, store and retrieve medical and patient data.
Five years on, the Patient Management System developed by the Sligo natives is used by almost 250 GPs and other healthcare practices around the country. Their company now employs 12 people and is expanding, according to Dolan, who is the company’s Managing Director.
”While I was at college, I did some part-timework in IT support for small firms,” he said. ”By final year, Brendan and I realised there was a gap in the market to develop software systems aimed at GP practices. We realised there were still many GPs across the country storing patient data by hand and others who were using outdated software systems.”
Dolan said the initial idea for the product arose when a family member who was a GP said his current system was inadequate. ”He was complaining that the existing system was fraught with technical problems.”
Twelve months later, following consultation with an expert group of GPs, we launched the first version of Socrates. We want our software to be user friendly so that everyone in a surgery can operate the system after a short introductory training session.”
The company continues to work closely with doctors, and ongoing product development is central to its strategy, according to Dolan. ”We have focus groups with GPs to continue to drive software enhancements. We’re continuing to develop systems with the aim of improving the quality of patient care.”
The company recently rebranded from Technical Ideas to Socrates to improve brand awareness. It has also increased its marketing with the aim of expanding in the coming years, according to Dolan.
”A lot of people knew us as Technical Ideas, but link us with our Socrates product, so we’re now trading as Socrates only. We’ve found this has helped improve our recognition, and also our client numbers. We expect to achieve significant growth this year, despite the recession, especially in the areas of physiotherapy and occupational health.
”We want to expand our product offering abroad – we are looking at increasing our staff numbers to at least 15 and offering the service in a number of English-speaking countries,” he said.
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