Developing the code for better health: developers as creators

In today’s fragmented healthcare landscape, stakeholders across systems are increasingly having to do more with less to meet the demands of rising patient expectations, stressed and under-resourced healthcare teams, budget cuts and workforce shortages. Creating a ubiquitous platform that can be used by anyone, anywhere in the world to meet these demands requires not just technical proficiency but also a deep commitment to innovation; a commitment to innovation that foregrounds accessibility, usability and scalability. It is this spirit of innovation that permeates the development culture at Proximie.

At Proximie, our developers are creators who see every line of code as an opportunity to enhance how healthcare is delivered globally; not just in the Global North, but across every single OR in the world. Where you live in the world should not dictate your level of surgical care, which means any coding decision taken at Proximie isn’t just about usability and functionality - it's about the very fabric of healthcare delivery. Each line of code provides an opportunity to enhance the lives of patients, streamline operating room efficiency for healthcare teams, and ensure the sustainability of healthcare systems globally.

"...any coding decision taken at Proximie isn’t just about usability and functionality - it's about the very fabric of healthcare delivery."

At the core of Proximie’s vision lies a team of creators, empowered to push the boundaries of what’s possible in an operating room every single day. This creator mindset is exemplified by Proximie's SDK (Software Development Kit), serving as the backbone for many of Proximie’s integrations, ensuring that its technology is both scalable and flexible enough to adapt to the evolving needs of medtech developers and healthcare providers. To get to that point in a single tenancy solution required a development process and culture that challenged and ultimately disrupted the traditional innovation pathway for medical device technology; a mindset that the team brings to every challenge in their pursuit to developing the code for better health. 

The perfect balance

One of the greatest challenges for any developer - but particularly those working at Proximie - is trying to maintain the delicate balance between simplification and optimisation; when to build, when to repair, when to optimise and when to layer on the latest new technologies.

It’s never as black and white as it seems, particularly when it comes to healthcare. From the get-go, Proximie needed to operate seamlessly in the most diverse array of healthcare settings, so the platform itself and its various functionalities and tools have always had to be intuitive and easy to use. However, the platform also has to be able to perform complex functions with precision, in highly pressurised OR environments where every second counts. Proximie’s developers tread this line expertly, ensuring that the platform can meet the high-performance demands of our customers without sacrificing usability.

“There's a classic concept in programming, which is don't prematurely optimise,” says Jon Robinson, Principal Software Engineer at Proximie. “The temptation when you're writing something, is to put a lot of effort into making it fast, but you have to think about how it will be used ultimately. If you make something 10% faster, but it’s a function that is only used once a week, that may not be the best use of your time.”

This user-centric mindset ultimately encourages Proximie's developers to think about the needs of healthcare professionals within their very unique environment.

“You need to focus on the critical parts and then be a bit more flexible with other sides of the application,” says Esther Montero Lannegrand, Director of Engineering at Proximie. “We choose our battles, directing our focus to where it’s needed most.”  

Scaling innovation in healthcare

Building a scalable platform for healthcare is no easy task, but it's a challenge that Proximie embraces wholeheartedly. With a growing number of healthcare providers adopting the platform, scalability is crucial. This is where the developers' creative ingenuity truly shines.

Each developer is empowered to think beyond the code and consider the long-term impact of their work. How will the platform adapt as the healthcare landscape evolves? How can the platform support integration across various systems while maintaining a high level of performance? How does a development decision taken today impact tomorrow’s world of predictive healthcare? It is these questions that Proximie’s development team have to keep at the forefront of their mind.

“The top of the iceberg is all this stuff that you see, maybe on a screen, but there is all this technology underpinning that image that you never see,” says Jon. “We need to make our platform simple for our clients. They shouldn't be thinking, ‘I wonder how Proximie back end services do this thing?’ They should be saying, ‘I can call up this function and it just works, so I can then get on with the hard bit: making a robot that's going to save somebody's life.’”

To create a scalable platform in healthcare it’s imperative to adhere to some of the most robust data protection rules and regulations in the world. Regulations that set creative boundaries for the developer team at Proximie

“Some of the main complexities of Proximie’s back end are provided by data protection,” Esther explains. “We need to create foundations that ensure personal information is secure, that we are compliant with the different laws in the different regions, like HIPAA or GDPR. So we need to ensure any data stays where it is meant to be, and that it is safe.”

“So we need to ensure any data stays where it is meant to be, and that it is safe.”

Breaking new ground, together

Writing the code for better health means there is no rulebook to follow. There is no precedent set before, which means invention and innovation is integral to every development project.

"A lot of what we do is breaking new ground," Jon says. "I have been here for three years and across three very different projects, each one has started with, 'How are we going to do this?' There was no recipe book to follow for when we needed to create a telepresence application on a Surface Pro. There is a lot of established technology, but it's how this technology is integrated and how each piece of technology appreciates the other, that's all new ground."

The ingenuity of the team is also as a result of the creative culture, which has never been top down.  

Esther explains: "Every time we have a new development or a new feature, the first thing we all do as a team is discuss what needs to be done. Everyone has an input, which means we can confront challenges early and also confront each other's ideas, together. It is an open discussion where everyone can participate, and is encouraged to do so. I think this helps not only to create a sense of togetherness but it also produces better work."

Jon adds. "It's very democratic which means from a developer perspective some of the younger and more junior members of the team have a voice and are empowered to help the team drive projects forward."

"A lot of what we do is breaking new ground…"

Agility, flexibility, and a developer-driven future

Proximie’s developers aren’t just writing code—they're actively shaping the future of healthcare technology. By fostering a culture of agility and flexibility, Proximie ensures that its platform can adapt to new challenges, whether they come from the fast-evolving field of healthcare or the broader technological landscape.

As Proximie continues to expand, we continually seek to ask and answer the all-important question: how do we continue to empower healthcare teams and medical device developers to lead the charge in creating a healthcare system that is both innovative and sustainable?

Our creator-driven approach not only fuels the growth of Proximie, but also transforms the very way healthcare is delivered to set a new gold standard for the industry.

“Proximie’s developers aren’t just writing code—they're actively shaping the future of healthcare technology.”

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