The Reality on the Ground: Why Integration Matters
Let’s be honest — most hospitals in Africa don’t have the luxury of time, teams, or tolerance for complex tech installations.
The question every IT lead, medical director, or radiologist asks when introduced to new tools is:
“Will it break what we already have?”
That’s a valid concern. Because when minutes matter and patients are lining up for diagnostics, the last thing anyone needs is a fragile, cloud-dependent tool that requires a data center, a DevOps team, and a prayer.
Busara was built knowing this. From day one.
African Hospitals Don’t Have Time for Complex Installs
In most county or mission hospitals, IT support is minimal — and often stretched thin between servers, printers, power backups, and outdated EMRs. Any tool that requires more than a day to install is already dead on arrival.
IT Staff Are Already Overwhelmed
Let’s not pretend African hospitals are tech deserts. Many use PACS, EMRs, and RIS tools — but they’re often stitched together over years. Adding a new AI tool? It better fit in like it always belonged there.
Lives Are Lost When AI Systems Work in Silos
In radiology, the delay between image capture and decision-making can be fatal. When AI sits in a separate workflow, outside the radiologist’s view, or fails to sync with hospital data, its impact is lost. Integration isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s life or death.
Busara’s Design Philosophy: Plug In, Not Tear Down
Busara doesn’t ask you to rip and replace. It slips in like a scalpel — sharp, precise, and minimally invasive.
Built for Existing Radiology Workflows
Whether your facility uses a shared PACS workstation, a DICOM router, or email reports, Busara integrates without forcing a change in your day-to-day operations. It sits quietly behind the scenes and enhances what already works.
Lightweight and Flexible Deployment Options
Busara can run:
- As a cloud-hosted solution for hospitals with stable connectivity
- As a local on-prem node for offline use
- Even on low-power edge devices for field clinics
Zero bloat. Maximum efficiency.
Works Offline or On-Premise — By Design
No internet? No excuses. Busara runs even without external access. And once connectivity resumes, it syncs automatically with your dashboard and analytics tools. We built it knowing that outages are normal.
Core Technologies That Power Seamless Integration
HL7 Support: Speaking the Language of EMRs
Most hospital information systems (HIS) speak HL7. So does Busara.
- It auto-fetches patient demographics
- Syncs with order entry systems
- Matches study metadata with image data
- Feeds structured results back into the hospital’s clinical workflows
No bridges. No hacks. Just clean HL7 messages — inbound and outbound.
Auto-fetching Patient Demographics and Study Metadata
Forget manual entry. As soon as a scan is done, Busara pulls the necessary fields to begin processing, reducing human error and saving critical minutes.
DICOM Compatibility: PACS-Ready from Day One
Busara listens to your PACS — just like another radiologist would.
- Accepts images from any DICOM-compliant modality
- Can be set up as a secondary DICOM node
- Processes images in real time
- Outputs results back into the same system you already trust
Ingests Images from Any DICOM-Compliant Modality
Whether it’s a Siemens CT or a mobile X-ray cart — if it speaks DICOM, Busara understands it.
FHIR API: Future-Proofing for Interoperability
For hospitals and startups using modern platforms, Busara exposes a FHIR-compliant API that returns structured data and findings in real time.
- JSON responses
- Easy integration with web apps
- Built for mobile and cloud-first systems
- Supports SMART-on-FHIR tokens for secure access
Structured Outputs for Smart Systems
You don’t need a custom integration team. If your system speaks FHIR — Busara is already fluent.
One Unified API — Many Ways to Connect
Whether you’re building dashboards, triage systems, or decision-support tools — Busara’s API makes it easy to plug in.
Our API Docs Are Public and Developer-Friendly
You don’t need to email us for access. The documentation is simple, REST-based, and comes with Postman collections and demo tokens.
Built-in Hooks for Triage Systems, Alert Managers, and Dashboards
Want to trigger an SMS for critical scans?
Send a Slack alert to a night-shift doc?
Log findings into your own dashboard?
All of that is possible with a few lines of code.
Data Privacy & Security Compliance
Every connection is encrypted. Every transaction is logged. Busara follows HIPAA-grade standards (TLS 1.2+, encrypted databases, access controls) and can run fully within your network perimeter.
Real-World Integrations in Action
Example: County Hospital PACS Integration
In Nakuru, Busara was plugged into the existing PACS in under 4 hours. No workflow changes. Within the first night, it flagged 2 intracranial hemorrhages before the morning shift began.
Example: Radiologist Workstation with Zero-Code Setup
At a private imaging center in Nairobi, Busara runs as a background agent on the same machine used for viewing. The radiologist didn’t even notice — until it flagged a missed spinal fracture.
Example: Clinic with SMS Alerts and Offline-First Busara Node
In Siaya County, Busara runs off a Raspberry Pi and sends SMS alerts for flagged studies. Internet comes once a day — the AI never stops.
What You Don’t Need (And Why That Matters)
No Need to Change Your EMR
Busara works around it, not against it.
No Internet? Still Works
And keeps logs of every prediction for audit once you’re back online.
No Specialist AI Team Required
Your existing IT admin can install and maintain Busara with basic documentation.
Quick Setup, Immediate ROI
Deployment in Under 1 Day
We’ve done setups in under 3 hours.
Impact Seen Within the First 24 Hours
Critical cases flagged, lives saved, stress reduced.
Zero Downtime for Existing Systems
You don’t go dark. Busara lights up in the background.
Built for IT Teams, Radiologists, and Policy Makers
One Interface, Multiple Access Levels
- Admins get audit trails
- Doctors get case results
- Nurses get alerts
- Everyone stays in the loop
Audit Trails, Logs, and Analytics Included
Every prediction is logged, traceable, exportable.
Fully Localizable
Language, alert severity, terminology — all customizable.
What Hospital Leaders Are Saying
“We plugged it in before lunch. By evening, it had flagged a bleed we almost missed.”
— Radiologist, Kisumu
“No change in workflow. Just better outcomes.”
— Hospital Director, Machakos
“Busara respects our time and systems. That’s rare in health tech.”
— County IT Officer, Meru
Get Started: Integration Is Just a Conversation Away
- View our API documentation
- Request a live demo
- Book a 30-minute call with our engineering team
- Or ask your local partner to schedule a pilot
We’ll meet your system where it is — and take it further.
Conclusion: Integration Isn’t Optional — It’s Urgent
African hospitals don’t need another “app.”
They need impact tools that fit now, not someday.
Busara isn’t here to replace your systems.
It’s here to power them.
Because life-saving AI should never sit on the sidelines.
FAQs
1. How long does Busara take to integrate with PACS?
Usually 2–6 hours, depending on your setup.
2. What if we use an older EMR or no FHIR yet?
We support HL7 and legacy systems. FHIR is optional.
3. Can I connect it to our triage dashboard or notification system?
Yes. Our REST API supports JSON, webhooks, and alert integrations.
4. Does Busara work without internet?
Yes. All core features run offline, with cloud sync when available.
5. Do you offer support for initial setup?
Yes — we provide guided remote or in-person onboarding.
