Reflections on the development of the Hybrid Electronic Medical Registry in Pietermaritzburg

The senior author has spent almost all of his surgical training and career at University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and as such has been influenced by the rich surgical heritage of the surgical department and its affiliated hospitals. The surgical department developed in an environment of a huge patient load and limited resources, while being tasked to provide care and undertake research. It was evident to the former head of surgery at the time, Professor Lynne Baker, that the contribution to surgical knowledge was going to be focused on common diseases in the region and was going to be based on surgical audit.