Thirty clips named IMG_4471
A biomechanical assessment includes video of the patient walking and running on the treadmill, filmed from behind and the side on an iPad, maybe slow-motion clips on a phone, and a pressure plate report on the laptop attached to the plate. The podiatrist uses them during the assessment and to explain findings to the patient.
Afterwards, the videos stay on the iPad, named by date and number. Six weeks later, at the orthotic review, the podiatrist wants to compare. Which clips were this patient's? Were they backed up? The iPad was also used by a colleague, and its storage is full.
Why gait videos go astray
- Video files are large, and clinic systems often limit attachment sizes.
- Recording happens on tablets and phones, which name files by date, not patient.
- Uploading and renaming files by hand takes time nobody has.
- Devices are shared between practitioners and not always backed up.
- Pressure plate software stores its own files separately.
- There is no rule for how long videos are kept.
What scattered video costs
Before and after comparisons that are impossible because the before clip cannot be found. Patient videos on devices that could be lost or stolen. Storage full at the wrong moment. Time spent searching. And no confidence that the clinic is handling identifiable video in line with its data protection policy.
| File | Where it lives today | Where it should be |
|---|---|---|
| Treadmill video | iPad camera roll | Patient's assessment, secure storage |
| Slow-motion clip | Practitioner's phone | Same place, never on a personal phone |
| Pressure plate report | Laptop software | Exported and attached to the assessment |
| Review comparison | Found by luck | Side by side at the review |
How we build video capture and storage
- A simple capture app on the clinic's tablets starts from the patient's appointment, so every clip is tagged with the patient and assessment before it is recorded.
- Clips upload to secure storage, such as your Microsoft 365 or AWS account, over the clinic's Wi-Fi, and are removed from the device once safely stored.
- A link to the videos is added to the patient record in Cliniko, WriteUpp or your system, so they are found from the patient, even where the system cannot hold large files itself.
- Pressure plate reports are exported and attached to the same assessment.
- At a review, the podiatrist sees earlier and new clips side by side.
- Access is limited to the practitioners you choose, and every view is logged.
- Videos are kept for the period your retention policy sets, then deleted automatically, with a report of what was removed.
- If you share clips with patients, they are sent through an expiring link rather than as attachments.
How long you keep video and who may see it are decided under your data protection policy. We build to it.
Running shops and sports clubs sometimes send patients with their own phone footage. Patients can upload it through a secure link before the appointment, so it arrives filed against the right person instead of by WhatsApp to a practitioner's phone.
What the gait lab looks like afterwards
Every clip is linked to the right patient and assessment. Devices hold nothing once uploads finish. Reviews start with the earlier video ready. Storage does not fill up. And the clinic can answer confidently where patient videos are and who can see them.
Is your gait video under control?
- Gait videos stay on the tablet or phone that recorded them.
- Finding a patient's earlier video takes a search through the camera roll.
- Clinic devices are shared and not always backed up.
- Pressure plate files are separate from the patient record.
- You have no set period for keeping patient videos.