Kirklin Solutions, a University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) startup, is continuing to scale its healthcare data platform and software as it works to improve how hospitals collect and use clinical data across the globe.
The company was founded to build on the work of James Kirklin, M.D., whose career was focused on improving patient outcomes through better use of clinical data. His work showed that while hospitals collect large amounts of information, much of it is difficult to organize, access, and use in real time.
Kirklin Solutions was created to close that gap by combining a platform for structured data collection with software that integrates directly with electronic medical records. Together, these tools reduce the need for manual data entry and make information easier for healthcare providers to use.
“Kirklin Solutions was inspired by a desire to extend and scale the work led by Dr. Kirklin at UAB,” said Craig Collum, Kirklin Solutions CEO. “We saw an opportunity to take what had been built and expand its impact across healthcare.” 
The Kirklin Solutions logo.
Today, the company has moved into a significant growth phase. Its technology is actively being used in hospitals and clinical programs around the world. Kirklin Solutions supports data collection across a wide network of more than 300 hospitals in 26 countries spanning six continents.
This global reach has provided a strong foundation for expansion, allowing the company to scale its platform while continuing to refine its software. By connecting directly to hospital systems, Kirklin Solutions allows data to be collected more efficiently and used more quickly to support decision-making.
“Our goal is to make data easier to collect and easier to use,” Collum said. “For providers, that means less time spent on manual processes. For patients, it means care that is guided by better and more timely information.”
Piloting novel technology in the healthcare space has challenges. The company has had to navigate complex regulatory requirements and data privacy concerns. Designing solutions that are both powerful and simple enough for everyday use has been a key focus as the team has grown, expanding from a small group into a multidisciplinary team bringing together clinical care, engineering, data science, and operations. That mix of experience has helped shape tools that work in real-world healthcare settings.
One example of Kirklin Solutions’ technology is its ORCA platform, short for Organized Resource Clinical Application, which supports ECMO, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, a life sustaining therapy used for patients with severe heart or lung failure. The platform pulls data directly from electronic medical records, automatically organizes it, and delivers real-time dashboards for tracking patient care and reporting.
In practice, this can significantly reduce the burden on care teams. For example, when a patient is placed on ECMO, critical data such as lab results, device setting, and patient demographics are automatically captured and organized within ORCA. Clinicians can then review and validate that information while using dashboards to monitor patient trends and program performance. This allows teams to focus more on patient care and decision making, while ensuring accurate, registry-ready data is maintained in the background.
Looking ahead, the company is focused on scaling both its platform and software into additional hospitals and clinical areas while improving how its technology supports care.
“We are in a unique position where we are not starting from zero,” Collum said. “The opportunity to take something that has been built over time and translate it into a scalable model that improves care is what makes the future so compelling.”
Learn more about Kirklin Solutions here.
-- April 21, 2026