After designing the physical layout of your office network, it’s time to start making some decisions about its logical design. The logical design is basically the network’s intangible structure and function. In this month’s article, I’ll provide some guidelines on creating an efficient, flexible and smoothly functioning logical network.

Strive for Flexibility

A good rule of thumb to use when designing is to organize and group by function, and then by geography. This design provides greater flexibility for function and management of your network. For example, if your organization has three locations, it’s desirable to create a logical unit named “Front Desk.” (more…)

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Even if you haven’t yet made the leap to full electronic medical records (EMR) implementation, chances are you’re already using a computerized system for scheduling, billing, or other administrative functions. And unless you only have one computer in the office, it’s likely that the computers are connected by some sort of network.

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Should your practice outsource IT (information technology) or hire your own in-house computer specialist? Whether you decide to implement an electronic medical records system now or five years down the road, the movement towards a practice management approach that makes more use of advanced technologies is already underway. At root, the practice of medicine is a business like any other, and today’s physicians must be prepared to embrace state-of-the-art tools or face the possibility of being edged out by more tech-savvy competitors.

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Getting staff on board may be the most challenging part of technology change, but change management principles can help counter resistance.Electronic medical records systems are designed to make practice management easier. By automating, streamlining, and centralizing many of the dozens of administrative tasks staff members must attend to on a daily basis, an EMR system can significantly enhance your staff’s efficiency, freeing them up to focus their efforts on more critical matters.

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Say Ah and stand close to your webcam

A Toronto-based company, WebCamMD, says it will offer medical examinations remotely with nothing more than a good internet connection, according to a ZDNet article .

So, if you thought that computer technical assistance by an overseas customer representative was frustrating, be prepared for the shape of things to come in healthcare.

And if you are tired of sitting in your doctor’s waiting room now, remember that the wait for the virtual doctor will still be quite real – although it doesn’t hurt to have a recording that tells you how much longer you have to wait….

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Before choosing an EMR system, you need to know some network software basics.

‘Software’ is just another term for a computer program. Today’s software offerings usually break down into one of two broad categories: network/server or application/productivity. Network and server software includes the operating systems that run your servers and network, but also extends to monitoring and management software.

Sometimes, the process of selecting the right software can get pretty complicated, what with licensing, different versions, and all of the other considerations that are involved, so it’s important to understand how everything fits together before you decide which type of program is right for you.

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Membership growth tied to new tools provided to medical professionals

The International Association of Dental and Medical Disciplines (IADMD) is a grass-roots organization whose main focus is to push for industry and legislative changes in the health care system, while at the same time bringing its membership up to date on technology. One initiative is to provide doctors participating in local community health services the tools to track and account for the free services they provide. A recent article in Information Week explains how the IADMD hopes to benefit in several ways from technology awareness; among them increased membership and a larger group to support its lobbying efforts.

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