Online Option?
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kybiller
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2009 5:49 pm
Online Option?
Has Medisoft considered developing an online option for their billing software? I've been reading about some of these newer solutions. Data would be stored offsite and continuously backed up, upgrades are done behind the scenes eliminating conversion problems and other issues whenever a new upgrade is available, access to your data could be done from anywhere not just at the PC on which you loaded Medisoft, no need to worry about what version of Microsoft you have or whether you use a Mac... They charge a monthly fee (for small billing services like mine). What these other companies can't do is convert all older data (they can bring over provider info and patient demographics but not claim history). So you'd have to keep your Medisoft and start fresh with them. So it would be great if Medisoft would consider offering this option. Pros and Cons?
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Gavin Walker
- Posts: 4625
- Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:11 pm
- Location: Springfield, MO
- Contact:
Re: Online Option?
Ask and you shall receive. We are already hosting Medisoft as a service. All you need on your end is broadband Internet service and Windows XP SP3 or higher. Follow the link for more information. http://www.medtechsys.net/services/appl ... r-hosting/
Gavin Walker
Walker Tek Solutions, LLC
417-890-6777 x0
fax: 417-763-6386
Walker Tek Solutions, LLC
417-890-6777 x0
fax: 417-763-6386
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kybiller
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2009 5:49 pm
Re: Online Option?
Thank you! So far, sounds like what I'm looking for. I tried to get to the live demonstration but I'm being asked to allow ActiveX Control "Terminal Services ActiveX Client". So I do and I get the window to "Run" this ActiveX, I click run and I get, "Remote desktop web connection ActiveX control could not be installed. A connection cannot be made w/o a working installed version of the Control". So, I went to Microsoft and note that you need Windows XP SP3, which I have. I'm a PC user not a fixer, my tech abilities are limited. There seem to be several choices of downloads for "Terminal Services Client". Help? Will this demo also give info on the monthly pricing and conversion costs?
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Paul Williams
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2007 10:34 am
Re: Online Option?
I think the original poster listed most of the "pros" to using an online service. I'll play devils advocate and list off what our office considers to be the "cons":
1. Reliability. If there is an interruption in service from your ISP, or from the server hosting your data, or were the internet itself locked-up (as when Michael Jackson died), you would have zero-access to your data and your office cannot function.
2. Performance. There is no way that one can expect the same level of speed, the same level of program responsiveness, out of a web-based database. Multiple users sharing a single internet connection would find response times much longer than when using a local database running on a dedicated server. One would also be at the mercy of the host to ensure that a sufficient number of servers were present to maintain even a halfway-decent response time.
3. Security. Our file server is not connected to the internet. Other than electronic claims, we are not routinely transmitting sensitive data across the internet. Using an online service would increase the transmission of such data greatly. We also would need to rely upon the host to maintain sufficient security measures to keep out hackers. Overall, we feel an online-service increases the possibility of privacy (HIPAA) violations.
4. Ownership. We've built our patient database over a 20-year period, it has value to us. Moving it to someone elses system causes us concern as to who eventually truly has ownership of the data.
PS - We are a multi-provider clinic (not a billing service) and average between 12-15 users in Medisoft simultaneously. Also, the data is all "ours". We are somewhat "greedy" about it. Some of the caveats above may be less of a concern for a single-user installation, one dealing with multiple facilities where one isn't concerned about data "ownership".
1. Reliability. If there is an interruption in service from your ISP, or from the server hosting your data, or were the internet itself locked-up (as when Michael Jackson died), you would have zero-access to your data and your office cannot function.
2. Performance. There is no way that one can expect the same level of speed, the same level of program responsiveness, out of a web-based database. Multiple users sharing a single internet connection would find response times much longer than when using a local database running on a dedicated server. One would also be at the mercy of the host to ensure that a sufficient number of servers were present to maintain even a halfway-decent response time.
3. Security. Our file server is not connected to the internet. Other than electronic claims, we are not routinely transmitting sensitive data across the internet. Using an online service would increase the transmission of such data greatly. We also would need to rely upon the host to maintain sufficient security measures to keep out hackers. Overall, we feel an online-service increases the possibility of privacy (HIPAA) violations.
4. Ownership. We've built our patient database over a 20-year period, it has value to us. Moving it to someone elses system causes us concern as to who eventually truly has ownership of the data.
PS - We are a multi-provider clinic (not a billing service) and average between 12-15 users in Medisoft simultaneously. Also, the data is all "ours". We are somewhat "greedy" about it. Some of the caveats above may be less of a concern for a single-user installation, one dealing with multiple facilities where one isn't concerned about data "ownership".
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Gavin Walker
- Posts: 4625
- Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:11 pm
- Location: Springfield, MO
- Contact:
Re: Online Option?
kybiller: call our office. We don't leave demo login active all the time.
Paul: Regarding performance - try it and see. The speed of your internet will have a big factor. We have had some say our service is faster than when they had the server on the local network. Granted, they were probably running Medisoft on an old server that didn't have enough RAM, but they avoided the cost of a new server by using our service.
Regarding security - We use 128-bit encryption which is as good as the connection to your on-line bank. We are behind a firewall and your data is backed up nightly to another server. We keep the latest Windows services packs installed.
Regarding Ownership - You own your data. You may run a Medisoft backup to your local machine as often as you want.
Paul: Regarding performance - try it and see. The speed of your internet will have a big factor. We have had some say our service is faster than when they had the server on the local network. Granted, they were probably running Medisoft on an old server that didn't have enough RAM, but they avoided the cost of a new server by using our service.
Regarding security - We use 128-bit encryption which is as good as the connection to your on-line bank. We are behind a firewall and your data is backed up nightly to another server. We keep the latest Windows services packs installed.
Regarding Ownership - You own your data. You may run a Medisoft backup to your local machine as often as you want.
