I can quickly open up AC pointing to his patient db to book the appointment. Will I be able to do this with virtualization? I'd prefer not to have two computers on my desk.
No, you can't.
Actually, I say that because you can do more. You won'ty have to OPEN AC each time. It will already be open, and likely your VM machine will be minimized. When you maximize it or make it any size you want, it will be like you are in front of a whole different computer. And, you will be. It utilizes the "real" computer for hardware, etc. Even uses the CD, USB, etc.
Computing and networking is moving rapidly toward virtualization. At first, it will be hard to get your head around, but soon you will understand it completely. It allows you to network in a variety of ways, and when the next office opens, you just add an OS. But, you would then need more RAM. You can set how much RAM each VM gets, hard drive space, etc. If you make an error on the "real" computer, you must use a backup, etc. You should make backups of the VM, but it takes snapshots, and you can roll back at any time. But, as John pointed out earlier, you must have Antivirus on it.
