Home Forums Discussions General Discussion New to AC, need PMS for new office. HELP!

Hi,
My partner and I are opening a practice and will be getting Amazing Charts as our EMR. We've figured ALMOST everything out except for which PMS to use for the other administrative component. Any ideas/suggestions/clues? Affordable?

Medisoft and Lytec obviously are good but pricey. We use Medware by Sage:

http://tinyurl.com/yuboue

Very reasonable especially if you only get once license, which is all you basically need. They do have a trial.

I didn't choose it, my practice consultant and biller have used it so it came by default. But, it's very easy to learn. Anyway, hope that helps.

By the way, welcome to AC. What part of Florida are you from?

Look at Visionarymed.com

Leslie

I'm in West Palm Beach. Thanks for the welcome! We are very new to all this so I'm a little overwhelmed. Everyone always said the medical part is easy...but the rest... I'll look into those, Thanks.

Leslie,
I went to their website and it had some info. But I feel you've always got to wonder about a place that doesn't want to post it's cost structure on their own website. Let us talk sales talk garbage at you for 20 minutes and then we'll beat around the bush as we sort of spring the price on you after we've got all our contact info to hound you with forever. Sorry, I've just seem this a few too many times before. So is this the program you use? What's your thoughts on it??? Have a good weekend...
Paul

You know hockey, I worked in field sales for awhile. I know just what you mean 'cause that's how you're trained and you BETTER NOT DEVIATE or ELSE!. Interestingly, I think I get even more annoyed than you do with that junk.

As a student of Pysch and a fed up practice manager I'm not too sure who is more pissed off by it. I'll shoot ya for it, I'm odds, your evens??? Once, twice, shoot.... (your a kid from NY right?) As I've been saying from day one here, "Everyone wants to be my friend because my wife is a primary care doc...Our business is a conduit to "Other people's" money"

Aaaaahhhh, Elmo and Pattsie: "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" (Radio here)

Wow, you guys have been at this for a while and I'm actually encouraged by the comraderie. Finally, people I can talk shop with and complain with..... LOVE IT! Anyhow, apart from the PMS question, I heard today we needed a server and a LAN?????and that it would cost us like $10,000. What the -? I plan on getting 5 desktops and 2 tablets, so my partner and I can take them wherever and be able to log on and do charts, etc. What do I REALLY NEED for all this because I am clueless! AC is not web-based so how does that work again?
Sorry, newbie here!

Whooooaaaa! Ok, Vanessa, give us the run down. OH, sorry WELCOME TO THE AC USERS BOARD! And welcome aboard.(oops. pun)

So, tell us what you are trying to do. Your specialty/practice type. Some of us here actually have technical backgrounds. Mine is VERY VERY outdated, but I can still multiply, divide and do simple integrations. So you can get some ideas from us. Hockey and Dr. Vinney seem to me more uptodate than me though.

Depending on what you are going to do and what software you use you may not really need a server (server=big pc w/special software to rule the network). But w/ 5 desktops maybe you will. That means you'll need someone who knows how to keep that puppy running. You may be able to get away with a peer-to-peer setup. Get in medium pc w/o special rule the network software and have a basically "every man for himself" network. Not as bad as it sounds. We have 2 desktops and 3 laptops and this works for us. We want to get another desktop to act as a dedicated "server" even though it would still be the same setup. This is less expensive than the LAN. The only costs are the computer and the routers.

Vanessa

Jacksonville now in Maine here. Difficult to go into detail now, but I can definitely give you some advice as to a Server/Client set up with that many desktops and tablets for well under $6,000 along with help setting it up and complete support. Try not to let anyone put a price tag on what you want to do. I know I just did but only to give you an idea of how easy it would be to do more with a lot less. Learning how to implement a Local Are Network is easy and FREE compared to the quotes you are getting and you will always understand how to work with it.

Check back with me tomorrow either here or at my PM or email:

badams at riverviewpediarics.org_no spam

Vanessa:

I have a similar setup to yours, working well at this point, and it cost me nowhere near what you're being quoted. Wcoghill and Bert are right; somebody there is making it too complicated, and too expensive.

I know next-to-nothing about servers. I basically have a glorified peer-to-peer setup, with a beefy "server" PC containing the main AC database, and about the same number and type of PCs & tablets you have. The wireless ones are connected to the "server" via a wireless network, and the wired PCs are connected via a wired network.

This is working pretty well for me now, but I know a server operating system would be best, and I hope to upgrade in the near future. It is hard to make a change during cold & flu season; it would have been better if I could have had it set up properly from the beginning.

Bert is very knowledgable about networks and other frightening technology, and I would like to publicly acknowledge that he has been very generous with his time, trying to educate me in these matters.

(BTW, Bert: what does that "_no spam" tag at the end of your email line signify? Does it have special power, electronic or talismanic, to ward off evil-doers?)

Wcoghill: please think about adding a tagline with your name and location under your profile. I like talking with you, but I feel funny calling you "Wcoghill". It seems like I called you Dr. Coghill one time and you objected. Maybe I could call you "W"?

BCMD, I only objected because my sister is the doctor, not me. But your point is well-taken. It should be fairly easy to get a tagline on here. Everyone has one

Wayne

Call me Brian, Wayne.

I am asking around about your webhosting problem (other thread). I'll let you know if I uncover anything.

(nice tagline, btw)

Paul,
Yes I have used Visionary for about 10 years. When I first found it on the Web, they were a small business very similar to AC and the attention, tech support and price reflected this. I think it is still basically a good program although it definitely has room for improvement. The price I think is still towards the low end as PMRs go. I don't know what they charge new users but I pay $900/year for 5 licenses (I can put it on 5 computers). The tech support has been pretty good although more recently you tend to get the foreign, difficult-to-understand-their-English techies. When that happens I just ask them to enter my system (which they can do remotely) and fix the problem. They have updates regularly which are easy to download. I think its biggest weakness is the inability to produce all the "how-am-I-doing" reports which I would find helpful. There are a bunch of reports available; it just seems they are not in a format I like. They also have an electronic billing platform for all the major carriers but I have chosen not to use it. We do send our Medicare and Indiana Blues electronically and they set this up for us.
Although I am not really unhappy with it, should AC ever get a dependable PMR, I likely would switch so I can keep everything in one place and not have to duplicate data entry.
I will say this for them. They were very helpful when I had to update my server and laptops and did not have the cash or credit to do so. They worked with a leasing company and got me a good plan with which I have been happy.

Leslie

Wow, a lot to weigh in on.

@Brian Thanks for your kind words about my technological prowess. And, I do like to help when I can. As to the No Spam thing, I see it wasn't as helpful as it should have been. Basically, one should never type an email on the Internet just as it is, i.e. spiderman@spidey.web Hundreds, if not thousands, email bots roam message boards gathering up emails at a rate that is astonishing. Therefore at technological website where I am embarrassed to say I hang out often, most understand the value of typing badams_remove at riverviewpediatrics.org. At this point, no bot can figure out to actually remove the underscore and remove and use the @ sign. I find myself here explaining a bit, because I assume some won't understand and will actually email me at the "cloaked" email address so I either put no spam at the end to help (which actually cloaks even more) or I actually spell out what to do. Often when computer geeks put cloaked or stealthed email address in their profiles, they don't explain it, but I always feel I need to when I include the email here. Once again, long explanation to a simple question.

@Wayne I generally call you Wayne, but every once in awhile I get confused with Wendell, and then I don't want to do either. I agree with Brian, and we have started a movement which generally dies out after a week to get people to have signature lines which are helpful and in Brian and Roy's case -- funny as well. And, as you see, once you have one, you don't need to type Wayne in lol. Once cautionary note though that I don't like. When you change your signature, it immediately changes it throughout the entire board so that all of your signatures are changed. So, for example, if I were to change my signature to spiderman @ spidey.web just for a bit of added fun with Brian, now everyone reading any of my posts elsewhere would wonder why the hell is that there.

@Vanessa Wayne is certainly correct that a peer-to-peer is all you need for all the reasons he gives. There are a few themes that run through these boards (the number one them being do you fax digitally or what....), but the peer-to-peer vs server/client comes up all the time. You should know that the software, Amazing Charts, isn't truly a server-client software anyway.

But, however, let me put my two centers in for encouraging you to use a dedicated server which you use for your network. First, as Wayne mentioned, a server which you specify at Dell or HP for example is a special computer which differs from workstations due to far increased throughput (the bottleneck of computing speeds) and redundancy. A good server run correctly needs to be rebooted about once every four months rather than the once every four hours of Windows XP, etc. (a slight exaggeration). But, the other part of a server is server software, which is more expensive (but not much) and is designed to run on a server computer. From here on in, the word server means a computer designed to be a server and not a workstation used only for a server. It is important to note that either type of server should be used only for the applications and should not be used as a workstation. There are reasons for this, and I highly recommend not running the actually databases of AC on a computer one is using.

One thing that is not noted on this subject many times is one should not only look at his or her LAN (network) as it relates to AC (a rather simple application) but also in context with what else you want to do with you network. For instance, we run other applications such as our PM, Medware, Outlook, Scheduling software, software to file digital applications, a quick messenger, etc. Many of these will work better and faster on a server/client set up than on a peer-to-peer.

You probably need to take a step back and think about what you want first. It is hard to go back and redo it after being peer-to-peer for awhile. It is a slight myth that a server/client setup is far more expensive than a P2P. (peer-to-peer). Let's say you are going to make a LAN for five workstations. Well, you basically have to purchase 5 client computers and 5 monitors with 5 OS whether it comes with the OS or not. You will most likely need either a DSL, cable or T1 modem. You will definitely need a firewall/router and you will probably need a switch. And, you will need to connect all this with cable. Again, my opinion only, but I highly recommend wired over wireless. And, I would definitely get Cat6 with a Cat6 switch. Now if you use one of those clients as a pseudo-server, then the purchase of a separate server will cost you an extra $2,000 for the server and an extra $350 for the software. You would need a good corporate edition antivirus program and a good corporate level backup software program. But, again, even with P2P, you have to purchase antivirus software and now you are installing it on each individual computer and hoping your users keep the updates up to date, which they won't. And, you have to remember what to back up if it is not all on your pseudo-server. With a server, you know that ALL of your data is on the server and that needs to be backed up nightly.

I can't find my other post, but I may be able to remember some of it. With a server setup, you have increased redundancy, increased speed, centralized data that can be shared to everyone, increased security, Active Directory which allows you to let your secretary have access to the billing but maybe not to the clinical data. You can make changes to all computers with one change on the server. And, you have a DOMAIN setup so that all users must log into the server giving you much increased security and logging. Your server emails you daily and weekly as to the status of your network and if there are errors which need to be looked at. I could go on and on.

Finally, if you do go server/client, and you have to choose an OS and you go with Microsoft, there are two basic OS to choose from: Windows Server 2003 (which is very good but usually used for a larger business environment) or Windows SBS 2003 R2. As people know on here who have read my posts, I can't emphasize enough the value of using SBS 2003 R2 whether premium or standard, although the premium version is not worth the extra money in my opinion. The name SBS (Small Business Server) should give away what Microsoft designed it for. It combines many things that a larger corporation would have to purchase. It's a brilliant piece of software. For instance, it comes with Exchange Server which is very costly but is included in the $350 SBS package. It has Sharepoint which is an incredible feature for a small business especially a medical one. It allows for roaming profiles which are super cool where anyone logging into any computer has the exact same desktop and programs as they have on "their own PC." It has My Documents redirection so that any document or file of importance is automatically stored on the server. Finally, SBS comes with Remote Web Workplace whereby you can connect to the server and hence to any other PC on the LAN from any computer in the world without a VPN or other software, and it is the most secure.

Well, I am rambling here. Whatever you do, will be fine. But, before you make any decisions, I encourage you to go to Microsoft's website on SBS 2003. It is very informative, and you can go through all of the features with its videos and mini trials.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/default.mspx

It is only fair to tell you that you would most likely need help from an IT person to at least set up the Small Business Server. After that you can easily work with it yourself with minimal help from your IT guru.

Actually Bert, I'm going to go there and learn a few things in addition to what you posted. I used P2P because I knew I could do it quickly w/o extra expenses. I wasn't sure how long it would take me to learn client/server and I thought it would be really expensive. But you said it isn't. So time for me to investigate and thanks for the info.

Thanks Wayne. Let me know if I can help at all.

Bert, can I package you up and bring you to West Palm Beach??? All I can say is THANK YOU and I will definitely look into the client-server info b/c this is likely the way I will go. As to finding an IT person, do you think Dell will offer someone (paid of course) to set all this up for me since I will be buying Dell PC's and tablets? We are going to try to keep it small for a few years but will likely add a NP and then expand to include a Medical Spa with the works. So, I need something that can expand with me. I was looking at the new office space we are leasing and although the exam rooms have a space to put a desktop on, there seem to be no cable outlets to actually hook everything up. So I was thinking Wireless, but you say NO? My other option is just to NOT place PC's in each exam room and give a tablet PC to each nurse and provider (4 total) and just use a main destop at the front desk and perhaps another one to just be the SERVER. OK, my brain is fried, between this and all the other nuances of setting up a new practice (PLUS tow kids under the age of 3) I think I need a break. Will check back tomorrow on responses.
VV

Sure, but I will probably wait until about February <G>. So, what is the insurance climate like in West Palm Beach? It has to be better than in mid-Maine.

I think you will be glad you went the client-server route. And, again, for my friends on here that read this, if were only talking about AC, then either way is fine. We should all remember, that we are all purchasing and connecting computers; setting up a domain only means using server software, etc.

Certainly, SBS 2003 Standard Edition or Premium can expand and meet the needs of any small business. That is really what it is for.

As far as wired and wireless is concerned, this is only my opinion. Many use wireless and are happy. I just prefer wired as it is faster and more secure. Of course, as wireless gets faster, wired will generally stay faster but you would have to change cables which is no fun. It isn't that difficult to run cable especially in a newer building. We made 16 runs via a basement and some over the dropdown ceiling, and I paid $600 for the labor and about $300 for the cable. If anything, it will keep you from wanting to move to another location. Tip: Find a local college that offers a course in networking and offer to pay $10 to $12.00 an hour to two or three seniors. That's what I did, and they knocked it out in an evening. Of course, you have to provide pizza. Just remember the crucial rule of network cables: If you need one jack, run two. It isn't anymore work to run two, and you will generally need them down the road.

Again this is MY OPINION: In two offices, I have always had a desktop PC in each room. You can do that wireless or wired. I am not a big fan of moving tablets in and out of each room. But, that's just my preference.

Just for fun, I specced out a Dell server. I looked at the SC1430. I can't believe they have $840 off any server over $2800. The one I built was $3175 or so and was only around $2400 with $19.95 shipping. This came with two dual-core processors, 4GBs of RAM (I would go with nothing less in a server), SBS 2003 Standard Edition R2, CDR-DVD, 4 160GB hard drivers. A PERC 5/i Raid card supporting RAID 1, 5 or 10. I like RAID 1 and RAID 5, but that would require one more drive. But, the SATA 7200 drives are rather inexpensive. This doesn't include backup software or hardware or a monitor. You can always get to the server remotely, but having a small monitor is kind of nice. And tape drives made by Travan, etc. are extremely expensive. External USB hard drives for backups are much cheaper and efficient.

I will PM you with a username and password to look at the system.

As far as Dell helping to set it up or whatever, they will but I wouldn't recommend it. If you went with SBS, you would be best off finding someone who is Microsoft Small Business certified. It would be ideal to find someone who would set it up for you AND not mind teaching you what he or she is doing. As doctors, we usually like to learn and it will be much cheaper in the long run if you know how to troubleshoot problems, make changes, add users and groups, etc. Then, you could always call or have him or her come out for major changes. I spoke with a company here when I was trying to open some ports in my Cisco Firewall but I told them I would need to watch the tech, and they refused. Something about they did't want to be responsible if I screwed it up. Right. They just wanted job security. So, if we teach our patients what to do and what to look for, we are responsibile too?

The SBS OS setup is completely based on wizards, and it is fairly easy to set up. But, most problems with a SBS server-client setup are due to an improper setup to begin with.

Oh well, hope this helps.

Cheers!

Vanessa:

Re: wireless vs. wired. I agree: wire as much as possible.

Re: tablets in the exam rooms. There are several here among us that use them, and they have their advantages:

1. You carry the tablet out when you go, limiting patient access to medical data, especially if you don't trust your clientele (I don't necessarily).
2. They don't take up much space, if space is limited (mine is).
3. It is an intuitive interface. Holding a tablet and inputting with a stylus is similar to scribbling notes on a patient chart, and so I think it is less intrusive in the clinic setting (certainly much less intrusive than peeking over a monitor at someone while you type, or -- heaven forbid -- turning your back to them).
4. Of course, it is very easy to take them to a nursing home, or on a housecall.
5. They're kind of cool.

All that being said, they have their drawbacks too.

The interface can take some getting used to. My nurses did not do well with the stylus at first, but they are getting used to it. You have to figure out which data is best to enter with handwriting recognition (and the settings for that have to be tweaked), which are best entered with the on-screen keyboard, what can be turned into a template, etc. That all takes time. You will need to "make friends" with your tablet before you open your doors and start seeing patients with it.

Comfort is the next issue. You need to get the lightest thing possible, especially if you're going to be carrying it in the crook of your arm quite a bit. An extra pound adds up over the course of the day. A bump case with straps adds comfort, prevents minor dings and scuffs, and will help you have something to hold onto, to prevent falls.

Note that I use Fujitsu tablets with no integral keyboard. You can get the kind of tablet that folds into a laptop mode, but it will add weight. (I think that's the kind Vinny uses, but I don't know if he carries it room to room, or leaves it in the room).

I have an inexpensive wire stand for the tablet, which dwells in the general vicinity of a wireless mouse and keyboard for a more traditional interface. You can set the tablet in the stand, type what you wish, then pick up the tablet and you're instantly mobile again. (You can also use speech recognition with a tablet, but that's a whole 'nother subject).

I hope this is helpful. Please share your experiences with us as it is a help to us and to other new users.

I certainly will and since this is all very new to me I'm sure I will be on here A LOT! We are likely to open doors in March, I am planning on giving my current employer notice in early January and so I have time to work on all this. In the meantime, it's a lot of research and we have a lot of decisions to make.
Bert, the insurance climate is not that great either. Lots of bundling, and they just don't wnat to pay primaries to do certain things. I have 2 half days per week where I do procedures and the reimbursement is ridiculous, especially for Derm. This is why we are going to open the Medical Spa in addn to our Family Practice, because here, people will pay for the laser procedures whatever you charge, but will haggle with you about their $20 copays.
Brian, I was thinking of getting Dragon Naturally Speaking because although we are pretty good typers, it just seems like sometimes it would be easier. We'll see!
Thanks for all your help guys.
VV

[quote=bcmd]You carry the tablet out when you go, limiting patient access to medical data, especially if you don't trust your clientele (I don't necessarily).
2. They don't take up much space, if space is limited (mine is).
3. It is an intuitive interface. Holding a tablet and inputting with a stylus is similar to scribbling notes on a patient chart, and so I think it is less intrusive in the clinic setting (certainly much less intrusive than peeking over a monitor at someone while you type, or -- heaven forbid -- turning your back to them).
4. Of course, it is very easy to take them to a nursing home, or on a housecall.
5. They're kind of cool.<Quote/>

Well, definitely when it comes to a desktop to a tablet, it's a personal choice. They are so different, I doubt anything anyone says will make a difference; certainly I wouldn't want to sway someone away from their favorite.

As to HIPAA complaince, our keyboards are set up to use F7 as a lock button. Very quick, and I NEVER leave a room without hitting it. There is a quick way to set that up; I posted how earlier. It's a very clean post, because (and this is UNBELIEVABLE) no one posted any feedback. Imagine that. No, I'm not bitter.

Our tables are set up so we can see the patient without looking at the computer. Again, I quickly read the left side -- all entered by the nurse, take a history, do the exam, then enter a PE template and do the script and labs and diagnosis/assessment. That has to be done on any format. The entire process takes me about 30 seconds depending on the amount of labs or typed assessment. Then I talk to the patient again explaining everything.

@Vanessa Rather than do a whole different post, I have never used DNS. I would like to learn how you would use it in your setup. Would you dictate in the room or after. If after, then you are stuck doing notes after the visit. Again, to each his own, but for me that would cause problems.

I hope your boss doesn't read these posts. <G?

Bert:

PC/TABLET: I suspect that most people with EMRs do have fixed PCs in the room, and type in the room with the patient. I don't think there's a thing wrong with that, necessarily, and I might do it myself under different circumstances. My point was only that you have to be careful not to let data entry come between you and the patient (this is also true of written note-taking). It sounds like you have a good setup.

That said, I am curious as to how you keep sticky, snotty fingers off your computers in a pediatric practice. It would drive me frickin' nuts to come into a room, start to type, and have my fingers adhere to the keyboard or mouse, or have to wipe sticky mess off the monitor.

You would think that moms would keep this from happening, but no. Some of the moms around here will watch their toddler push a rolling stool up to the shelf, stand on tiptoes and pitch jars of medical supplies off in the floor (just before the child loses their balance and crashes to the ground (I changed to plastic jars after this happened the first time; how that kid didn't get cut to pieces, I have no idea)). I can just see this happening to my computer peripherals.

SCREEN LOCK: I don't remember that post, Bert. I tried to search for it and couldn't find it. Why don't you post a link to that post?

DNS: As far as Dragon Naturally Speaking, I ideally use that right after the patient encounter, outside the room, in the HPI, PMH, ROS and Plan fields. Note that I am converting (sometimes extensive) paper charts over to AC. Some of those data fields would involve a *lot* of typing. Also, I have gotten used to dictating in a conversational style, with lots of "story-telling", and that would be impossible for me if I had to type.

What are parents coming to these days?

Hi all, I thought I would ask a side question to this current thread. I agree with what everyone has said. I changed from P2P to a server based (using SBS 2003) and it has been MUCH better-speeds up everything, I don't have to back up AC 2-3 times a day to keep it running smoothly. I use Dragonspeak to dictate but find the error rate still too high for me, so I am back to typing. I use AC from home using Logmein but I would like to try their new Hamachi VPN to see if this would work better (the screen is too small through Logmein), does anyone have experience with this?

BTW, Paul(Hockey) thanks for the note in October, sometimes it is a while in between my log ins--and yes, I am still struggling along with everyone else here in Syracuse.

Dr. G-

Dr. G:

I am sorry to hear about your bad experience with Dragon. I had similar problems at first. If electronic dictation is something you still want to pursue, I would be glad to try and help solve your accuracy problems.

I am also curious about the Hamachi VPN, and I hope you get a good response in this thread, but if you don't get many replies, I hope you will repost your question in a new thread, and title the thread something like "Hamachi VPN" (it might attract more attention that way).

Have a good day, everyone.

Brian -- sure will as soon as I get a moment. Works well.

Dr. G -- Yeah, way to go! SBS 2003 (Is it standard or premium) I have standard and am glad I do. Why don't you use Remote Web Workplace? Much faster and much more secure than VPN or LogMeIn. Depending on your firewall, I can run you through it. Just have to open three ports. Very cool. And, you can do SOOOOO much more.

Brian:

Screen lock:

http://tinyurl.com/2zbedv

Bert:

Neat. And that just activates the screen-saver screen lock on your pc, correct? So, you would have to have that mode activated I guess.

It actually just locks the computer regardless of your screensver. It's the same as if you hit Ctrl-Alt-Delete and then click on Lock.

I'm a little dense today: do you unlock with your usual login password, then?

Yes, then you would unlock with your username and password on a domain or your password on XP. When I am not on a domain on XP, I never use the welcome screen, I use the logon screen.

Bert,
thanks for the info. I checked personal messages before coming to the board then figured out RWW. I will have to talk to the person who runs my IT about this. Can you give me a brief rundown on this? It sounds like "the right stuff".

Brian,
is there some tips on DNS that I am not using, I have done "training the computer" several times and it still seemed to be a problem with accuracy.

Thanks,
Dr. G-

Dr. G:

There are whole websites devoted to improving accuracy on DNS. The following post contains some links to some of those websites:

http://amazingcharts.com/ub/ubbthre...gon&topic=0&Search=true#Post3192

If you don't find the answer you're looking for there, you could post on one of the forums listed in that thread and possibly get an answer. Don't give up too quickly!

For my part, I realized I had scanned in the wrong kind of documents for improving accuracy, I had purchased DNS Preferred when I really needed the Medical version, my sound card was not so great, I had a terrible microphone, and it was too noisy where I was dictating. Once I fixed all those things, I was doing great!

One thing that opened my eyes (ears, really) to my problems was dictating and then hitting "Play Back" to see what the computer was hearing; my input was pretty rough-sounding with electronic interference in the background.

You might be aware that Nuance is creating custom User Profiles right now that might improve your accuracy. I think there are details about that in the thread above, or the links in the thread. Hope that helps!

Remote Web Workplace is an ingenius thing. It is basically a web page on the SBS server with links to a number of resources. You can get to OWA, Outlook Web Access from there. You can connect easily to the server and/or any desktop in the practice. You can allow your other users to connect just to his or her workstation with complete restriction to the server or other workstations other than his or her normal connection to the server through network shares. It is an https:// connection so it is fully SSL encrypted.

You can directly administer Sharepoint which is nice since you can add a message for the following day from home or look up any form or data on Sharepoint.

You can provide remote assistance to any user by taking over their desktop from any remote computer.

It's nice because it is always there and always running. You never have to worry about something going down.

It requires three ports to be open: 443, 444 and 4125 so depending on your firewall, it can be easy or difficult to set up. I should say it is already set up, if you configured it on your SBS, which you probably did, but if not just run the user wizard again. I can't recall if you need to run CEICW again. You do need to remember in XP Pro to check off the setting which allows remote access via RWW. If you have any other questions, please let me know. Your IT person should definitely know how to set it up.