Home Forums Discussions Problems Off-site use

Any ideas on how to be able to use AmazingCharts during home visits? I've thought about running the program on the tablet, but then the office staff will be chartless while I'm out. Another alternative I've thought about is to use a separate copy of AC exclusively for out of office use. Any recommendations are welcome.

I use Amazingcharts out of home and whenever I'm away from my office via LOGMEIN.COM. However, you'll need internet access to access logmein from the patient's home.

We use Go To My Pc (http://www.gotomypc.com) which works incredibly well. You do have to have internet connection to make this work however.

Is there a way to make a windows briefcase and then sync on return to the office?

Another inexpensive (free ) alternative using Remote Desktop in Windows XP:
Get a static IP for your PC (at the office; must be running XP or better), or use dyndns.com or a similar free service to get a virtual Static IP address to your PC. On the laptop you are using to connect (you must have XP) set up a new VPN Connection To Your Workplace. After connecting via VPN, use Remote Desktop to connect to your PC at work. You must use a firewall, and you must enable the host PC to accept incoming Remote Desktop Connections. This does the same thing as logmein.com and gotomypc.com without paying a monthly cost.
Abhin Singla, MD

Thanks for the tip about logmein.com
They have a free version too.

I have been using imintouch.net which is $100 a year and similar to gotomypc.com

...Ken

Logmein has been free and works like a charm. Hope it stays free for some time into the future.

Dr. Stubbe,

Is anyone else using AmazingCharts at your office while you do your home visits? In other words, while you are entering data at the home visit to the database, is the database static in your office with no added entries?

I have the same concern about AC. AFAIK there is no database syncronization function in AC. If I take the database with me offsite (where I do not have internet access) add some info (like procedure/operative notes, schedule follow-ups, write prescriptions...) there is no way for those changed fields to be syncronized with the main database. I know that Medinotes ChartingPlus offeres that as a module (for a substantial price!). Any idea if anybody is working on that or when it will come out?
Thanks.

Here are two possible ways to "sync" the data. I don't know how practicl it would be. The first would be fairly primitive but would work especially if you were going to do off site work for extended periods of time.

You could, if you wanted, copy the database from the office server into your AmazingCharts folder on the tablet or laptop. Then after working on it you could copy the database back into the AC folder in the office. As I said, kind of primitive; but it would work.

Another way to do it (I think) would be to connect your laptop to your server PC with a crossover ethernet or a regular Cat5e cable through a switch or hub. You could then use a 3rd party sync program such as SyncToy which is free from Microsoft for XP. It is very basic but works very well and is very quick. Probably the most intuitive of the sync software out there. There are far more complicated sync software programs, but SyncToy works very well. I just tried it at home just to experiment and it syncs the data in about ten seconds. It may be slightly slower over the crossover cable but not much. Of course, if you tried it you may want to play around with it on a non networked PC and your laptop just to see how it worked for you rather than try it first on your real data. And, one other suggestion, just before you did a sync, you could tune your database which makes backups of all your databases just in case.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/prophoto/synctoy.mspx

Hey Everybody. When I was researching new EMR's (We used ChartWare, what a complicated system to use and their staff treats users like the "enemy at the gate", Dr. Jon told me he was very serious about getting "Hot Sync" on line ASAP, because lots of people expressed these same concerns. Our solo FP (my wife) does housecalls and we l being able to chart a call from home right on the spot or look at a pts. chart before she dispenses info or Rx's. We used to be only on the laptop with the old system. Come on AC, PLEEEEASE get this one up and running ASAP. We'll all be very grateful.
Also, our old clucker system had a pretty good reminder system in it if you AC guys want some ideas on how to set one up. It was one of ChartWare's few bright spots....... :idea: :lol: Thanks. PB

I could not help but notice that nobody mentioned using a wireless card. I use a verizon card that slides into my laptop. I can enjoy AC use via Logmein.com from anywhere that a Verizon cell phone works. It gets really nice speed and I do not have to worry about finding a hot spot or syncing to the main db. I believe Sprint has the same service.

What are the security and other issues surrounding that??? Have you set up a VPN back in your office, like at your router or something. I've always been a bit concerned about letting the outside have access to the inside, because then those I don't want in may use it as a way to do such. What are the charges like??? Is it cell phone air time charges, monthly flat rate???? :?:

No issues. It is no different than using logmein from home or the hospital. I signed up for a promotion so I pay 24.00 per month for unlimited internet use and the card was free. I can check messages, give refills, surf the web, etc from the car, beach, airport, etc.

the whole point of logmein is for those that do not want to establish a vpn. then all you need is a pc with an internet connection.

so you can take your laptop to the nursing home, roam around and document/bill your visits without having to set up a wireless router there or syncing the db.

Here's what I'd like to be able to do (could be a pipe dream but....) We have 2 offices and would like to work from home as well. Since the main office has the database....we would like to be able to use AC @ the remote office and the main office at the same time.... while still accessing the 1 database.

Some have said a VPN but I need the reliability and speed at the remote office as if I were @ the main. Any advice, suggestions would help..

respectfully

D.Pierce

Practice Mgr.

This is just a thought, but we use foldershare www.foldershare.com with mtbc to give them our eob's. it is basically a folder that is shared over a virtual network. i wonder if we could access our AC database via foldershare. It is free and in concept should work. You would just direct the remote client to the foldershare file on that PC which would be accessing the db on the server.

i have not tried it, but any thoughts?

I tried this a while ago across a tunnelled link between my office network and home network. The office network has a 1gbps uplink and 4gbps downlink, and the home is 768kbps up and 6gbps down, and . It took about 25 minutes to open the schedule screen, and that was with a few patients in the database (test case).

I am not sure but it does seem that the databases are largly loaded into the local pc, and transactions back to the databases are scheduled in some way other than immediate. This is at least in part why using a terminal services option is essential to using the program remotely.

geoff

Has anyone noticed that Amazing Charts becomes amazingly slow when operated from a remote site? We have a 2 clinics practice. The database is stored in the server of the main clinic and works fine. However, when we tried to use AC from our satellite clinic (30 miles away), the software crawls. It took me about 1 min 45 sec to even load the log in screen. We have a VPN setting and a T1 line connecting the 2 offices. I'm trying the beta version 3, with all the tune up done.
I would appreciate any suggestion. Thanks.
Sy Le, MD

this is why AC strongly advises that, and those of us who work this way, all use a terminal services program, such as Logmein, Gotomypc, XP's and Win server 2003 remote terminal access program or one of the other similar programs. Assuming you have set up pc's in your remote locale directly running AC3, and pointing to the database at the home office, all of the databases (it seems) are loaded onto the local pc, and new data entry gets flushed back to the home pc periodically. a 100% owned T1 pipe is not going to make up for this. Running logmein or one of the other programs will give you what you are after, but you will need a pc at each end of your network for each user at the remote site, and other pc's for your staff to work at in the home office.

I have been using logmein to access Amazing charts from home and hospital. It had been working fine, but the hospital blocked access to the logmein. The hospital is a part of a larger network network. I called their IT department to find out why logmein was blocked. They said, for no particular reason, just to prevent unauthorized access to the hospital records. I filed a complain and am waiting for their reply.

this is a legitimate concern for your hospital and an undesirable one for users also. The portal from the hospital pc to your office can be accessed by the techs at logmein during your live sessions if you grant them permission. Once you do, they can run your hospital pc remotely, and with your access level for the hospital system. You can instantly shut the tech out, but this ability to access patient (and other) data is a violation of hipaa privacy and security rules, all hospitals I know of and etc. Also true of other RTS services, not just logmein.

You might seek an agreement with the hospital IT to you promising to never allow the remote tech support access, which is in effect the same promise as not sharing your access id/password with other persons. Alternatively, carry a wireless PDA or wireless slate/portable and use an independent network to access your office with logmein.

Geoff

Another option would be for the hospital to provide a PC in the doctors lounge that has internet access but is not on the hospital's network.