Endorsed Partner: SOUNDOFF Computing Corporation • Technology Solutions

The IT landscape is quickly changing - especially in the medical industry. New rules, regulations, and technology "solutions" are permeating the landscape, and it is important you stay informed. Your practice is reliant on productive use of technology assets: plan, purchase, use, maintain and secure. Keep the following in mind:

1. Backup and Disaster Recovery: Planning for backups and disaster recovery strategies are business issues, not technical issues. You cannot electronically back up what you do not have stored electronically. Conversely, you cannot electronically recover lost data that you have not backed up. Carefully select what exactly needs to be backed up and absolutely make certain you have working, onsite and offsite backups in place. Communicate with your staff on contingencies and have proper documentation.

2. Software Requirements Before Hardware Purchases: Find out what the environment and hardware requirements are for your software or electronic medical system before you procure the hardware meant to work with it. Never purchase hardware first, only to come to find out it will not be compatible with your selected software program or system.

3. Cloud Computing Versus Onsite Client/Server: After you have selected your software or electronic medical system and determined its requirements, you now have to decide how you plan to implement it at your practice. Dependent on your specialty, your budget, and your staff, you will find that options exist for the implementation to be in the "cloud" on the Internet, in your office with a client/server infrastructure, or a hybrid/combination of both. Carefully investigate the costs and ramifications of all three scenarios.

4. Windows 7 Release and Windows XP: Windows 7 will be released to the public on October 22, 2009. Unlike its predecessor and much-maligned Windows Vista, the new Windows 7 is much more stable and faster. It is considered to be the next go-to operating system for Microsoft and thereby the medical software field. As such, make sure that any software or electronic medical system you are considering for purchase is or will be compatible with Windows 7 in the near future. Moving forward you will find computers will be pre-installed only with Windows 7, so unless you can exercise your downgrade rights to Windows XP, you want to ensure software compatibilities.

5. Proactive Maintenance Versus Break/Fix: To control IT costs, you will want to carefully evaluate the benefits of a fixed budget proactive maintenance and support plan versus the costlier, random, and reactive break/fix approach. A proactive maintenance, monitoring, and support plan will dramatically reduce or eliminate day-to-day computer issues in your practice while maximizing your network's speed, performance, and stability.

YOUR ENDORSED PARTNER BENEFIT:

• Endorsed Partner: Soundoff Computing Corporation (www.soundoffcomputing.com) provides best-of-breed hardware, software, and network technologies for your medical practice, utilizing best practices for all aspects of IT implementations.

• Member Benefit: SDCMS member physicians receive free site inspection and subsequent infrastructure recommendations; free inventory and assessment of network and hardware computing assets; free analysis of Internet/telco/data activity and subsequent ROI recommendations.

• Contact: Ofer Shimrat at (858) 569-0300 or at ofer@soundoffcomputing.com.

• Potential Value: $1,000!