Anne E. Biedel & Associates is a medical practice located in Port Townsend, Washington. Dr. Biedel needed a high-performance, secure dial-up solution to deploy the electronic medical records (EMRs) and Microsoft BackOffice applications used in her private practice quickly, easily, and cost-effectively to medical and administrative staff.
The thin-client/server solution has helped Dr. Biedel, who is chief of staff at Jefferson General Hospital as well as head of her own private clinic, to run a more efficient practice without increasing costs or compromising patient care. In fact, she has noticed over-all improvements in her medical practice since implementing WinFrame thin-client/server software.
Presenting problem In the medical profession, stringent insurance requirements are driving many practitioners to cut costs, work more hours, and find new ways of becoming more efficient in order to stay in business. A key factor in remaining viable is to create a fast, accurate information-retrieval system without increasing expenditures.
The challenge: Allow access to mission-critical information anywhere, any time.
Known for their paper-intensive nature, medical practices often seem to be bogged down by insurance forms, patient records, and accounting invoices. Dr. Biedel knew that paper-based systems were too cumbersome and hard to keep current. Her husband Jim, the systems administrator for the practice, researched different options when he heard that several HMOs were switching from paper-based systems to EMRs.
In creating the information system, the Biedels didn’t want to use proprietary software or hardware. They were concerned that proprietary products were too expensive and didn’t give the widest range of options. Furthermore, the data had to be secure.
Hardware and software The thin-client/server networking environment at Anne E. Biedel & Associates includes:
Anne E. Biedel & Associates deploys applications to its professional and administrative staff.
Anne E. Biedel & Associates is using WinFrame to deploy several applications to its professional and administrative staff, including an EMR program named Patient Education, Optus Facsys, Microsoft Exchange, and several Microsoft BackOffice applications.
Solution and results Dr. Biedel’s practice implemented a thin-client/server solution using the WinFrame server along with Wyse Winterm terminals and wireless tablets. This solution worked as the practice’s approach to accessing information and communicating with each other. The practice now has five different applications, many of which are graphics-intensive, running concurrently. One of the most frequently used applications is the Patient Education program, which is an EMR designed by Metaphor.
The thin-client/server solution has improved the ability of Dr. Biedel’s medical and administrative staff to retrieve patient medical record information remotely and to keep patient records current and secure. System administration is also easier. As a result of this increased efficiency, Anne E. Biedel & Associates has met insurance industry requirements and is being reimbursed regularly.
Being paperless has several advantages: doctors can easily and quickly access patient information while on call or working off-site; employees can update patient records more easily while ensuring accuracy and security; system administration can be performed remotely; and the practice is better prepared to meet insurance requirements. Anne E. Biedel & Associates is enjoying all these benefits, in addition to the benefits of savings on both up-front acquisition and overall application ownership.
WinFrame’s remote-access capability gives Dr. Biedel and her staff fast, secure retrieval of patient information when they are away from the clinic. In an emergency situation, the on-call doctor can become familiar with a patient’s history by accessing the patient’s EMR via the wireless tablet and thin-client/server software. Jim Biedel says that the remote-access capability goes straight to the heart of patient care by allowing the doctors to access a patient’s files from any location at any time. He also says that the server’s speed is key in a time-critical situation such as a medical emergency and that the application response time is so short that it feels like using an online system rather than dialing in from a laptop.
With WinFrame, patient records are easier to keep secure, accurate, and up-to-date because only one set of data is manipulated. Although WinFrame allows more than one user to access the EMRs at a time, all changes to the records are kept on the server, thereby maintaining the data’s integrity. In contrast, paper-based systems are harder to keep current, especially if more than one doctor sees the same patient.
Eyes-only security ensures patient confidentiality.
Dr. Biedel and her staff are also using WinFrame to handle a variety of other tasks while away from the clinic, such as responding to e-mail, reviewing accounting ledgers, entering checks, and issuing invoices. Many tasks that used to take up valuable clinic time are now being done from home—the data doesn’t have to be transported between locations nor does a copy of the software have to be maintained on a laptop since all the information re-sides on WinFrame and can be accessed within seconds.
According to Jim Biedel, system administration has become much easier too. For example, when he needs to deploy new software, Jim has to load the software only once on the WinFrame server and it is instantly available to all users. Jim can easily troubleshoot a user’s problem by dialing up WinFrame from any device anywhere and shadowing the user’s session.
Better managed patient records and system administration have helped Dr. Biedel’s practice keep its costs under control, which is the primary requirement of the insurance industry. Because the practice is so efficient, it is able to submit charges to insurance companies more regularly, which in turn results in the doctors being reimbursed more regularly.
Dr. Biedel views WinFrame thin-client/server system software as a way to protect the well-being of her medical practice and her patients while meeting the challenges posed by the insurance industry. At a time when many physicians are scrambling for ways to remain in business, this practice is thriving.