There are three basic steps for successful implementation of technology in the professional practice. Leaving any of these out may not stop you from making the improvement, but will drastically affect your happiness with the result. Step One: Spending Wisely on What You Need Knowing what is available to spend your money on is the easy part of any upgrade. Knowing what you should spend your money on is what is difficult. Long range plans for growth must be figured into any project so money can be invested once, instead of wasted on equipment that will just have to be replaced in the next phase of expansion, to accommodate initial short-sightedness. Any decision to upgrade should be made only after you have done your due diligence and been educated by the professionals helping you make your choices. If you can't be sure what you need, make sure the team members can explain your needs to you in terms you can understand, and cover all pros and cons to aid you with your decision making. Major portions of the so-called "professionals" in the industry are not staying current with all of the changes in the market place. Research is the key to success, and anyone helping you to make fiscal decisions should be able to explain his or her logic and choices clearly. You may not need a server for a five-user network, if you will never expand and are buying all new technology computers. However, your money may be better spent on a server for a three-user network, if you can only afford to buy one computer and may add more machines later. This all depends upon the individual office needs and future plans. All decisions should take the staff's experience, skill level and available support into account. Your worst enemies in the upgrade process are usually your best friends—at any other time. You know who I mean.. .the retired computer company manager.. .the IT person from a major local company.. .your relative or neighbor. All arc your most well-intentioned speed bumps on the road to success. Only utilize a professional that makes his/her income from this business, dealing with customers like you with like needs and problems. Trying to save money by spending it at a large retail store that sells computers along with home appliances or other office supplies is usually a mistake and saves you nothing in the long run. Support contracts that provide remote support and give you a partner to assist you whenever you may need it are a must, and are especially important when dealing with a server installation. Step Two: Utilizing What You Bought If you made the right decisions about what to buy, now what do you do with it? Using office computers only for playing games or as paperweights will not improve your income. Staff training is the best investment you can make in your success. Training your staff in how to use the new software and hardware you have purchased should be your first priority. Giving them the environment to learn is your next priority. Any income lost by having to close your office for staff training will be returned many times over by the increased efficiency and productivity you should realize. Training can also point out problem areas in your staffing and indicate other issues that should be addressed. Acceptance of change is very important in those that will assist you in your practice success. Does the person preparing your notes know how to type? Do they know how to fully utilize the word processor to save time? If you have a quality laser printer and a word processing program, why are you still buying letterhead or forms? Properly trained staff can easily create, or at least modify, forms to keep your office current and improve function and work flow. Do you have an employee manual? Do you, at least, have a handbook and job description for your employee's duties? How can you evaluate an employee's performance or create a process that can be monitored and tuned for your success, if no one knows what he or she should be doing and when? Setting procedures for proper use of the new equipment and computers is important for smooth function. Implementation of schedules for management information reports from new software and maintenance of new hardware is vital. Do you have the Internet in your office? Do you have broadband access? If you have DSL or cable modem service available and you are not utilizing it due to the cost, you are under a misconception. A broadband ac- cess portal allows you to let your entire network browse the Internet from one connection, at a much higher speed than any dial-up connection. That higher speed translates to time saved; and, time is money. If you have high-speed access, working with a newsgroup reader or email program is much easier, research goes faster, downloading updates goes significantly faster. An update you have to wait thirty-five minutes for on a dial-up connection downloads in under a minute on broadband. Many insurance companies have on-line access for verification of benefits; and Medicare and Medicaid, in most states, have an entire library of document downloads for your information. Some attorneys will accept e-mailed statements and most radiologist will e-mail reports as attachments. Remote access of your office data from home or remote support for your hardware is much easier with a broadband connection. Step Three: Watching the Details Some things seem like they should be obvious to everyone, but they just aren't. Your hardware person should have distinct preferences for all of your components for nearly every computer or peripheral device he or she recommends. If not, it's likely that he/she doesn't do this often enough to know what works and what doesn't. You must have a battery backup on each and every computer in your office, regardless of cost. Secure your system with passwords and software to control both access and use when you are not around. A good virus scan is vital with all of the bugs out there these days. I was recently infected with the NIMDA worm virus just from viewing a website, but had both the virus scan update to detect it in the temporary Internet files where it hid. and the program to clean it off my computer before it did any damage. A good hardware person will recommend the right steps to take to prevent this from happening to you. Programs are available that will track Internet usage and log sites where employees go to prevent time wasting and losses in productivity. Windows 2000 and NT allow you to control computer access times and utilization by user to prevent loss of data. Backups and access must be controlled with the implementation of HIPPA, and your hardware support person should provide solutions to assist you. Backups must be performed each and every day you use the computers, and a disaster recovery copy stored off-site in a secure location, in accordance with your written HIPPA compliance procedure. Private data and programs on your office computers can be encrypted and made impossible for anyone to view in your absence. Hardware and software firewalls are required with a broadband connection to prevent unauthorized access to your system. Coordinate, with your hardware support staff, a schedule of verification of backup media, vims updates, operating system updates and regular on-site maintenance. Your office computers are your livelihood; don't risk your business by wasting your time downloading games, pictures or programs, unless they will help your income and your productivity. There was a review in a computer magazine, a few years ago, that a popular net- work based multi-user action game had cost corporate America in excess of two billion dollars in lost productivity!! Include your policy about game playing, e-mailing, browsing, chatting and other computer activities in your policy manual. Don't forget to maintain the peripheral devices in your office regularly and replace any damaged or aged cables quickly. Send in all warranty registration cards and register your software, so you can easily be notified of updates that are critical to performance and security. Lastly, find a team of specialists that you can trust, develop a relationship with them, and maintain a good working relationship by listening to them and accepting their logical recommendations for your upgrade's success. Michael Williamson is the President of Will Grow Consulting, and provides hardware and software solutions, as well as consulting senices to physicians, nationwide. He is a former manufacturing engineer for a major aerospace firm and has been involved with the chiropractic industry in one form or another for over a decade. He can be reached at his office in Spring Hill, FL, at 888-401-7611.
