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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW Pack More Wallop in Your Windows by Nick Mathe When it comes to computer operating systems, you and your colleagues may lag behind the rest of the world. Four out of 10 computer systems in
O.D.s' practices were still DOS-based as of last summer, and only slightly more than half were Windows-based systems. However, there are three huge reasons why the vast majority of O.D.s will have Windows-based systems in a few
years: the so-called Y2K problem, the meteoric growth of the Internet as a practice tool, and because the rest of the world is moving that way. Some 52 percent of O.D.s had Windows-based systems in their practices last
summer, the last time Review of Optometry surveyed doctors on the topic. With that in mind, here's a look at four tools that can help you pack more wallop in your Windows-based systems.
• Back Office Small Business Server.
This Microsoft software gives the best economy for loading ophthalmic practice management programs onto a Windows-NT platform, especially for small systems like those found in the typical optometric office (that is, 50 or fewer workstations).
This software is designed to make it easier to share information with colleagues, third-party payers, staff and even patients. It includes everything in one package—sharing files and printers, running your
business-critical applications, e-mail and scheduling, and support for Internet and communications services, including the World Wide Web, remote access and fax. Version 4.5, due out later this year, will include
these tools: Windows NT Server 4.0 with Internet Information Server 4.0, Exchange Server 5.5, Micro-soft Outlook 2000, Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 (with a 10GB capacity per database), Proxy Server 2.0, FrontPage 98, Internet Explorer
5.0 with Internet Connection Wizard, and fax and modem sharing services. It will also feature a single-management console with simplified administration tools. • NetMeeting.
This is a side-product to Internet Explorer 3.0 and higher. Some doctors use it for real-time sharing of ocular images and messages. It even has a digital "dry-erase" board that permits collaboration on a scale that was once only available via satellite video-conferencing. Now with ISDN or 56K lines, NetMeeting and some trial and error, you can take telemedicine to the next level, and not even pay for long distance charges. Even software vendors are now using this technology to show you their products.
• Office suites.
Microsoft Office 97 and Office 2000 (02K), Lotus SmartSuite and Corel: Office Suites with Punch are all configured for Windows. These tools all take advantage of Windows file-sharing capabilities, making integration with optometric office systems fairly easy. Doctors and staff are also seeing that Windows and the new office suites allow them to do many of the things for which they previously had to hire a vendor, and letting them do these economically and professionally.
These suites let you create your own direct-mail pieces, brochures and business cards. They give you design-house quality graphics thanks to their clip art and imaging tools. Many doctors create and print their own
newsletters with these suites and a laser printer. They look all the better when printed on high-resolution color printers. Additionally, practices also are now creating and maintaining their own practice web sites,
and Lotus Suite has a Web publishing tool, FastSite, that can assist you in this task. You collect non-web documents and select a web design for them. FastSite automatically converts them to HTML and publishes them to a Web server.
I've tested O2K
and found that editing documents is no problem. O2K allows you to "round trip" them back into the original MS Office program without losing any of the original functionality of the file format. In addition, O2K comes with the
popular Small Business Financial Manager and Direct Mail Server tools that came with version 2 of the Small Business Edition of Office 97. • Voice recognition.
Both Lotus and Corel have better voice recognition tools than Microsoft. Although Microsoft says that voice recognition is not quite ready, it offers L&H Voice Xpress Advanced with its Office Suite, so go figure.
Lotus comes with the popular IBM Via Voice and Corel with the award winning Naturally Speaking by Dragon Systems. Despite some of the criticisms, voice recognition is here to stay and is definitely ready for prime time. In fact,
I've dictated this article at 98 percent accuracy with Dragon System's Naturally Speaking Professional Edition. Like it or not, the pervasive power and proliferation of cross-compatible software, Internet and networks
have all come together only in the past year or so. Windows is the way to go. It's compatible with every ophthalmic management system and just about all third-party software. So if you're going to go with Windows—and chances are
good that you will if you haven't already—you might as pack a wallop when you make the trip. Mr. Mathe is an ophthalmic computer consultant and president
of Three Dot Communications in Folsom, Calif. His e-mail is nmathe@pacbell.net. |
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