Microsoft Home Server

I am going to be testing the new Microsoft Home Server! Yes!!

It will be a few days before I have everything up and going but I am looking forward to this opportunity to beta test!

Vista is hot, but this really gets me going when you can add a home server to the overall picture. Keep posted for my upcoming comments on how it works. I hope to provide some useful information and give all the latest features and report on how it works!

I have worked with Microsoft Servers in business, but having one in my home, designed for the home user is going to really be exciting.

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HealthBlog : National e-Prescribing Patient Safety Initiatve, HIMSS and more

Dr. Crounse, Director of Health Services for Microsoft speaks about the free e-prescribing initiative in a very positive way. The interview is very good and he explains how IT Technology is going to grow and change. Scroll down to the bottom to the page links and video interview.

I sent an email out a couple weeks ago on how to enroll and get started with E-prescribing, and have also linked to the site on my new blog. I have had a couple emails from physicians thanking me for the information as I refer them to the site. As we all know today hospitals need doctors more than doctors need hospitals. The E-prescribing initiative is a free service that participants had to pay for in the past. Spread the word to colleagues and others than can immediately benefit.

So I ask, what is your hospital doing for you the physician? Is your hospital giving you helpful IT information that you can use? Do meetings cover various areas of health care IT? I have seen some hospitals taking this task on with a vengeance and really working to solidify their relationships with physicians, to the extent of offering in person support at the offices to enable the physicians to partake and benefit from the technology as the hospital makes each portion available. They recognize the need to make each portion available as soon as it can serve the purpose without delays to roll out one huge project at once. This actually works better as it becomes a progressive learning curve and not one big meal to digest at once.

Something that is definitely worth thinking about. Does your hospital work with the physician as a partner to enable progress and better health care for all? Even if the total support picture is not here altogether, there are baby steps that can be taken to bring partial and smaller solutions until the final creation of the ultimate goal is attained. This is something I hear and see every day and sometimes ask myself, is this technology fear or is there still some "old school" thinking blurring the vision and goal.

The world of IT is changing and now is the time to embrace change and new technology as those who do not are going to find themselves on the short end of the stick and working their staff members much hard than it needs to be, not to mention a continuous day full of frustrations. Along with technology also comes training, and this has been a real shortcoming in convincing the industry as a whole on this importance. One of the items he mentioned is "crane" mind set of hospital CEOs, based on his recent talk to a group of hospital CEOs. The health care industry competes today like it has never had to do in the past.

"It's time to make the move."

Some of the most profound comments are about corporate blogging and what role it plays today and the folks it reaches this way and how it opens a forum for discussions and collaboration that was not possible years ago, as it enables everyone from all walks of life to participate, whether your are in the health care business or not. The internet is the way of getting the news today of the younger generation (and some of us older ones too), and reading a newspaper in print is becoming a way of the past. This also saves trees!

All in all a very informtative interview and with prime focus on embracing and learning more about IT Technology and dealing with the road blocks encountered with others who are less motivated to accept new methodologies and tools and what we can do to narrow the gap.

We have some of the finest physicians and surgeons in the world who work with the most sophisticated medical diagnostic systems and equipment in the world and technology will only serve to make the practice of medicine better for all, which is the final goal we are all working toward. As a consultant I encourage physicians to talk and discuss items among themselves as more minds together are better than one, and try to steer away from the "me" posture and turn it around into a "we" - where we all win, patients too!

HealthBlog : National e-Prescribing Patient Safety Initiatve, HIMSS and more

Click below to go directly to the video interview.

http://health.scribemedia.org/2007/02/16/paper-kills/

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RSS Feeds - Valueable , Timely Information

Many of you may already be using RSS Feeds for your news items. In today's world many of us simply do not have the time to sit down and read a newspaper for all the news items we want and need to be informed of. To do a daily search even with a pc on the internet is also very time consuming and can take us away from completing other pressing projects we need to complete.
RSS Feeds are the answer to this issue and can filter and deliver the information you need, daily, hourly or what ever time filter suits your needs. There are many RSS feeds available, along with various version of software to make this work for you. Vista and Outlook 2007 have RSS feed capability built in. RSS Feeds can be used for both business and personal use.
Do you need to keep on top of the latest and breaking medical news? If you are a physician or administrator involved with a heavy work schedule, who has the time to even go to internet favorites and search from there? Do you need the latest information about Medicare? Medicare provides RSS feeds to providers and the general public on the website. This way you can easily keep on top of any new changes in procedures, rules, etc. that pertain to Medicare and some of these go right to the bottom line and influence how one gets paid!! I have included a link to the Medicare site at the bottom of this post where you can subscribe and find out more information. They have also written a complete help section on using RSS feeds, so there's no use to re-invent the wheel here. Podcasts are also made available.
If you haven't explored the world of utilizing RSS feeds in today's busy world, you may be working way to hard to locate and view all the daily health issues that you want to be abreast of! It's simple to get started and once established, new feeds are easily added. Here's the Medicare site for more information:
http://www.medicare.gov/rss/default.asp
Sample Feed Title:
Only 141 more days until the National Provider Identifier (NPI) compliance date! Do you have your NPI?

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Anna Nicole Prescription Update - Another good reason for e-prescribing

If you are keeping up on the Anna Nicole Smith story, this is an interesting web page complete with copies of the hand written prescription for the methadone. Even celebrities work several physicians to get their desired drugs. She was using an alias of Michelle Chase and this was prescribed from a physician in California. I don't think we have heard the last of this one. The prescription was filled in the San Fernando Valley and shipped to the Bahamas and the page even has an imaged copy of the airbill. Dr. Kapoor refused comment on the issue.

At any rate, it makes a good case for the new and free e-prescribing service available to all physicians as this will help put a limit to some of this type of activity. I now have the link posted on my blog as another way to make it easier for physicians to locate the web site and sign up. BD

www.nationaleRx.com This is the link to the site where physicians can enroll.

Full story at the link below:

The Doctor Who Scored Methadone for Anna Nicole

http://ww.tmz.com/2007/02/14/the-doctor-who-scored-methadone-for-anna-nicole/

Barbara Duck

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L.A. mayor wants muni WiFI by 2009 - Engadget

This has to be the last place I thought I would have seen a picture and article with the Mayor of Los Angeles.

Good story on his efforts to provide WI-FI for the City of Los Angeles.

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One Note for Office - Test Drive

I have spent the last couple weeks working with the latest version of Microsoft One Note. I have been using One Note ever since the beginning for taking notes in meetings, which is the very basic use, but with the new 2007 edition they have really opened the doors with many new features, including more integration with Outlook and use with a Windows Mobile Device.

For those still using a lot of Word Documents, you can attach a Word document to the file. It even has text recognition in a picture!

I have used the live sharing features to share a page or notebook with another individual in the past and this is awesome, like whiteboarding live, but it is all captured in your notebook!

If you want to see what all the talk is about, try the free online 90 minute live demos, or you can download a 60 day trial. The online demos for all the MS Office products are great.

One Note is for anyone who takes notes. I can't remember the last time I had to drag out an old yellow pad, besides when I need to find a note from 6 months ago, One Note does it. One Note can be used on multiple pcs now as well. What I have done is to use Folder Share on my network. When I return and place the tablet on the network it is synchronized on 2 desktops, thus I never have to worry about ever losing my notes.

Folder Share is also a nice "free" Microsoft program. You can download and set permissions across anywhere on the web or within a small network. On a larger network, you may need to dedicate a port for use.

I have been using Folder Share since Microsoft brought the company into their umbrella, and then made the service free. It uses encryption when synchronizing so all medical folks take note.

https://www.foldershare.com/

Attorneys and the legal profession are also discovering One Note; how convenient can it be to have all your information relative to a case in one place and be able to add more information at any time! One Note is also for a desktop user as well. If you want inking from your desktop, simply purchase a Wacom tablet to use instead of your mouse. It works great and I have one on every desktop.
Take a look at One Note 2007 and if you have not seen an inking program, I think the 90 minute experience will be a real eye opener. To get the most out of One Note, a UMPC or full sized tablet pc really does the whole job.

You never see me at a meeting without the tablet and One Note! It also helps save time for my clients as I don't waste their time with call backs with information I could have provided right from the tablet!

Test drive the 2007 Microsoft Office release - Products - Microsoft Office Online

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Windows Desktop Search

Windows Desktop Home Page

This is another free software download from Microsoft. I have been using it now for about 3 weeks and it is certainly making the search process much easier. It takes a while for the software to index the pc, but once it is done, what a time saver and much better than the standard Windows Search!

What is impressive is the speed of the results. I have used other desktop searches, but this one certainly puts everything together, especially when I can locate files on the drive without having to leave Outlook.

It comes with Windows Vista, but if you are still using XP or Windows 2000, check out the download and there's a good flash video on the page. It also can be incorporated into group policy for a network roll out.

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Theft from Tablet Kiosk Warehouse

Things you can do to help TabletKiosk

I have copied this information to my blog here from GottaBeMobile, who was kind enough to aid in helping Tablet Kiosk in their efforts to locate the stolen tablets.

If you see any of the tablets offered very cheap, they could be stolen. Use the links below to visit the site for additional information. Thieves make life difficult for all.

Yesterday, we posted the bad news about the TabletKiosk warehouse being robbed. The community is stepping up and posting the story, getting the word out. It was on TechMeme last night and today.

Josh Bancroft has a good list of suggestions on what you can do to help. In addition to his list, if you have a blog or forum site, post the story as well:

First, Digg this story, so we can get the story in front of as many people as possible. (As of the time of this writing, it wasn’t on Digg yet, so I added it.) Post it to reddit, Netscape, forums, or wherever you think people might see it and be able to help.

Second, create some search feeds to keep an eye out for any TabletKiosk units on eBay or Craigslist. Here is an eBay RSS feed for all “TabletKiosk” items (only 5 as of now).

Subscribe to that feed, and you’ll see any new items listed on eBay that match. You could also subscribe to the feed for a more specific search, like v7210, but as of now, there are no results, so I think the “TabletKiosk” search is about the right level.

You can do the same thing on Craigslist, but since Craigslist is separated by city, do it in your own town. I’ve got a search feed for Portland, but you’ll need to create one for your town. Just search the “For Sale” area, and click the little orange link to get a feed to subscribe to.

If you find anyone selling these devices for “too good to be true” prices, or you have any other leads, please email Gail directly with your tips. If you want to be anonymous, use your favorite anonymizing proxy service.

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So tell me, what is all this talk about mobility, how do I handle it?

So tell me, what is all this talk about mobility, how do I handle it?

This is a question no doubt that we have all pondered at some point in the last year or so.

What is mobility and does this have an effect on my life today?

If you think mobility is just for others, you may want to consider giving this some second thoughts. We are all mobile today with needing our information “on the go” and I can’t think of anyone or any scenario I have found yet that is immune.

Once you step outside your office where your desktop pc is located – you are mobile!

Once you leave your home where the desktop or notebook PC is located – you are mobile!

There is one very simple solution of never leaving your office or your home, but we all can agree this is not a realistic solution. Do you arrive at your office when traveling from home without needing some type of information? You may, but chances are there is some type of information floating around relative to your life that could be in the process of being transmitted or waiting for your approval or confirmation.

All information today is not critical to respond immediately, but having the opportunity to make that choice is what mobility brings to the table and allows us to make better informed and educated decisions and choices.

The most common device which most of us utilize today is the cell phone, but demands are growing beyond the simple voice to voice exchange we have all known and used for years; data exchange is becoming more and more prevalent to fill in the gaps where voice communication leaves off.

For a simple example, take a look at the cell phones we use today, they do not even resemble the units used 5 years ago and now have data capabilities, but the question to ask yourself is to figure out how to take advantage of this new world of text and internet information. Do you really need this technology? At first you may not think so, but give this some additional thought here, how about others who are using mobile technology, attempting to supply information to you?

Sometimes the lack of being open to mobility works a hardship on others or can make their efforts much more time consuming with relying on old methodologies when a simple data technique might save time for everyone all the way around, not to mention the fact that you will benefit with immediate information, so this can be a win-win for everyone involved. Think perhaps about the last time you asked someone to send you a fax. A simple email easily replaces this function and requires no paper.

In addition to the cell phone there are other hardware devices that can also enhance mobility and depending on your lifestyle and what one does for a living, this is also personal choice, as what works for one, may not the ultimate solution for all. Some of us may choose to have more than one avenue and device to supply all the information we require. As an example you may want mobile email capabilities. There are several solutions and today’s cell phones can provide this information easy enough, but let’s say your needs go beyond simple email with needing to supply more than just a quick response.

Perhaps your response relies on accessing additional information you need to reference before creating an answer. That information could be stored in an office somewhere or could be accessed by contacting other individuals by phone, but let’s face it, this is now becoming a time consuming chore and can involve a bit of time in order to put everything together before responding.

First of all, if the information is located in a paper file residing in a file folder in an office, this could mean having to get in your car and drive to the office, or calling an associate to physically locate the file and read the information to you. Now the situation is involving not only your time, but taking time from your associate to assist so we have 2 people involved in the search for information as an example.

Are we mobile at this point? I think “immobile” might be a better term based on the above possible solutions.

Some of the Smart Phones available today are capable of handing some of the information needs, but there is also the opportunity to go beyond the phone and explore the next level up with using a portable PC. We see this every day with coffee shops full of people using their notebooks in sending and receiving information. One thing for sure, these folks have figured out they are “mobile”.

I can agree that being mobile can be a bit frustrating, but we really don’t have a choice per se, as again, as soon as we leave our desktop devices, we are mobile.

Lucky for all of us, the hardware world with PCs is making it easier and more convenient every day for us to be mobile. No longer do we need to be stuck with an “open pizza box” looking notebooks, searching for a table or ledge to be able to use the device to input and receive our information. We no longer are totally dependent on keyboards to interact with our devices!

I can think of over 100 different scenarios where using a keyboard with the typical notebook is just an absolute inconvenience when one is away from their home or office and it can be a big distraction when trying to conduct business, whether you are an account representative trying to capture your client information or an MD who is entering patient information while interacting with another human being. Myself, I don’t relish in the thought of sitting there watching someone else type if I am a client or patient.

So what’s the solution to bring this situation back to a more normal human to human interaction?

Get a tablet! After all, every tablet is a notebook, but all notebooks are not tablets!

Utilizing a tablet is not asking you to give up your “beloved” keyboard, but it is offering alternative methods of getting and receiving data and offers a much better human-to-human interaction scenario. Myself, I just hate having a client sit there and watch me “letter by letter” typing data into a notebook, not to mention they can see exactly what typing skills I do or do not have! I also end up losing that important eye-to-eye contact with a client and I can’t talk about how important this is when making sure I get my information and perceptions done correctly, and sitting there working with a keyboard at the same time is a huge distraction if not a down right annoyance!

Mobility = Tablet PCs

Ok now I have figured out I am mobile, like it or not, so what is this tablet going to do for me. Why does a tablet need to be part of a mobile arsenal?

Tablets offer mobility where no other hardware has gone. The biggest and best feature with tablets is using “inking” capabilities. I write – it types. “Look Mom, no keyboard”.

It also can keep your handwriting in its own format, in other words, it becomes your portable “yellow pad” for taking notes, and I save a few trees at the same time! When I need to find notes I have written down from a meeting I attended 6 months ago, they are all located in one place, on the device and I no longer need to search through stacks of “yellow legal pads” to locate my information, plus I don’t have to find a place to store all the paper pads, and most importantly I am not losing that eye-to-eye contact with a client or patient!! Yes!! (I don’t need a table or ledge and it doesn’t look like an “open pizza box”.

I can download and read books too! This is great as I no longer have to carry around books for my reading material. I can use it to write a book too, insert a microphone and start dictating with speech recognition.

I can do email too and again, I don’t need a keyboard either! I write – it types. I can show a media presentation live to a client and when using a Power Point presentation, I can write on the slides too to make a point or just save it as a note to reference later.

There are many different types, shapes and sizes of tablet PCs on the market today. Whether you are looking for a full size tablet or a UMPC smaller mobile unit, tablets are the way to go for having ultimate mobility! UMPC tablets also come with touch screens used with inking and now some of the full size tablets also feature touch screen availability.

So why in the world do I really need a lot of keyboard functionality when I am mobile? I can move data around with touch screens, use the stylus to add handwritten comments or translate to text and carry it around in a fashion similar to walking around with a clipboard, and enter information while I walk if needed. I have yet to see someone walk and type yet, although I guess it could be done, but what a hassle especially when trying to hold that “open pizza box” notebook in your hands and type at the same time!

Inking works with Cad, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, you name it, any Windows application and so does dictation for that matter.

When thinking about mobility use with information today, be sure to entertain what a Tablet PC can do for you. I think you will be amazed and be able to create your own functionality on how it works best for you. As far as cost, you will pay just about the same for an “open pizza box” notebook by comparison, so why limit yourself.

Microsoft Vista has tablet functionality. This does not mean you have to give up your keyboard, but merely entertain better mobile methodology uses when the demand is there.

There is life beyond the keyboard in the world of mobility today! Be your best at being mobile – get a tablet!

Barbara Ducknet

Ducknet Services

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White Hardware - Tablet Pictures

Sahara Tablet and UMPC EO White Hardware

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