Hey everyone! I appreciate all the good feedback after our last newsletter. Today's newsletter is number 2 in our 5-part series. One thing that sets us apart from other medical records systems is our ease of installation and training. Before we talk about this, we have to answer the question: Which is better? A local server-based system or an internet/web-based system.

The quick answer is neither one is better. Currently, Serenity EMR is a server-based system. This means that your office will have an inexpensive server hosting your office data. The advantage of this is speed. By hosting your own data on your own network, the software has almost-instant response to anything you might need. There is no dependence on internet availability for your system to work. It is a simple step to log on to your system from outside your office by setting up a VPN (virtual private network). Any IT person can set this up for you.

We are already in development of a Serenity web version. This would be access through a web browser to data hosted out in the internet instead of in your office. The advantage of this would be ease of installation. Just point any browser at our website, log in, and your good. The disadvantage is dependence on internet availability and also speed. Speed (or lag) would be most notable when dealing with large files such as pictures or scanned-in documents. Another disadvantage is bandwidth. When hosting data 'in the cloud' there would be an additional (small) expense associated with this that would be comparable to having your own server.

With a server-based system, installation can still be relatively easy. Let me tell you about an actual installation we performed last month.

An office contacted us interested in Serenity. They scheduled an online demo and had an in-depth tour of the software and had their questions answered. Once they decided to proceed, they had an interview with one of our installation technicians and decided what equipment they could use that they already owned and what equipment was needed. A list of hardware and network requirements was given to the office.

At this point, the office contacted an IT person in their city to complete setup of the hardware and network. This way, if there are any problems in the future with equipment, they have a local contact person to work on it. Our installation technician communicated with their IT person to ensure everything was set up correctly. This process took only a few days.

The doctor then contacted us stating they were ready for installation. At this point they pay an installation fee ($1500) and we proceed. Over the next few days, our technician will remote into their office and install the software throughout the system. He will also set up all the specifics of the office (any templated procedures, superbills, and other specifics for that particular office). Then we set up a date for training. Typically this would be a few days after installation.

During training we schedule 2 days to work with your staff.

Day 1, you block off either all day or schedule a light patient load after lunch. It takes our trainers approximately 4 hours to train your staff (depending on staff size). Not days or weeks. The system is actually that easy to use. When I have a student come through my office, I literally spend 10-20 minutes with them to get them to the point where they can find anything in the chart and write progress notes.

Day 2, schedule a light work day. Our trainers will work with your staff in the background. You do your regular jobs and we are there to answer any questions as you go. Approximately a week later we schedule a web-meeting and spend as long as you need on specific questions or issues that arise. For the next month, you have complete access to your trainer as any issues come up.

Let me tell you about one of our best features. Right now, our installation team is a married couple Terry and Mendy. Terry has been doing IT for my office for many years and worked in development of the health information system at the local hospital for 13 years. He is also one of the lead programmers that have been involved in the development of Serenity over the last 3 years. Mendy has worked in my office in a nursing role and has literally thousands of hours of experience using Serenity. This kind of expertise in a training team is almost unheard of.

As we are getting busier we are in the process of hiring more installation and training personnel. But the earlier you sign up, the more likely they will be installing your office. Typical installation and training starts at $2500 plus expenses. Larger offices that require longer training will be more based on how many days we work with you.

The timeline for this office was as follows: It took them a few weeks to purchase and configure their computers. We installed them remotely on a Wednesday and Thursday, then did training the following Monday and Tuesday. Our current wait time for installation and training is 1-2 weeks from the time you decide to move forward.