April 2009 News

Looking to Invest in New Computer Equipment?

By Brian Benefield

If you are considering adding new PCs in the operatories, or just updating existing workstations, we are here to assist you. There is a lot of computer equipment on the market today, not all of which is suitable for use in an office environment. For example, we can help you avoid overpaying for a machine with too much hard drive space but not enough RAM. Datacon has been an authorized Hewlett-Packard reseller for years. HP is the industry leader and
we are proud to offer this technology at reasonable prices. If you are interested in purchasing equipment on your own, you are more than welcome to do so.
In those cases, we strongly encourage you to call us in advance so we can provide the necessary guidance. Finding yourself with a new computer running an operating system that isn’t compatible with your digital x-ray or intra-oral camera software is not fun. Let us help you – give us a call!

Oral Surgery Study Group Wrap-up

By Brian Benefield

On Wednesday, March 25, Datacon hosted the first in a series of Study Groups at the beautiful new Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club. The event was attended by doctors and staff from Oral Surgery practices, and the primary focus was going paperless. The morning and afternoon sessions included subjects such as scheduling, email and digital x-ray integration, referral tracking and communication, electronic consent forms, treatment planning, electronic chart notes and downloading data to an iPhone or BlackBerry. Judging by the interest in attending future events,
and the quotes below, we are proud to say that it was a success!

• “Informative and relaxed. I could ask questions and receive answers without being lost in the crowd.”
• “It was a fun learning group.”
• “I plan on implementing a lot of the new features in my daily routine.”
• Was the study group valuable? “Yes!” “Absolutely!” “Definitely!”

Would you like a copy of the material covered at the meeting? We have a binder full of valuable information divided into eight chapters, and it can be purchased for only $40. Better yet, we can email it to you for just $30!

We’ll be returning to the Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club for our Endodontic Study Group on May 27. Sign up today!

What about all this Virus Stuff?

With all of the latest news about the possible virus attack scheduled for April 1, we thought we should review some important PC information. It is imperative that current anti-virus software be on your PC if it is connected to
the Internet. Even if your PC doesn’t access the web, it still needs anti-virus protection if it is on a network with other PCs that do. Failing to adequately protect your PC simply isn’t worth the risk. Each computer must be configured to automatically keep itself updated to protect against new virus threats. These programs generally come with a one-year subscription to new virus updates, and the subscription must be replaced yearly. Datacon has used Norton Antivirus (www.norton.com) and AVG (www.avg.com) with success, and there are many other options available as well. NOTE: Many new PCs come with a trial version of antivirus software either pre-loaded or available to load from a CD. If your PC has an antivirus program installed (including a trial version), and then you purchase a different
antivirus program, you MUST uninstall the original program before installing the new one. Failing to do so can create conflicts that can produce errors and cause significant system slowness.
Datacon strongly recommends a hardware firewall for any network with an Internet connection that is on all the time (everything except dial-up would fit this description). These devices attach to your network where the Internet connection originates, and prevents “hackers” from gaining unauthorized entry to your network. A hardware device is preferred over a software solution, because it stops intruders before they even get into your network, and the devices don’t interfere with other programs you may have installed on your PC. A good resource for these devices
is www.linksys.com. Datacon is able to provide and configure a hardware firewall device for you. For offices with a dial-up connection or a stand-alone PC, a basic solution is to enable Windows XP’s built-in Internet Connection Firewall.
“Spyware,” “Adware,” “Malware,” and “Sneakware” are terms that define new and very real threats to any PC. These programs can be installed onto your PC via email or the Internet without your knowledge or consent. They can do everything from bogging down your Internet bandwidth to subjecting you to identify theft and resulting financial fraud. Datacon recommends that you install anti-spyware software on each PC that accesses the Internet, run it regularly, and keep it updated. Check www.webroot.com or www.lavasoftusa.com for anti-spyware products. The
best solution would be anti-virus protection with built-in spyware protection.
Watch for the effects of anything you load on a PC. Some programs, including those mentioned above, can run “in the background” full time, and will impact your system performance. This is especially true for low-end computers or if you changed the PCs standard configuration.
Be aware that problems caused by a virus, hackers, spyware, etc., are not covered by your Datacon Software Support agreement. We can help you to resolve these issues at our regular hourly rate. Please call Datacon if you need any recommendations or have questions about protection.

Searching for Phone numbers

By Laura Andersen

I’ll bet that many of you want a simple way to look up a patient by using their phone number. Sometimes a message is left on your service or machine and you can’t quite make out their name. As long as you have the phone number,
there is an easy way to find out who called you.
Using the Rolodex tool (Shift F10) you will see a list of all patients and accounts with their home, work and patient phone numbers. By hitting Search and Select, you can type in part of the phone number and it will find any patient
or account that has this number. We suggest using either the last four digits of the phone number or even the seven digits with the “-” included. Give it a try, you’ll be amazed how easy it is to use.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Newsletter.
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