Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

Discussion in 'Hardware and Software Tips and Suggestions' started by qilin, Jan 13, 2007.

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  1. qilin

    qilin Member

    Plan to go paperless soon. It seems doable with Synapse's current functionality. Any suggestions for hardware preparation?

    Will start with a server, a frontdesk desktop and a good scanner. For the server, I am looking at Dell PowerEdge 840 or SC series with RAID 1, two external HDs for daily backup to take offsite. Probably don't need windows 2003 server edition, XP pro might be enough. For front desk, will consider a low end Dell Dimension or OptiPLex for scanning and faxing. I am thinking of KVM switch for these two since the server will be a dedicated PC and doesn't need a monitor normally. Saw another office using Xerox Documate 510 for scanning, seem to have enough feature for our needs. And, a UPS. The total cost will be less than $3k. Any comments and recommendation?

    Well,Synapse is free.Guess if in the future if we decide to buy one of the more expensive EMR, transfer between databases is still better than waiting here for the paper charts to stack up.
    qilin, Jan 13, 2007
    #1
  2. Graham

    Graham Developer Staff Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    I'm not familiar with Dell or other hardware configurations .. but a recent model P4, or core2duo processor, with 1Gb ram should be fine with XP. XP Pro rather than home edition if you want to use remote desktop which home edition does not support.

    1Gb of ram so that if you want, you can run some virtual servers to maximize your hardware use.

    I would not have the server at the front desk on a KVM switch because invariably someone will try to use the server as a desktop, or turn off the wrong PC. Seen it happen too often.

    I would add a DVD writer as well for data backup. That way you can keep daily archives indefinitely. And definitely add a UPS to protect the server and router.

    Yes, Synapse is free .. but it is also donation ware [H]

    Graham, Jan 13, 2007
    #2
  3. Graham

    Graham Developer Staff Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    Most servers use ECC ram,and most desktops do not. Not sure if it's needed as I've so rarely seen ram go bad ...

    Graham, Jan 13, 2007
    #3
  4. Jason

    Jason Developer / Handyman Staff Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    Definitely. Doing some ongoing stanning daily is easy and staff can fit it into their day. Massive scanning projects down the road would be expensive.
    Jason, Jan 13, 2007
    #4
  5. Jason

    Jason Developer / Handyman Staff Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    <u>Clients</u>: Synapse produces no Load on the CPU or RAM. By far and away, viewing .pdfs would be the most demanding task - and that's because of Adobe Reader demands, not Synapse. I would make sure the client computers are good enough to run MS Word.

    <u>Server:</u> Windows XP Pro is plenty good enough. Never Mind Windows 2003 Server.



    Here is the computer I use as both a Server and a Client. I have been using like this for 10 months. I have not had any database problems. I back up my Synapse database every hour during office hours and twice a day when I am not in the office. I use FIBS to schedule the backups. I backup to another drive on the server. Which I have Synchronizing with PCs in my office and one at my house.

    I am planning a better backup system (Adding Raid 1) but I haven't got around to it. My "Server" also does nightly Acronis True Image backups at 3am.



    Don't waste your money on a Server - it is not needed.



    === my Synapse Server == (and client !)(don't tell Graham)


    Specification AMD Sempron(tm) 2800+
    Package Socket A (462)
    Core Speed 2007.5 MHz (12.0 x 167.3 MHz)
    Rated Bus speed 334.6 MHz

    Chipset
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Northbridge SiS 741GX rev. 03
    Southbridge SiS LPC Bridge rev. 25
    Graphic Interface AGP
    AGP Revision 3.0
    AGP Transfer Rate 8x
    AGP SBA supported, enabled
    Memory Type DDR
    Memory Size 768 MBytes



    DIMM #1

    Size 512 MBytes
    Max bandwidth PC2700 (166 MHz)

    DIMM #2

    Size 256 MBytes
    Max bandwidth PC3200 (200 MHz)

    DMI System Information
    ----------------------
    manufacturer American Megatrends Inc.
    product K7S41GX

    DMI Processor
    -------------
    manufacturer AMD
    model AMD Sempron(tm) 2800+
    clock speed 2000.0MHz
    FSB speed 166.0MHz
    multiplier 12.0x



    Software
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)
    DirectX Version 9.0c

    -------------------------
    produced by CPU-Z version 1.38
    -------------------------



    Jason, Jan 13, 2007
    #5
  6. Graham

    Graham Developer Staff Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    I would add Raid 1 ... the hard drive is the most likely component to die. Unless you want to keep a spare drive ready to do a Acronis restore to ... which still means downtime of an hour or so .. and loss of potentially a days transactions.

    There is also a possibility of adding web server services to Synapse EMR Server ... so having the SCSI hard drives may be the way to go .. or high performance SATA drives. Or, you could just add the extra hardware when Synapse EMR Server actually adds these features....

    Graham, Jan 13, 2007
    #6
  7. DrO

    DrO New Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    Try LogMeIn (free) for remote desktop

    I am on "vacation" and have been monitoring faxes and replying to them using LogMeIn. We use WinFax Pro for all faxing in the office. However, the darn program freezes during the night(reason unknown and experienced by others) and sometimes when non fax calls are received. That won't help while on "vacation"!

    So I set up a box to handle faxes using the fax program in XP. This box is accesible to LogMeIn and is on a Hamachi VPN. I check the faxes and convert them to pdf files. Adobe 7.0 Standard allows typing in, so I type in comments, orders, etc. I affix a stamp with my signature, date and print to the fax printer. The fax console takes care of the rest. All of this remotely!


    Synapse and my patient data base is accessible via the Hamachi VPN. When I get calls from other docs and pharmacies I have the data accesible.Thus, I can go on "vacation" ~3000 miles from home, FL, to visit my grandchildren in the silicon valley. I thank Dr. Murdoch for suggesting Hamachi and LogMeIn.

    I use a Fujitsu ScanSnap for scanning. I does not have a lot of bells and whistles but can scan ~15 pages per minute as pdf files, comes with Adobe 7.0 Standard and costs less than $350. However, it does not have standard drivers and can't be accessed by other programs. This has not been a problem for us.

    For telephony my son has made me aware of a neat "free" service at grandcentral.com. Check it out. Along with Skype it might save us a lot of money.

    DrO

    DrO, Jan 13, 2007
    #7
  8. Graham

    Graham Developer Staff Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    Sounds like you're more organized them I am!

    I'd be hesitant to purchase a scanner that did not come with Twain drivers .. as someday I will be introducing more scanning features into Synapse where Synapse drives the scanner.
    Graham, Jan 13, 2007
    #8
  9. qilin

    qilin Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    Ordered over the weekend, one workstation, one server and a scanner.<blockquote>

    <u>Clients</u>: Synapse produces no Load on the CPU or RAM.</blockquote>

    I noticed. Ordered a low-end Dell Dimension C521 for client and front desk scanning. A good scanner is certainly more important, I hope Xerox Documate 510 is good enough.
    I still decided to go with aentry-level Dell Poweredge SC440, with the current discount, the price is comparable to low-end workstation - around $700, loaded withIntel dual core 2.8g CPU, 1G RAM, two 160G HDs and 17" LCD - in case we decide in the future to migrate to another more resource demanding EMR. I didn't order hardware RAID yet, will run software RAID1 first since performance shouldn't be an issue here.
    Sounds like you build the PC yourself? I like AMD and have AMD in all 5 PCs at home I built over the past years. Since I am an employee in the office, the boss is not paying me extra for my semi-IT work, and Dell is really cheap, I am buying Dell for the office now.
    Will give it a try. Now I am using VNC via Hamachi, working fine.
    qilin, Jan 15, 2007
    #9
  10. Graham

    Graham Developer Staff Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    Are you going to be running Windows 2003 server?
    If you are don't setup a domain controller as I found it impossible to setup virtual server with the domain controller active.

    Why should one use the free virtual server? To set up other stuff for testing that you can wipe later on without affecting your Synapse server installation which can be kept bare as.
    Graham, Jan 15, 2007
    #10
  11. qilin

    qilin Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    No, will use Windows XP pro.
    qilin, Jan 15, 2007
    #11
  12. qilin

    qilin Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    Got theDell server today, thought XP pro support software RAID1, boy I was wrong, only server version support RAID1. Well guess I can live without RAID, just have to keep backing up.
    qilin, Jan 25, 2007
    #12
  13. Graham

    Graham Developer Staff Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    Hmm. Download the driver for the raid card on to a floppy disk or whatever, and reinstall XP Pro with the raid driver (F6).

    Graham, Jan 26, 2007
    #13
  14. Jason

    Jason Developer / Handyman Staff Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR



    My XP Pro box has RAID1.

    I use it for my (PaperPort) patient directory.

    [:)]
    Jason, Jan 26, 2007
    #14
  15. Jason

    Jason Developer / Handyman Staff Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    Does the CPU you have support RAID ? That's how I do it.

    Jason, Jan 26, 2007
    #15
  16. qilin

    qilin Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    There is no RAID card. Only on board SATA. I may get a RAID card in the future.
    qilin, Jan 26, 2007
    #16
  17. qilin

    qilin Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    No
    qilin, Jan 26, 2007
    #17
  18. Jason

    Jason Developer / Handyman Staff Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    [quote user="qilin"]

    No

    [/quote]

    You'll have to spend some bucks on a RAID card then.

    Alot of low end CPU/Motherboards support RAID.
    Jason, Jan 26, 2007
    #18
  19. Graham

    Graham Developer Staff Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    The onboard SATA raid is a software solution anyway.

    If your data and business continuity are important issues, get a raid card.

    Graham, Jan 26, 2007
    #19
  20. qilin

    qilin Member

    Re: Hardware suggestion wanted for EMR

    Will do.
    qilin, Jan 27, 2007
    #20
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