10.11.08
Posted in at 7:35 pm by trigramt
you can go to www.trigramtech.com and read about our new medical topics for Windows Vista speech. These topics will add your medical specialty directly to Windows Vista. You can now use Windows Vista to speak directly into MedTemps or any Windows program, without the need for a third party engine.
So, if you one of the many frustrated doctors that can no longer use third party speech engines that blocking use in your EMR programs, get one of our topics. They are seamlessly integrated into Windows Vista.
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03.06.08
Posted in at 2:44 pm by trigramt
What do you do to make sure IF your server/PC/hard drive crashes that you can restore the backup.Here is a simply plan for backup:
1. Backup your data.
2. Make sure you review what files are backed up every few months. your programs change and you may be missing important files from your backup.
3. Backup to more than one location. Are backing up to the same drive where the data is stored? WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? IF that drive fails how are you going to recover the backup?
You need to backup to:
1. A different drive than the one storing the original data
2. Additionally you need to backup to a tape, CD, DVD, External Drive.
3. Make a copy of the backup on some media and take it off site at least once a week.
this way you have three levels of backup. Whatever happens to your PC you can always go to the other drive, external drive or off site backup.
But, what if you do all these things? what if your backup is not good? all the plans in the world will not help you.
you need to do something to verify the backup data can be restored.
if you are backing up a SQL database you can do this by:
You can open SQL Query Analyzer and enter RESTORE VERIFYONLY From disk=’’
This will confirm is a backup of SQL is valid.
in case you ever need to recover or restore SQL databases here is some more helpful information.
Also please refer to the following links and SQL Server BooksOnline topics:
281122 Description of restoring file and filegroup backups in SQL Server
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;281122
321836 How to retrieve a specific table or rows from database backups or transaction log backups in SQL Server
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;321836
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Posted in at 2:42 pm by trigramt
I recently purchased an IBM ThinkPad X60 Tablet PC to test out some new functionality of the MedTemps program in Office 2007.
My initial impression was good. However, i hate all the extra craplets that the vendors put onto new PC’s. As a geek i simply wipe the PC and reload with a new installation of the OS. However, this can be a daunting task for newbies to PC’s.
Not having a multitude of applications starting when you start your PC will improve performance and make the PC run faster.
you can search Google to find sites like this one that help you to clean up XP.
http://www.pugetsystems.com/articles.php?id=32
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07.02.07
Posted in at 3:29 pm by trigramt
I’ve been playing with a few tablet PC’s and testing to see if they are ready for prime time. So far, i’ve tested the Thinkpad and the Motion Computing tablet.
I’ve had an IBM Thinkpad x60 running Windows Vista Ultimate and Microsoft Office 2007. I’m very impressed with the handwriting recognition on Vista. Using this in MedTemps has proven to be a very helpful feature.  Now, a doctor can take their tablet PC into the exam room and write the chief complaint, problem list and other clinical data directly into the Word document.  This saves time for our clients that use speech recognition. Now they many not even need to dictate brief visits!! And when they do need to dictate, a large portion of the note has already been completed by writing directly into the MedTemps document!
I’ve tested the motion tablet before and was unimpressed. That was back in 2003. I just tested one earlier this year and the same problems persist. I think they are cheap quality. Each unit tested had problems that required them to be shipped back. My experience with the company was they are more interested in moving product than making sure the clients are happy with the product.
None of the doctors i worked with were happy with their motion tablet.
A long time friend that is an M.D. and product consultant in Hospital information systems confirmed my review of the Motion tablet. “All show and no go”.
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06.06.07
Posted in , at 11:48 pm by trigramt
Dragon Preferred vs. Dragon Professional.
The folks at Nuance probably won’t like this, but, they don’t sign my paycheck.
Many doctors can get by just fine using Dragon Preferred + a Trigram vocabulary. You have to guage your need of the features provided in Dragon professional. If you need them, then buy it. If you don’t need the features of Professional then the Preferred version + a Trigram vocabulary will work just fine. In fact, the folks at Nuance should encourage this.
Why?
Maybe the doctor or practice is testing out speech recognition and want a minimal investment? Maybe they are on a limited budget? Maybe they don’t need the features of Professional?
Most users want the features of Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional.
If they start with Preferred, In time they will outgrow it and need to upgrade to the professional version and the additional features. Isn’t that what a software company wants? Users that upgrade to high feature products?
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03.29.07
Posted in at 1:54 pm by trigramt
Users must backup their speech files from time to time.   I still have doctors that leave their desk with Dragon open and the microphone on for hours.
Dragon listens to all that “dead air” from the microphone.
Backup your speech files. When you are not using Dragon, turn the microphone off.
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Posted in at 1:49 pm by trigramt
Dragon vs. IBM
I think both IBM Via Voice and NaturallySpeaking have very accurate speech recognition.
However, since the the folks in IBM’s stealth marketing decided to allow ScanSoft the distribution rights to Via Voice, it’s safe to say Dragon will win the marketing battle.
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Posted in at 1:16 pm by trigramt
Doctors often ask me if our MedTemps software is easy to use. Well, it’s very easy to use, but, you have to have some basic knowlege of computers to use any software .
There are many excellent VAR partners that can teach you how to get the most out of your speech recognition software and use it with MedTemps.
you can email us at: info@trigramtech.com and we can recommend the closest MedTemps reseller near you.
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10.07.06
Posted in at 11:10 am by trigramt
One common problem i see in physicians offices is they use of cheap clone PC’s or PC’s that are not designed for power applications like speech recognition or MedTemps.
Years ago i had a client that was the poster child of the cheap hardware office. It was painful to continue to spend countless hours reconfiguring PC’s and software to work on this “band-aid” network. My collegue who handled servers used to dread being sent to this office for consulting.
This MD was always buying PC’s that were “inexpensive”. He was “saving money”. Although, he would end up spending countless thousands of dollars having problems fixed and software reconfigured. In fact, he was one of our best clients in terms of consulting income. He would constantly ask for advice on what to do. We would make recommendations. He would ignore the recommendations and continue to “band aid” and buy cheap equipment.
The only PC’s that did not have problems were the Dell PC’s that i somehow conviced him to purchase back in 1999. When he wanted to upgrade to the New Dragon 8 in 2005 i explained these PC’s would be very slow to run the Dragon software.
After purchasing the software, and not upgrading any PC’s, they were very slow. In fact, it was like watching paint dry. The client insisted the PC’s be upgraded with more RAM to accomodate the new Dragon. I explained to the doctor that unless he got new PC’s he would not be happy with the performance of the software. The additional RAM would not provide much, if any, improvement.
6 year old PC’s that shipped with Windows 98 as the OS and Pentium III are not designed to run software that is designed to run on Windows XP and utilize Pentium IV processors. Can you install it? sure. Will the software run? sure. Will it perform to your expectations? Nope.
PC’s have become disposable office equipment. Like printer cartridges when they start to print faded text they are replaced. I suggest to clients that if you get 3 years out of your PC you are doing good. You will always be upgrading some software or adding new software and need to keep your platform up to date. Physicians who understand the PC is a essential tool in the day to day operation of the office know that investing in quality equipment will save them many thousands of dollars thru productivity gains and less upkeep.
Cheap PC’s and cheap networking will cost you money in repairs, configuration and lost productivity for you and your staff. Think about that next time you are trying to save $100 bucks. I’ll bet that $100 saved ends up costing your $300 over time. Maybe more.
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09.12.06
Posted in at 2:13 pm by trigramt
I had to deliver some bad news to a long time local client a while back. His system crashed and he called to see if i could “restore” his database. When i got to his office and asked him to show me the backup disk he handed me the zip disk with a note that i had written for him a year prior on “how to” do his backup. When i checked the disk the only backup on it was performed by me a year ago.
I know how a doctor feels when his “patient” does not follow his advice. That’s how i felt when i told him the database was gone since the drive was dead. A data recovery service and a few thousand $$ is the only thing that can recover it now.
This user had not made a backup copy of his data. He was lucky that he had printed copies of all his notes and only lost a the documents that had not been printed.
When using something like MedTemps it is critical that you make a backup copy of your templates and database at least weekly. It’s better if you do it daily.
When you do that your PC can spontaeously combust and we can easily restore your program from the last backup. We just get a new PC and reload the program. copy back the backup files and you are right where you left off.
As a medical practice consultant i have consistently recommend that a MD’s office follow these steps in backing up data.
1. Run your backup daily
2. Use multiple media for backup. if you use tapes (replace them every 6 months.
3. Test your backup’s from time to time. It would make a bad day really bad if you found out after a crash that your backup method was flawed.
4. Check the files you backup from time to time to make sure you are including everything that is critical in your backup plan. a medical practice is constantly changing. As you add new programs or data you need to make sure important information is included in your backup.
5. Make sure you take one of the backups off site at least once a week. This way if your office is destroyed you have data that can be recovered.
6. Make sure all your programs are closed when you do a backup or your backup software can handle opened files (Veritas does a good job) Otherwise you are backing up “locked” files that can cause problems when you go to recover.
7. If you use SQL you need to backup ALL the SQL Server databases not just your programs database.
This is not a complete list, but, will give you a good start on your way to feeling more secure and giving you peace of mind while your data usage grows.
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