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I've seen a number of queries on this list regarding faxing solutions that are compatible with Meditech. Allow me to relate our experiences with our vendor of choice, after first stating that the competing vendors are most likely just as good in their own way. We chose Forward Advantage's Desktop Fax, Inbound Faxing, and Smart Route, installed this year in three separate implementations. I was assigned to the task, and at the time no one here had any solid background in fax servers and the like. Thus, I started from ground zero. The procedure that FA uses is to do the installation by dialing into the server, by communicating with the local installer (me) by phone and email, and using remote desktop connectivity - sometimes singly and sometimes shared. Part of the preparatory process is setting up fax lines, which required our getting the phone people involved. The main thing FA asks is that the local installer be available during the installation period. This doesn't sound too practical, but FA had an agenda and they stuck to it. It worked surprisingly well. The Desktop Fax went first. This allows us to dial out from either Meditech or from Windows to any fax number and send an electronic document. It was necessary to install a Brooktrout card and have FA set it up remotely. The implementer and I communicated in advance as to anything that needed preparation. When the install days (2 of them) came, there were predictable bumps in the road, mainly due to my ignorance about the whole process, but generally all went smoothly. Between FA and Meditech, we were able to set up the necessary parameters to make it work from Meditech. At the end of the installation, it was working as designed. We were able to send faxes from either Meditech or Windows apps. Later, we tackled the Inbound Fax, where we set up various users with the ability to receive faxes via email. The way this works is to assign a given fax number to a specific email address. Another Brooktrout card was needed for this install. Again, advance communication with the installer shortcut numerous issues. This too worked surprisingly well in spite of the fact that I was unable to get the needed block of phone numbers active on time. We did the testing by attaching a physical fax machine to the line(s) on the server. The total install time was slated for 2 days, but it actually took little more than 4 hours. Finally, we did the Smart Route (for Lab and Rad), which does not require additional hardware, but does allow for patient reports to be sent from Meditech, parsed through a logic program, and then forwarded to the fax numbers for the doctors whose names appear at designated positions in the reports. The installers (one for each module) had me send reports from TEST that had the needed info on them so that they could analyze the data stream and parse it appropriately. Although it was a 2-day process for each module, most of that was programming work at FA, and I was free to do other work at my desk. When done, it too worked surprisingly well. In sum, I am impressed. Although I've never seen or met any of the FA people, they did their job well. My previous experience with remote installs has been... well, mixed at best. These folks did it right and they had the technical expertise to back it up. If you plan to install electronic faxing, you could certainly do worse than Forward Advantage. Douglas B. McGaw Hospital Info Svcs Coordinator Newman Regional Health 1201 W. 12th Ave. Emporia, KS 66801 Voice: 620-343-6800 x 1130 Fax: 620-340-6799 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ meditech-l mailing list [email protected] http://mtusers.com/mailman/listinfo/meditech-l
