I do not proclaim to be an expert on the topic, but I can share what
I know.

Regarding speed, you definitely want something faster than a 56K dial
up modem. "Broadband" can be defined in different ways by different
people, but DSL or Cable should be OK. I have a Cable connection at
home and get good performance from it.

Regarding costs, there are several things to look at. If you are an
employee of the hospital there may be costs incurred because of
workers comp insurance. What portion if any will the hospital pay
for the internet connection and computer equipment? I have an
assistant who works at home part of the time and we provide her with
a laptop. She is not reimbursed for the internet connection which
she had already for personal use.

With respect to software costs, it can be very cheap. At our
registry we use VNC to remotely control workstations from home or the
road. It's freeware but it works great. The url is
http://realvnc.com/. You could also use Citrix but that would be
expensive to implement. I'm not 100% sure but I believe that the VPN
software (virtual private network) that allows for a secure
connection between the facility and the home workstation is not very
expensive.

Because you are essentially using the remote workstation like you
were sitting in front of it, any brand of cancer registry and medical
record software will work. Regarding HIPAA concerns, in my opinion it
should be OK because of the secure data connection and the fact that
data is not saved to the remote PC. Just follow the PC and password
security policies of your facility.

Anybody else feel free to correct me or jump in.

Dan



--- In cancerregistrargroup@yahoogroups.com, "NANCY COLBERT"
<nancic@w...> wrote:
> I'm not involved with the cost factors involved, but do know
our IS folks preferred we hook up with Broadband. Evidently it is a
faster process than DSL for them. We do have Citrix as our
networking software, but that again was supplied by IS. Hookup is
seamless and very quick with it. Security is well covered by IS -
they sent me a CD to load on my PC with all the firewalls, passwords,
etc. provided. And the phone support from IS has been great.
Whenever I've had to call them (truly very seldom), they fixed any
issues directly via our network. As you know, being a Cancer
Registry pulls no weight in the scheme of IS, so their response has
be gratefully received!
> My boss, who is Director of 3 major registries in our hospital
partnership, had to personally request and sign for this access for
us. To date, we are able to use all three databases, which even
include MD office visits done at the hospital - we often share
patients, so this works out really well. This has all been reviewed
for the HIPPA reqs and is considered in compliance. To my knowledge,
there has been no cost to the Registry for this access. Will ask my
boss and let you know if there is one for us.
> If you would like to speak directly with my boss, let me know
and I will ask her permission. She would know better the fiscal
issues and be able to discuss her dealings with IS.
> Wish you the best of luck.
> Nancy
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: redboots5674
> To: cancerregistrargroup@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2003 2:52 PM
> Subject: [Cancer Registrar Group] Re: Response to working at home
>
>
> I have questions regarding expenses, security, systems, etc.
Things
> like what we definitely would and would not want. We are
currently
> using IMPAC with our conversion to PRECIS in October. I haven't
> heard of anyone from home using IMPAC but I have heard of
registrars
> using MRS & ERS. My main concern is the connection. We are
supposed
> to be on DSL w/TPN. I know a CITRIX connection would be faster
but I
> don't know if we will have that. It has been strongly suggested
but
> not made a "must have". Do you know anything about that? Any help
> would be appreciated. I agree that this is our future.
>
> --- In cancerregistrargroup@yahoogroups.com, "redhatter1936"
> <nancic@w...> wrote:
> > Hello Everyone,
> > Just joined the group and saw redboots5674's cry for help.
I'm
> > currently working full time, half of which is from home. Two
> others
> > in the Registry are also doing so. We're able to do complete
> > abstracts as the hospital has allowed us to be on-line with
> > everything we need, including complete patient records. Was at
> NCRA
> > in Pittsburg, but found the panel that discussed this topic
wasn't
> > very helpful. When the moderator asked for
questions/responses, I
> > did speak about our experience here and was surprised at the
many
> > questions I received. Concerns over HIPPA were, of course,
major.
> > Our Information Sysytems department supports all the software
> except
> > our MRS software, but was willing to work with us the one time
we
> had
> > an issue with access. They provide the firewalls and passwords
to
> > cover the hospital systems and I personally had an extra
password
> > added to my laptop so it can't be used inadvertantly by anyone
> else.
> > The security developed by IS covers HIPPA requirements and as
> > employees of the hospital, we are personally covered.
> > I don't know what questions anyone has, so please feel free
to
> e-
> > mail me. I would be happy to share what I can as I feel this
is
> > really the future for a lot of us.
>
>
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