Accessing Patient Records Anytime - Anywhere Open twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, Garden State Veterinary Specialists of Tinton Falls, New Jersey offers care for both the referred patient and emergency cases. It is a multi-disciplinary referral-only practice that provides progressive state of the art veterinary care in the fields of surgery, internal medicine, cardiology, oncology, neurology, acupuncture, ophthalmology, dermatology and emergency/ critical care. To keep the hospital moving fluidly and nonstop, Garden State Veterinary Specialists employs a highly-trained staff of board certified specialists, animal health care technicians, and support staff. Recently profiled in a New York Magazine feature called “Best Vets: A Breed Apart,” the hospital has gained a national reputation. Growing Pains In 1994, Garden State Veterinary Specialists opened its facilities with twelve employees. Today it employs ninety. Garden State Veterinary Specialists has become a hospital that never sleeps, buzzing with around the clock activity. In response to this growth, the needs of the hospital have changed quickly, especially in the area of technology. One of the key tools needed by Garden State Veterinary Specialists to facilitate its growth was fast and secure remote access and improved communication. Due to the nature of many of its cases, the hospital found it imperative to have the most effective methods of electronic communication available. Often the hospital needs to communicate with its specialists about a certain case on a moment's notice. Since situations arise when the specialist is at home, on the road, or out of town, it became important to provide the specialist with remote access to patients' records. Secure Remote Access from Anywhere CompuData determined that the hospital could enable its specialists to enjoy real time remote access to patients' files as well as other necessary information over the Internet through the Netilla service platform. Netilla is a secure remote networking appliance that enables companies to provide secure remote and internet access to ANY application - Windows®, UNIX®/Linux®, or mainframe - via a standard browser. It makes an organization virtually ubiquitous, allowing work to be done from any location, anywhere in the world, at anytime, and, as is often the case with Garden State Veterinary Specialists, in a moment's notice. “We wanted to provide our specialists with complete access to patients' records,” said Patricia Smillie-Scavelli, Administrator for Garden State Veterinary Specialists. “But we wanted to make sure the transmission was secure from unwanted parties and hackers.” Although veterinarians are not held to federal HIPAA patient privacy standards, Garden State Veterinary Specialists can rest easy that their Netilla solution not only provides reliable and trusted remote access, but it is also fully HIPAA compliant. “Secure remote communication has enhanced the way we do business,” said Scavelli. “We are absolutely able to provide better and more effective service for our patients.” Opening the Lines of Communications In addition to remote access, Garden State Veterinary Specialists wanted to improve communication for faster information gathering and collaboration. A growing practice also faces voice and data communication challenges. By deploying a new telephone system, a Microsoft Exchange Server, and a broadband data connection through AT&T, CompuData helped Garden State Veterinary Specialists save money on their telephone charges, as well as gain fast reliable communications for e-mail and Internet access. Security Outside and Inside But exposing your practice to the Internet also poses new challenges. CompuData recommended and implemented a Netscreen firewall to protect the network from uninvited hackers. NetScreen offers a network security solution that allows Garden State Veterinary Specialists to cost-effectively secure its network without sacrificing performance. Because the hospital added dozens of employees since its inception, CompuData also recommended SurfControl, a leading web and email filtering solution. SurfControl allows the hospital's administration to set the rules on what can and cannot be accessed over the Internet a growing and vital trend in businesses due to the explosion of information, music, video, and other types of entertainment or distractions that are readily available over the Internet. Staff has quick access to medical sites, and management can rest assured that employees aren't ever wasting time surfing the net. The faster and more cost-effective communications solutions provided by CompuData has quickly changed the way Garden State Veterinary Specialists has been able to conduct business. CompuData installed two T-1 lines through which the large files are retrieved instantaneously, drastically reducing the need for messenger services and without compromising much-needed bandwidth. “We were very thorough and effective when we began in 1994,” said Scavelli. “But the communication abilities that CompuData has provided for us makes our early days look like the Dark Ages. We're grateful to have CompuData as a technology partner. They have helped facilitate our growth and expanding technological needs, enabling us to keep focus on our core mission.”

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