| |
SHIELD The Kids
DSI has been supporting a 501(c)3 company that produces Drug & Safety Curriculums such as Methamphetamine education by using the latest in 3-D animation.More>>
Training Videos
Our training videos are now available online. Just log in to this website and click the link under the What's New. More>>
Medicare Billing
MedServices will soon offer the ability to electronically bill medicare for services rendered. More>>
Monthly Newsletters
DataNet has added a monthly Newsletter that will include the latest at DSI including Tips and tricks.More>>
Multi-site version of
MedServices.
Multiple clinics can use MedServices or MS Patient Assistance Program while keeping all the records
private from other clinics. More>>
Data Synchronization
The data synchronization capabilities in MedServices is now available. This new module
will allow mobile units, such as laptops, to stay in sync with your
server copy of MedServices data. More>>
Accounts Receivable (AR)
The AR module allows you to setup flat fees or sliding fee schedules based on poverty level. Charges will autocalculate for each visit/encounter, Prescription, PAP etc. You can receive payments from patients and apply them to the appropriate charge. More>>
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
FoxPro vs Access |
 |
|
DataBase Comparison
We have received so many questions about the differences between FoxPro
Databases and Access Databases over the years, that when we ran across
this article on the web, we decided to post it on our web site.
Although, Access has a role to play in database applications, this
article should help you to understand the differences and answer many
of your questions as to why we use Microsoft Visual FoxPro.
Generally speaking, Access is a good database for small applications
such as recipes, rolodex etc. Access comes with MS Office (or
standalone). FoxPro was designed for small to medium size applications
(often handling a million records). FoxPro comes with MedServices (no
additional cost to you). The next step up in a database would be Oracle
or MS SQL Server (handling multi million number of records). These
databases are used in large companies as well as on the internet.
First, the Free Medical Clinic market usually only has need of a small
database and sometimes a medium size database (less then a million
records), Second, the added functionality with the larger databases
such as Oracle and MS SQL, comes with a hefty price tag, often more
than a Free Medical Clinic would be willing to pay.
With this information, we chose to use Microsoft Visual FoxPro. Sure,
some clinics can begin with Access, but we wanted to plan for growth.
FoxPro will handle any growth a Medical Clinic will experience for many
years.
Avoid network tension
For simultaneous user support, there is no comparison between Access
and FoxPro. Access begins to short out at about 15 simultaneous
connections, and we've heard complaints when the number is as low as 5.
This is not to suggest that only 5 users can connect to an
Access-supported application at the same time. Simultaneous connection
actually refers to concurrent processes. As such, Access can actually
handle unlimited connections, as long as those connections remain under
the process limit.
In tests with equivalent hardware and file sizes on a Windows 98
system, FoxPro consistently performs faster than Access 2000. Updates
show the largest discrepancy in the area of performance, with Access
often requiring twice as long to complete the same task. When you're
dealing with small amounts of data and fast systems, this discrepancy
isn't noticeable. It becomes a problem only when handling hundreds of
thousands of records.
Optimization
While the Microsoft Jet Database Engine is efficient, it isn't the
fastest ride in town. Throw in a badly designed database, and your
application can come to a screeching halt.
Backup
If you have ever struggled with a corrupted MDB file, you'll appreciate
FoxPro's advantages over Access in this area. First, FoxPro produces a
much better and more reliable backup than the Access process of simply
copying an MDB file. Second, even if the FoxPro data is partially
corrupted, it's much easier to restore than a corrupted MDB file.
Scalability and capability
In the language of mountaineering, pitting an
Access database against a FoxPro database is like comparing a gently
rolling hill in Indiana to Pike's Peak. The simple fact: FoxPro can
handle much larger files than Access. If you harness Access users to a
100MB MDB file, you should prepare to log performance complaints. A
similar database in FoxPro will show no signs of overload.
FoxPro also features an impressive versatility that enables it to
interact with a number of interfaces, including command-line clients,
Web browsers, and various programming interfaces such as C+, Perl,
Java, PHP, and Python. You can use a prepackaged client or write a
custom application.
It's true that the Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects Library (ADO) has
made Access more flexible in the foreign data market. ADO permits you
to retrieve data regardless of its location, then present that data in
a common interface: the browser. On the downside, ADO is fat (a
resource hog) and learning it requires much time and effort, even for
the competent developer or programmer. No one picks up ADO in a day.
|
|
|
|
 |
Medical Software |
|
|
|
|
Software
Development |
|
|
|
|
Other News |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
