Central Solutions

 

One possibility is to store data for multiple practices in a central data store. This would be held off-site, either at a PCT, at Seetec or an alternative third party site. All practices connected to this server would not hold patient data locally. This gives numerous benefits from a reporting aspect, as a PCT could easily run a report based on all patients across a range of practices. The application could still be run at the local sites, reducing the amount of network traffic going between the server and the local practices.

 

 

GP Enterprise would be held at a central server farm (again, with one of the options available in the data central solution). All practices would then access the application via a Citrix Metaframe XP user session. This effectively places all the work on the server and network infrastructure, with the local workstations actually doing very little work.

 

This solution can of course be used in conjunction with the data solution described earlier. This then offers a full remote-based solution. Local users utilise a full Windows GUI-based product, with a full SQL-based data engine remotely.

 

No application or database servers would therefore be required locally. This can of course have numerous cost benefits. These have to be weighed up against the possibility of speed penalties with network performance.

 

 

A completely different central solution is Quest Central. Available from both the PCT end and loaded/populated from the user ends, Quest Central delivers to the PCT a vast number of options, facts and figures at an individual practiceor group of practices based level. This works alongside QMAS in delivering to the PCT (and practice) every analysis of incoming quality work that they might wish to have.