Citrus Networking Solutions Group, Inc.

Hurricane season is here, are you prepared?

2010-06-04T08:13:00.003-04:00

When I blogged a couple of months ago about getting ready for Hurricane season (http://cnsgfl.blogspot.com/2010/04/calm-before-storm.html), how many of you took to heart what I wrote and put together a plan in case of a disaster? I am guessing not that many of you took action so; I am going to remind you again that hurricanes create a number of challenges for Florida businesses. One of the biggest of these challenges being data protection and recovering your data after a disaster. High level data protection can be very expensive and out of reach for many small businesses, leaving them in a difficult position if they don’t have a defined backup and recovery plan in place. When a hurricane hits, many companies will face the possibility of losing all of their critical data – potentially putting them out of business. A large percentage of companies that experience data loss never recover from the experience. It is crucial that different options exist for emergency situations. After all, there are some cases where businesses think they are completely protected, but emergencies still cause problems.

With hurricane season upon us here are our recommendations which will help keep your data and ultimately your business protected.

• Make sure all of your uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) or battery back-ups have been maintained and the batteries are fully charged.
• UPS’ on servers must be 1500VA or larger.
• Be sure data back-ups are current and are stored off-site.
• Speak with your current IT provider to create a back-up and recovery plan.

If you feel you have fallen short in any of these areas, contact CNSG right away. Don’t wait until a hurricane hits because by then it’s too late. By addressing this ahead of time you will save yourself a tremendous amount of time and money. As your true partner, we at CNSG want to make sure you are prepared in case of a hurricane or other disaster.

Is your data safe?

2010-05-03T11:06:00.003-04:00

As your office equipment gets more sophisticated, you as a business owner or manager need to be aware of security of your data..especially if you are subject to HIPAA or PCI Compliance!

Here's a perfect example..

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6412572n

With CNSG's Vendor management as part of our SafetyNET program we can help you to make sure your data is protected. Call us today!

The calm before the storm…

2010-04-25T19:13:00.002-04:00

Hurricane season is just around the corner. CNSG recommends you use the next two months, the calm before the storm, to insure your data is protected.

Hurricanes create a number of challenges for Florida businesses; probably the most important of these being data protection and recovering the data after a disaster. High level data protection can be very expensive and out of reach for many small businesses, leaving them in a difficult position if they didn’t have a defined backup and recovery plan in place. If a hurricane hits, many companies will face the possibility of losing all of their business critical data – potentially putting them out of business.

A large percentage of companies that experience data loss never recover from the experience. It is crucial that different options exist for emergency situations. After all, there are some cases where businesses think they are completely protected, but emergencies still cause problems. Thankfully, CNSG has created a cost effective off-site data backup and recovery solution for small businesses lacking sufficient backups due to cost and ineffective data protection plans from non-proactive computer fix-it shops.

Think of backing up your data as an insurance plan. You wouldn’t skimp on your auto, life or health insurance. Why skimp on your data backup? When your data is backed up off-site and a disaster strikes, the time your company needs to recover will be in hours rather than days, weeks or in many cases…never! CNSG will advise you on the best, most cost effective backup and recovery solution that will fit your business and your budget.

There is no better time than today to prepare for hurricane season 2010. Call Citrus Networking Solutions Group today for an evaluation of your current backup and disaster recovery solution. CNSG will get your business data functioning even after the worse possible happens.

Creating a more productive workplace and profiting through technology

2010-04-11T18:58:00.001-04:00

As small business owners, much of the time we are looking for ways to streamline and reduce costs. Traditionally the first places that businesses cut back on are human resources/benefits and technology/IT. Why? Normally these areas of business offer the least profits to the business.

According to Spector CNE, “The Wall Street Journal recently reported that according to The Society for Human Resource Management, 59% of employees lie about the number of hours worked. Increasingly, employees use office technology to make it look like they are working when they are not. Email timers allow them to send a message even when they’re not there and instant messaging can be reconfigured to appear as if the employee is online.”

Spector CNE also reported that, “According to a recent Gallup poll, the average employee spends over 75 minutes per day using office computers for non-business related activity. That translates into an annual loss of $6250 per year, per employee”

How will the technology solutions that CNSG provides help keep your employees productive?
1. Spam Filtering – CNSG will implement “Cloud” based technology into your current infrastructure to manage unwanted emails and viruses. This will increase productivity a minimum of 15 minutes per employee per day.
2. Email archiving – in addition to our Spam Filtering, we will also archive all your emails for your industry compliance requirements and for protection against a mail server failure.
3. Server and desktop computer monitoring – CNSG has invested thousands of dollars into our own infrastructure to provide 24 x 7 monitoring and patching of your servers and PC’s. Our monitoring services will allow the support staff at CNSG to be more proactive in support of your staff. Thereby reducing computer and network downtime and increasing staff productivity.
4. Security– Implementing network security policies will force your employees to focus on doing their job instead of using technical tools for non-business related activities.
5. Internet Filtering- CNSG can integrate state of the art filtering on your company firewall to report on internet sites. In addition, we will filter and block inappropriate content. By providing this service, your staff will not be tempted to use the internet except for business related tasks.

When you invest in these services for your business, you will see an increase in overall productivity. To top it off you will find that your business is more profitable and you will have happier, more loyal employees.

Invest in Productivity for your Business!

2010-04-05T08:13:00.003-04:00

Don't let old technology hold back your business. Take advantage of the productivity-enhancing features of Windows SBS 2008, which is designed to seamlessly integrate with the new Windows 7. With Microsoft financing, you can reduce the up-front cost of purchasing the information technology that your business needs to be more efficient and effective. Receive the benefits of your technology investment now—and pay over time. Save your cash reserves and line of credit for other needs so that you can keep your business agile and responsive.

Financing Windows SBS Upgrades and Purchases

The recent economic downturn has made business owners think carefully about the best way to allocate resources. However, as history has shown, times of economic uncertainty also offer opportunities to plan strategically for the future. Investing in IT is a key differentiator that can help improve productivity, accelerate agility, and reduce costs.

With the recent release of Windows 7, there has never been a better time to migrate to Windows SBS 2008 and to upgrade your infrastructure. Windows SBS 2008 is designed to work hand-in-hand with Windows 7, giving you the most efficient, easy-to-use interface yet. You can purchase or upgrade Windows 7 and Windows SBS 2008 through Microsoft or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) financing. With Microsoft Financing, you can afford to upgrade your small business management software and even your hardware while keeping your monthly payments low.

CNSG can help you with using Microsoft Financing
With Microsoft Financing, you can benefit from predictable payments instead of up-front cost, and you save yourself the hassle of seeking an independent source of financing. You can spread the cost of new software, services, and partner products over monthly or semiannual payments. You can increase cash flow with Microsoft Financing? Financing means you can increase your liquidity and preserve capital for core business needs.

In fact, you can increase your cash flow with Microsoft Financing by increasing your liquidity and preserving capital for core business needs.

Microsoft Financing lets you:

•Get the IT you need to achieve business goals.
•Manage software, services (such as deployment), and hardware as one investment.
•Align IT benefits with costs.
•Enjoy a fast, easy, and responsive lending process.
Microsoft Financing lets you purchase or upgrade copies of Windows 7, Windows SBS 2008, and other software to create an integrated server solution; select the licensing and financing solutions you want; and effectively manage the costs. You can finance any amount above US$3,000 to pay for software licenses, hardware, and even partner services. Financing is available for 24 to 60 months, depending on the financing program. There is generally no requirement for down payments.

You can get financing with two available program offers:

•Software License Financing: predictable payment options customized to fit your needs and budget, enabling your company to keep IT and still free up corporate lines for other investments.
•Total Solution Financing: a financing solution that includes not only your software licenses, but also services or third-party or partner products as one investment
To take advantage of either of these offers, you can choose to work with a local small business specialist or a volume licensing representative. Each option offers its own benefits. Local small business specialists undergo special training to help them better respond to the special technology needs of small businesses. Meanwhile, volume licensing representatives offer names you recognize and brands you trust, and they can assist you with large purchases.

You can get Windows SBS 2008 and Windows 7 already loaded on a new PC that has been built by an OEM. This type of purchase can be the cheapest option for your business, but the OEM license has some restrictions.

Call CNSG today to help your business do more with less and less cost!

[Information in today’s post comes to us courtesy of JoAnn McKimpson from the SBS Marketing Team]

National Broadband Initiative!

2010-03-16T13:53:00.009-04:00

Regardless of your politics, you have to admit that bringing Broadband service to everyone is very exciting! As per the National Broadband Plan {Connecting America} http://www.broadband.gov

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYf2AVCdzZw

Here are the goals:

Goal 1: At least 100 million U.S. homes should have affordable access to actual download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and actual upload speeds of at least 50 megabits per second.

Goal 2: The United States should lead the world in mobile innovation, with the fastest and most extensive wireless networks of any nation.

Goal 3: Every American should have affordable access to robust broadband service, and the means and skills to subscribe if they so choose.

Goal 4: Every community should have affordable access to at least 1 Gbps broadband service to anchor institutions such as schools, hospitals and government buildings.

Goal 5: To ensure the safety of Americans, every first responder should have access to a nationwide public safety wireless network.

Goal 6: To ensure that America leads in the clean energy economy, every American should be able to use broadband to track and manage their real-time energy consumption.

Here in the Nature coast area of Florida Broadband Infrastructure is poor at best. What is available is not very stable and to get fiber connections its very expensive due to the lack of competition in the area.

Also, being that over 65% of our area is unearned income and rural, pricing and availability for businesses and health care providers is number one on our list.

As per the www.broadband.gov site "Broadband and health IT will transform health care, simultaneously enabling better outcomes and lowering costs. Electronic Health Records and Remote Monitoring technology could alone create over $700 B in net savings over 15-25 years. Yet in nearly every metric used to measure the adoption of health information technology (health IT), the United States ranks in the bottom half among comparable countries. The Federal government can do more to stimulate this rapidly-growing industry:

Ensure all health care providers have access to affordable broadband, by revamping the Rural Health Care Program
For rural clinics and small physician offices, mass market broadband infrastructure is often priced beyond their means or altogether insufficient to support their health IT needs. The National Broadband Plan recommends substantial changes to the FCC’s Rural Health Care Program, better utilizing authorized funding of $400 M per year to help meet these challenges. Among other changes, the recommendations will help health care providers purchase broadband services and expand the program to more institutions."

CNSG being the ONLY HIPAA Certified and Microsoft Certified Partner MSP (Managed Services Provider) in the Nature coast area, is very excited about this initiative. We look forward to assisting local providers with getting reimbursement for health IT and other economic incentives. With broadband comes the concern of privacy and security for all your business information. As Security Professionals we can work with your business to insure your data is protected and recoverable.

Call CNSG today to speak with our CERTIFIED and PROFESSIONAL consultants!

Network Security - Does Your business Have IT?

2010-03-01T09:08:00.002-05:00

Naturally a business owner wants to be sure that the infrastructure of their computer network is protected from any unauthorized access. In conjunction it is imperative to insure that all computers, peripheral devices, network connectivity and so forth are continuously monitored for stability and staff productivity.
Unfortunately many people have no idea where to start or how to achieve any of this. The good news is that the experienced Managed Services Provider (MSP) can help.
Below are some key points the MSP should be covering in order to insure that data is secure and the network continues to run smoothly.
• A commercial grade security appliance (firewall) will make sure hackers, malware and infections don’t get into the infrastructure. CSNG works with a number of industry vendors and can recommend the right solution for your business.
• A quality endpoint security product will ensure that viruses and spyware don’t infect computers and servers.
• The MSP should also implement policies on the servers which allow permissions based on job functions of the employee to access different areas of the network and internet.
• If you have a wireless network the MSP can encrypt pass codes for the highest level of security so unauthorized users/hackers cannot access the network wirelessly. {Have you sat in the parking lot to see if your laptop can get on your network without a network security key?}
• The MSP should be continually applying the latest critical security patches to Windows desktop PC’s, laptops and Windows servers.
• All corporate e-mail should be run through a system that checks for spam, viruses and phishing attempts.
• In addition to all these tasks the MSP should regularly be verifying that all back-ups are complete and that a disaster recovery plan is in place.

If you are unsure if your current provider is meeting these requirements please feel free to contact CNSG as we will be happy to conduct a third-party review of your infrastructure and policies.

Crystal River High School Alumni Reunion Cruise This July!

2010-02-07T15:18:00.001-05:00

Don't miss this event..You must at least get registered NOW!! .www.crhsalumnicruise.com!! or http://www.cruisersparadise.com/rw/view/622

The advantages of using a local MSP company vs. big company

2010-01-27T16:43:00.001-05:00

You may have heard that major IT companies such as Dell are launching dedicated services organizations designed to serve small to medium sized businesses. Some speculate that their target customer is really the home user who has purchased a Dell PC. But Dell counters by indicating they have large numbers of customers on the enterprise side.

It remains to be seen if companies like Dell can be successful in reaching the midmarket enterprise. But the advantages and disadvantages of dealing with the larger company vs. the local MSP (managed services provider) are obvious.

Small to medium sized businesses in your local market are generally serving those in and around their community, just like the local MSP. A good argument can be made that these business owners will be more inclined to use a local IT firm as well. A local firm such as CNSG can better understand the needs of their customers and is more likely to think of them as peers. On the other hand, the mega-computer company tends to view them simply as an end-user in an endless string of end-users.

These large companies cannot possibly provide the same level of customer service that the local service provider can. When a service call is placed to one of these big firms the customer never knows who they will be talking to or where that person is located on the globe. Large firm representatives aren’t able to just drop by at any time and see how things are either. By dealing with their local firm, they will always know exactly who they are talking to every time they call.

CNSG understands and takes very seriously the needs of businesses in our area. We are committed to providing personalized service to our clients. We invest our time locally by being involved with the Boys and Girls Club and other not-for-profit agencies. We are so invested in the local community that our CEO, Teresa Bell, is the Chairwoman of the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

As our business has grown, so has the strength of the relationships that we have cultivated with our clients and our community. We will continue to build relationships within Citrus County and be a local company that supports other local companies.

While gearing up for the new year and the business challenges ahead...

2010-01-05T09:08:00.007-05:00

...you, as a business owner, may want to ask "Are you getting what you expect from your IT services provider?" Is your IT provider meeting or exceeding your expectations? As the business owner have you even set the expectations for them?

Obviously when you purchase a service, especially IT support services, it is because it’s not your area of expertise. You now have to rely on someone else to set up, fix and manage these systems. You have invested in these technologies so that you can improve your services. Does your current IT provider partner with you to help you achieve your business goals? If your systems aren’t running smoothly and your vendor isn’t being effective it will negatively impact the quality and level of services you provide to your clients. But how can you be sure you are getting what you are paying for?

Here are some things you need to have proof of from your IT support:

• Are they qualified to do what you are paying them to do?
• Can they prove they are certified by industry vendors such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco or Sonic wall?
• Are they monitoring your system?
• Do they alert you to problems before it affects your business?
• Are they keeping your systems and antivirus software current?
• Are your business critical systems being backed up daily?
• Have they provided you with a disaster recovery plan?
• Have they implemented security policies and hardware to keep your business, employees and data safe?

If you unsure if your current “computer guy” is providing these services so that you ARE getting what you are paying for, you can find the answers for a reasonable price. We at CNSG will be happy to conduct an independent, third-party audit of your systems to put your mind at ease.

Being Proactive...

2009-12-29T20:39:00.002-05:00

Being proactive; what will it save you? VS: Being reactive; what will it cost you?

As small business owners we often say, “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.” But when it comes to technology service when something breaks your business can hemorrhage money. Being proactive in managing your business’s technologies will save you time while increasing staff productivity and over all profits.

Many small business owners have a hard time wrapping their minds around the approach of managed IT services. Unfortunately, they too often wait until there is a disaster before they reach out for help from their “computer guy.” This tactic will most certainly leave them with a much higher cost to get things back up and running. For example, a $1 million company will lose nearly $500 per hour for every hour during a technology outage. You can add to this the hourly rate from the “computer guy.” And, if he isn’t qualified to do the work you wait longer and longer for a resolution. As they say, “time is money.”

Another common mistake business owners make is to designate their most computer knowledgeable staff member as their IT go-to person. This only takes them away from their other duties and puts the business at risk from a poorly maintained and unstable network.

By being proactive and utilizing your trusted IT services provider you can stay a step ahead of disaster. Through CNSG’s SafetyNet and SafetyNet Premier your business will be maintained and monitored so you can remain productive and profitable while saving the cost of a full-time IT employee.

2009-11-20T19:57:00.001-05:00

Great Windows 7 Event!

2009-11-19T20:24:00.003-05:00

click here if you missed it!

http://stickam.com/cnsgfl

Join CNSG tonight for Windows7 Party!

2009-11-19T09:57:00.003-05:00

CNSG will be hosting a Windows7 launch party at the Grove Downtown, Inverness FL from 5:30-7:30. If you have pre-registered you can get one free drink on CNSG while you watch them demo all the new features of Windows 7 and how it can help your business! There will be giveaways so don't miss it! email sales@citrusnsg.com or call 352-746-4699 x104 to register!
See you there!

Vegas for Geeks!

2009-09-28T11:58:00.004-04:00

Teresa Bell, President and Joe Bell, CFO of Citrus Networking Solutions Group Inc, will be traveling this week to Las Vegas for SMBNation 2009! http://smbnation.com/Events/SMBNationFall09/tabid/229/Default.aspx
Three full days of intense sessions for IT Consultants who specialize in Small Business Server.
SMB Nation Fall is a blend of business content (BusinessSpeak) and technical content (GeekSpeak). This curriculum, presented in an academic learning environment, fosters professional peer interaction that will continue long after the weekend.

Teresa and Joe will blog about all the new technologies daily..so keep checking back!

Citrus Networking Solutions Group, Inc. Named Taskfire™ Authorized Partner

2009-08-21T08:17:00.001-04:00

New Technology Enables Strategic Local Outsourcing by Allowing Seamless Collaboration between External IT Service Providers and Internal IT Resources

Lecanto, FL, August 2009 — Citrus Networking Solutions Group, Inc.(CNSG) today announced it has been recognized by Autotask Corporation as a Taskfire Authorized Partner. This designation allows CNSG to provision and configure Taskfire technology for local organizations with critical information technology (IT) needs. Taskfire is the world’s first, hosted co-managed service desk platform designed for internal IT service departments and allows unprecedented, real-time coordination and collaboration with external service providers to ensure business continuity and address complex IT issues.

Founded in 2003, CNSG, (www.citrusnsg.com) partnered with Autotask Corporation, the leading provider of hosted business management software for IT service providers, to deliver Taskfire in the greater Nature Coast area. CNSG offers their flat-rate SafetyNET Program to businesses in the Nature Coast area. A partnership in the CNSG SafetyNET program ensures that a business’s systems are looked after by a professional company that allows them to focus on business instead of worrying about computer systems.

Taskfire is a hosted, internal service desk and ticket management system that provides business owners, internal IT personnel and operations managers with a fully-integrated platform for creating, accepting, triaging, assigning and resolving service issues. What makes the platform unique is that it tethers the internal IT ticketing system directly to the preferred external service provider’s own service desk and includes a workflow automation engine for sharing and escalating service issues between internal and external IT resources. As a result, Taskfire users can manage and assign IT service issues automatically, based on a variety of predetermined criteria including request type, priority, time of day (i.e. during or after business hours), location, or manually at any time.

“We’re very pleased to be able to offer Taskfire to our clients,” said Teresa Bell, President of Citrus Networking Solutions Group, Inc. “Most businesses today are so dependent on technology that when any one of their systems goes down, operations can slow to a crawl. But with Taskfire, organizations can focus internal IT staff on core functions and selectively outsource service issues and projects that are more cost-effectively handled externally or that require specialized expertise. This gives them maximum flexibility over their internal and external IT resources improve response times and significantly increase their productivity.”

Bell added, “Taskfire can be configured to automatically differentiate between various service issues and route them accordingly. A client may decide to handle all desktop computers and company printers internally, but automatically outsource any issues related to network support or remote employees, or vice versa. The important thing is that Taskfire gives them the ability to establish the level and type of collaboration, and gives them real-time control and visibility into the entire process, from end-to-end.”

Managed and IT service providers, such as Citrus Networking Solutions Group, Inc., can earn Autotask’s Taskfire Authorized Partner designation by demonstrating effective integration of Autotask’s service-management tools and superior end-user IT service quality. Only Autotask service providers can provision and support Taskfire technology. More information about Taskfire can be found at www.citrusnsg.com.

Storm season is here, is your business REALLY prepared?

2009-08-18T12:23:00.004-04:00

Have you really thought about Business Continuity?
What happens if you lose access to email because your internet is down?
What if your backup tape/harddrive is left onsite and destroyed?
Would your business function? How can it?

Citrus Networking Solutions Group has new tools to offer, such as offsite backups, Universal Restores {Restore to dissimilar hardware and recover from any unforeseen event } and our email archiving product to ensure the protection, preservation and continuous operation of email communication for your business. Users will have on-demand email access anywhere and anytime.

Always up is critical for most businesses, especially during and after disasters. CNSG can assist you in putting together a plan so that you are up and running with access to your corporate data as quickly as possible whether it's a minor emergency or complete disaster.

Put your plans in place..Call CNSG Today!

CNSG Adds Seasoned Sales Manager To Growing Team

2009-07-10T15:01:00.002-04:00

Lecanto, FL — On July 15, Katie Lucas takes the helm as Sales Manager at the Citrus Networking Solutions Group. Katie will be tasked with business development as well as supporting the needs of existing CNSG clients. Lucas brings a wealth of marketing experience to CNSG, having been the Marketing Manager at Crystal Motor Car Company and the Public Relations Manager for the Citrus Memorial Health System. Her health care expertise, in particular, will be a major asset for CNSG’s expanding efforts to assist private practices in become HIPAA-compliant. “I had been holding out for just the right person to lead our next big push,” said Teresa Bell, CNSG President. “With Katie on board, I feel extremely optimistic about the coming year.”
Much of Lucas’ most impressive work has been in the public and community sector. She was the President of the Nature Coast Chamber and has been involved with nearly two dozen civic and professional groups‑—from the Realtors Association of Citrus County to Downtown Vision for the City of Inverness to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Citrus County. She was on the Board of Governors for Leadership Citrus and, in 2007, was awarded the Citrus County Economic Development Council “Person of the Year.” She was also a past recipient of the Homosassa Rotary Club’s Carlos Nessi Memorial Award for outstanding community service.
To find out more about CNSG’s networking services capabilities, contact Katie Lucas, Sales Manager, at 352 746-4699x 103 or email her at Katie@citrusnsg.com.

CNSG Special Announcement

2009-07-10T13:50:00.002-04:00

I am delighted to announce that CNSG is adding another key member to our remarkable staff, Bernadette Carithers, our new Client Trainer. Ms. Carithers comes to us from Hillsborough Community College, where, for the past seven years, she’s been a professor and workshop developer. Her specialties include Microsoft Office Suite and Accounting Packages (i.e. QuickBooks) —so if you could use a little help with those programs, she’s only an email (training@citrusnsg.com) or phone call (x202) away.
Ms. Carithers has her B.S. in Business Education, with a minor in Business Administration, and her M.A. in Education with Specialization in Computers/Business from the University of South Florida. She has been a presenter at HCC’s All College Day and Black, Brown and College Bound, where she stressed the importance of mentorship in helping university students succeed. This commitment to helping others learn and grow—particularly in the area of technology—is what makes her such a great trainer.
If you have kids in Citrus County, you may have already had some experience with her leadership and mentoring skills. Ms. Carithers was a PTA President and School Achievement Committee member for many years, as well as a member of the National Education Association and Golden Key (only the top % of the college class is invited to be a member).
I hope you’ll take advantage of her expertise. The more comfortable your staff is with your programs and networking capabilities, the more time they’ll have to focus on the real work at hand.
Call her today for our NEW Corporate Training Packages..

Citrus Networking Solutions Group Launches Major Healthcare Technology Information Tour

2009-06-30T09:38:00.001-04:00

On June 24th, Citrus Networking Solutions Group kicked off a healthcare networking services tour entitled “HIPAA Compliance: Prevention Beats the Cure Any Day,” at the Citrus Hills Golf and Country Club. The event, designed to educate medical professionals about the risks of neglecting to become Health Information Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant, was filled to capacity. “There’s a lot of interest in HIPAA compliance right now,” said Teresa Bell, CNSG President and Citrus County’s 2008 Person of the Year. “Medical practices of all sizes are eager to take advantage of the new administration’s stimulus money for conversion to Electronic Medical Records (EMR).”
According to Dan Geiger, Florida-certified HIPAA auditor, and the featured speaker at the event, “Being HIPAA compliant is really not an option. It’s the law. But practices have been putting it off due to fear of cost or inconvenience.” The CNSG event, which was co-sponsored by Citrus Memorial Hospital, helped to demystify the process. Attendees, who included special guests, Joe Meek, Citrus County Commissioner and Blain Barton, Microsoft Regional Exchange Representative, chatted with local medical professionals about the future of technology practices in Citrus County and throughout Florida. Many were interested in CNSG’s free networking services assessment and low-cost pre-audit. “It really is time for healthcare practitioners to find out where they stand, compliance-wise, and start taking steps to remedy it,” says Geiger. The penalty for operating a non-compliant practice can be up to $250,000 or, in the most extreme cases, jail time.
One more local CNSG-sponsored HIPAA seminar is scheduled for September. From there, Teresa Bell will be taking her company’s pioneering tour on the road. “There is a huge need for information, guidance and smart, packaged networking solutions for the specific issues that medical practices deal with. We are at the forefront of this transition, and plan to be an industry leader, not only throughout Central Florida, but the entire state.” For sponsorship opportunities, contact Idona Davis, Events Coordinator 352-746-4699 x 104 or email Idona@citrusnsg.com for more information.

To find out more about CNSG’s free networking services assessment, contact Katie Lucas at 352 746-4699 x103 or email her at Katie@citrusnsg.com.
About Citrus Networking Solutions Group
Citrus Networking Solutions Group (CNSG) was founded by Teresa Bell, MCSE, in 2003. Since then, it has rapidly grown to become Citrus County’s largest computer networking service provider. CNSG is a Microsoft-certified partner and the first and only Microsoft-certified small business specialist in the Citrus County area. All staff are Microsoft and A+ certified computer network professionals, and follow two key business philosophies: courteous and professional customer service, and preventative maintenance to ensure clients can always rely on their IT infrastructure.
Most recently, CNSG was honored with the Economic Development Council and Citrus County Chamber of Commerce’s prestigious Outstanding Small Business of 2007 Award.

Citrus Networking Solutions Group presents: “HIPAA Compliance: Prevention Beats the Cure Any Day”

2009-06-23T13:05:00.002-04:00

If you haven’t heard about the upcoming seminar, CNSG would like to extend an invitation to you.

Please join us for Citrus Networking Solutions Group presents: “HIPAA Compliance: Prevention Beats the Cure Any Day”.
Who better to help you pass a HIPAA compliance audit than the auditor
Who better to help you pass a HIPAA compliance auditor himself? CNSG presents a discussion on HIPAA
compliance led by Dan Geiger, a HIPAA auditor for the state of Florida.
He’ll give you the full rundown of what you must do to avoid the potential
office downtime and big fines that can come with an audit by the State of Florida.
And if avoiding an audit isn’t enticing enough, a delicious dinner will help
this essential information go down a little easier.

This event will be June 24, 2009 at the Citrus Hills Golf and Country Club, 505 E. Hartford Street, Hernando, FL 34442, from 6:30pm until 9pm. If you are affiliated with the healthcare industry we look forward to having you as an attendee as you will NOT want to miss this. Cost is $35 per person (includes a plated dinner with program). Seating is Limited! So call today to RSVP! 352-746-4699 x104 (Idona Davis, Events Coordinator Idona@citrusnsg.com )

Citrus Networking Presents... HIPAA Compliance: Prevention Beats the Cure Any Day

2009-06-09T15:28:00.010-04:00

Who better to help you pass a HIPAA compliance audit than the auditor
himself?

Citrus Networking Solutions Group presents a discussion on HIPAA
compliance led by Dan Geiger, a HIPAA auditor for the state of Florida.
He’ll give you the full rundown of what you must do to avoid the potential
office downtime and big fines that can come with an audit by the State of Florida.

And if avoiding an audit isn’t enticing enough, a delicious dinner will help
this essential information go down a little easier. You’ll also learn how the new national stimulus package can fund your mastery of paperless medicine.

Supported by local medical community including
Citrus Memorial Health System and Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center
June 24th, 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Citrus Hills Golf & Country Club
$35 admission for program and dinner
RSVP required. Call 352-746-4699 or email hipaa@citrusnsg.com

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=89948358722

or
https://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=139000

Space is limited..This event is directed to people in the Healthcare Industry who are in charge of making Business Decisions regarding HIPAA Security and Compliance.

More EMR News....

2009-05-27T12:27:00.003-04:00

gloStream Announces $7.5 Million Series B Financing Round Co-Led by Beringea and gloStream's Executive Management Team
{courtesy http://sev.prnewswire.com/}

Investment in Electronic Medical Record/Practice Management Software Company Aimed at Giving More Doctors Access to Latest, Microsoft-Based Healthcare Technology
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich., May 27 /PRNewswire/ --

gloStream, a healthcare software company that develops and sells certified, Microsoft Office embedded electronic medical record ("EMR") and practice management ("PM") solutions, announced today that it has closed on a $7.5 million series B financing round co-led by Beringea and members of gloStream's Executive Management Team. Capital will be used to bolster virtually all areas of gloStream including development, marketing and sales, and deployed immediately as the company looks to hire for nearly all internal teams.
Beringea's investment was made through its InvestMichigan! Growth Capital Fund (the "Fund"), which is part of the $300 million InvestMichigan! Fund created by Governor Jennifer Granholm. The Fund targets a broad range of sectors and is charged with generating strong returns for investors and growing the next generation of Michigan companies.
"gloStream has demonstrated that they are one of Michigan's most innovative healthcare companies and have the capability to spur job growth locally while also transforming healthcare nationally," said Beringea director Michael Gross. "gloStream offers the only integrated EMR/PM solution on the market embedded with Microsoft Office, it is easy to deploy and use, and it is already helping more than a thousand users nationwide improve the efficiency of healthcare delivery."
The series B financing round comes after passage of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act ("ARRA"), which was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. The ARRA allocates $20 billion toward healthcare IT, including up to $64,000 per doctor - through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services - for implementing EMR technology. With the stimulus encouraging hundreds of thousands of doctors to implement EMR technology for the first time, it's critical that doctors have customizable solutions that are easy to deploy, easy to use and backed by local support.
"Beringea's investment is an important vote of confidence in our people, our products and our vision," said Mike Sappington, gloStream's CEO. "It's also recognition that Michigan-based companies are taking a leadership role when it comes to national healthcare IT initiatives and creating technology that will drastically improve the care that doctors can provide their patients."
About gloStream
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based gloStream provides physicians and healthcare facilities with certified electronic medical record and practice management solutions delivered and supported through a nationwide network of local technology partners. gloStream products are secure, easy-to-use applications and the only integrated EMR/PM solutions on the market embedded with Microsoft Office. Through a simple user interface, robust voice recognition technology, and single-click access to all patient information, gloStream products help doctors improve patient care by streamlining workflow and creating efficiencies in office administration. For more information, visit http://www.trafficresults.com/click-rabbit.php?acctid=qBEQZwTi3r4=&docid=CL2302227052009-1&redirect=1&url=http://www.glostream.com or call 1-877-456-3671.

About Beringea
Beringea is an international private equity and investment banking firm headquartered in Farmington Hills, Mich., with offices in Los Angeles, London and Shanghai. Beringea manages more than $400 million in venture capital funds, investing in a range of growth-oriented companies with the potential for strong returns for investors. Its funds include the InvestMichigan! Growth Capital Fund, InvestCare Partners, Global Rights Fund II and the ProVen family of venture capital trusts. For more information, visit http://www.trafficresults.com/click-rabbit.php?acctid=qBEQZwTi3r4=&docid=CL2302227052009-1&redirect=1&url=http://www.beringea.com.

About the InvestMichigan! Fund & Business Leadership Council
The InvestMichigan! Fund is an economic growth initiative created by Gov. Jennifer Granholm focused on retaining and attracting businesses to the State of Michigan and further developing the State's entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Fund has been divided into two pools of capital: one targeting smaller companies with high growth characteristics (InvestMichigan! Growth Capital Fund), and another targeting more mature companies seeking a change of control through a buyout transaction (Michigan Opportunities Fund). The Growth Capital Program is co-managed by Beringea, a Michigan-based venture capital firm experienced in geographically targeted investment programs, and Credit Suisse's Customized Fund Investment Group, a highly-respected global network of funds and co-investments.
Companies that become part of the portfolio and their management teams will be supported by the Fund's Business Leadership Council comprised of Michigan business leaders who offer support, guidance and access to business relationships. Members include: Jon Barfield, Chairman & President, The Bartech Group; John Brown, Chairman, Stryker Corporation; Ben Carter, EVP & COO, Detroit Medical Center; James Epolito, President, Delta Dental of Michigan; Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company; Dan Gilbert, Chairman, Quicken Loans, Inc.; James Hackett, President & CEO, Steelcase, Inc.; D. Gregory Main, CEO, Michigan Economic Development Corp.; Jim Herbert, Chairman & CEO, Neogen Corporation; George Jackson, President & CEO, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation; Thomas Kinnear, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; Josh Linkner, Founder & CEO, ePrize, LLC; Andrew Liveris, Chairman & CEO, Dow Chemical Co.; Mark Murray, President, Meijer, Inc.; Bob Naftaly, Former COO, BCBS; Roger Penske, Chairman & CEO, Penske Corp.; Rich Peters, Managing Director, Transportation Resource Partners; Mary Petrovich, CEO, AxleTech International; Sandra Pierce, President & CEO, Charter One Bank (MI & IN); Rebecca Smith, East Mich. Regional President, Huntington National Bank; and, Ken Whipple, Chairman, CMS Energy.

Contact:
Todd Krieger, gloStream Kelly O'Donnell, Beringea
Phone: 248-227-9167 Phone: 248-489-9000
todd@glostream.com odonnell@beringea.com
Website: http://www.trafficresults.com/click-rabbit.php?acctid=qBEQZwTi3r4=&docid=CL2302227052009-1&redirect=1&url=http://www.glostream.com

CNSG Reaches out to NatureCoast Long-Term Care Facilities..

2009-05-26T09:24:00.003-04:00

Yes CNSG can also handle IT Support for Long-Term Care Facilities! Here is some nationwide news from govhealthit.com to show that EMR money is also available for these facilities!

Long-term care reaches for health IT
By Heather Hayes
Mar 02, 2009
Nursing homes, retirement communities fight for a bigger share of the health IT dollar
Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities always seem to be last on the list of federal and state investment priorities. Health IT is regularly pitted against other vital medical products and services, such as pharmaceutical or staffing, in annual budget battles.
But that hasn’t kept long-term care advocates from pushing to fund health IT for their treatment centers, even as the pressure to cut costs intensifies.
In fact, some federal policymakers think IT investment serves the interest of both budget hawks and nursing doves.
“The focus on health IT has often been on hospitals and physicians, but adoption is happening in nursing homes and, to a lesser extent, assisted living facilities,” says Jennie Harvell, senior policy analyst with the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the Department of Health and Human Services. “Health IT holds real potential for improving long-term care and cutting costs and we’re seeing that demonstrated.”
Harvell estimates that 90 percent of nursing homes are using IT to support administrative activities. In large part, she says, that’s because of a federal mandate – and funding incentive—that requires long-term care centers to transmit certain health and functional status assessment paperwork electronically.
But anecdotal evidence and some local surveys suggest that an increasing number of nursing homes and assisted living facilities are beginning to use health IT for more advanced purposes: to support clinical processes, including patient charting, medication ordering and record-keeping.
One facility, Erickson Retirement Communities, which operates nursing homes and assisted living facilities for 23,000 seniors in eight states, has taken a full-strength approach to high-tech and long-term care.
Dr. William Russell, vice president of clinical informatics for Erickson, and a team of 30 technology specialists have launched an electronic medical record system that has led to improved clinical workflow and data availability for clinical decision support, analytics and quality reporting. The group also has built interfaces for sharing data with local hospitals and providers.
“We’re trying to work on every level to make things better,” Russell said.
When asked if it has paid off, Russell is circumspect. “We’re really at the edge of the value proposition,” he says. “In other words, we’re not seeing a tremendous return on investment for every single thing that we do right now. Instead, we are seeing a roadmap to the future.”
Investing for the Future
For the rest of the long-term care industry to get on the same path, advocates say more public funding is sorely needed. “You really can’t expect a mom-and-pop nursing home or even a small nursing home chain to be able to invest the millions of dollars a year it can take to create a robust IT enterprise,” Russell says.
If any healthcare sector seems tailor-made for more health IT, however, it is long-term senior care.
Its residents typically have multiple disabling chronic illnesses, and take several prescription medications. They are normally treated by a small army of healthcare professionals in myriad care settings. Patients are often shuttled to hospitals, physical therapist offices and other specialists, but frequently arrive without their medical charts or even the most rudimentary health history. And the care, reimbursement and administrative processes are often manual, outdated and fraught with inefficiencies.
“In my opinion, people who require long-term care services are almost poster children for why health IT is so critical,” says Harvell. “They are really the persons who can best demonstrate the value of health IT.”
The demand for long-term care is growing at an unprecedented rate. According to National Health Expenditures data, 1.5 million patients were cared for by 17,000 skilled nursing facilities in 2006, while another 825,000 seniors were residents at assisted living facilities.
But those numbers are expected to skyrocket as the baby boom generation ages. According to Census figures, the population of those 65 and over will grow 40 percent between 2010 and 2030. Meanwhile, the expense of caring for long-term care patients is expected to jump from $177.6 billion in 2006 to $336.5 billion in 2017, with Medicaid and Medicare expected to foot nearly two-thirds of the bill.
Health IT, observers say, can not only help cut these costs significantly, but also provide better clinical care and outcomes even as the number of patients increases. Among the expected benefits: improved care coordination, resulting in less test duplication and medical errors; a decrease in hospital admissions and re-admissions; more informed medication decision-making; and increased patient safety and quality of life.
“The bottom line is that [health IT] will support much-needed quality and continuity of care improvements,” says Harvell.
No EHR, No Money
Nursing homes and assisted living facilities that have invested in health IT have sometimes experienced unexpected advantages. Gary Kelso, president and chairman of Mission Health Services, which in 2008, launched an EMR at its five skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities in Utah and is now completely paperless, says the technology enables his staff to improve the documentation of the services it provides.
As a result, he projects that he’ll be able to increase his Medicaid reimbursement by $300,000 a year.
“We were doing the work already, we were providing the care and doing what we were supposed to do as a nursing caregiver, but if it’s not documented, you don’t get paid for it,” he says. “The EMR provides a platform that makes the staff document [services.] If they don’t document a service that’s in the care plan, the system sends a notification.”
Erickson has been able to reduce the number of falls that residents take by using analytics and decision support tools. For instance, the tools can monitor a patient’s reaction to medications and other treatment types and then reset the dosage of drugs that might affect balance or lucidity. The facilities also have achieved 100 percent compliance with its dose reduction documentation and better compliance with charge coding.
Mark Pavlovich, former chairman of the American Health Care Association’s Health IT Committee, says an important benefit health IT offers nursing home staff and patients is a faster, less frustrating referral system. Today, when a hospital wants to place a patient in the best post-acute care setting, they can spend hours on the phone and faxing placement requests.
With a good information exchange network, Pavlovich says, “a nursing facility could sift through all those referrals and pick the ones that they believe they could help the most and then quickly tell discharge planners at the hospitals, ‘We can take these four patients, but not those five.’ Then they’ll be able to focus their attention on the remaining five patients and get them placed more quickly.”
But for all the benefits, wiring nursing homes and assisted living facilities will be challenging. For one thing, long-term care facilities are fraught with cultural problems involving aging employees. Many prefer paper (most don’t even use a computer in clinical care settings), so training will be necessary, both for staff and administrators. Access also is a hurdle as many nursing homes are located in rural areas that still lack broadband connections. And funding for health IT in long-term care facilities remains limited.
However, progress is being made. Russell says long-term care facilities need to do their part—however small—to begin to prepare for the future.
“People need to go ahead and make a commitment, choose an application carefully, implement it and get their core users to adopt it and get comfortable with its functionality,” he says. “Because the market is going to be coming to long-term care and assisted living facilities with information exchange opportunities. It’s important to be as ready as possible.”
About the Author
Heather Hayes is a freelance writer based in Clifford, Va.

CNSG Staying on top of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act...

2009-05-26T09:20:00.003-04:00

More News....

CCHIT to adapt programs to federal health IT agenda
By John Moore {Courtesy of govhealthit.com}
May 19, 2009
Certification organization to adjust schedule, policy handbook to reflect mandates
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology will put its 2009-2010 programs on hold and update its certification policies in light of guidance contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
CCHIT said today it will defer the launch of its latest certification programs until it has reviewed the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT’s forthcoming standards and certification criteria. ONC will deliver a draft rule containing those items to the Health and Human Services Department by Aug. 26, according to ONC’s plan for complying with ARRA. CCHIT’s certification cycle was set to begin July 1.
Organization officials said their review of the draft rule will ensure that the certification programs conform to ARRA incentive requirements.
The organization is also revising the Certification Handbook to reflect what it termed the expanded applicability of electronic health record certification under ARRA.
Those revisions include the testing of a new program that will certify EHR technologies under a wider range of deployment models. CCHIT officials also said they will provide a more extensive verification of successful implementation and use of commercial products.
The updated handbook is scheduled for release in June or July.
In addition, officials said they have approved the final 2009-2010 criteria for four certification initiatives: ambulatory EHRs, inpatient EHRs, emergency department EHRs and e-prescribing. CCHIT also approved updated criteria for ambulatory add-on options in its child health and cardiovascular medicine categories.
The organization also plans to publish a guide that maps its certification criteria to the characteristics of a qualified EHR system, as outlined in ARRA. The guide will be published May 29 at www.cchit.org.
About the Author
John Moore is a freelance writer based in Syracuse, N.Y.

CNSG Reports more Health IT News!

2009-05-12T10:10:00.003-04:00

CNSG is keeping on the pulse of the new EMR (Electronic Medical Records) initiatives coming out of Federal Government. Here is a great article, courtesy of the Government Health IT newsletter (a HIMSS publication http://govhealthit.com/Home.aspx):

HHS Policy panel meets to set health IT priorities
By Mary Mosquera
May 11, 2009
Stimulus law dictates tight schedule to determine standards for meaningful use, certification and information exchange, Blumenthal says
A high-level committee advising the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT recommended ONC focus its priorities in order to meet the tight timetable for carrying out the terms of the economic stimulus law.
Members of the Health IT Policy Committee, in their first meeting since the panel was formed, agreed ONC should put the resolution of policies surrounding “meaningful use,” health IT certification and health information exchange standards at the top of its agenda.
“We have a lot of work to do in a short period of time,” said Dr. David Blumenthal, national health IT coordinator and the chairman of the committee. “We are charged with instructing what standards we would like them to focus on.”
The policy panel also recommended that the Health IT Standards Committee, a second key ONC advisory group, begin to determine the standards that will be required in those policy areas and how its work should be sequenced. The standards group will meet for the first time May 15.
The committees are on an aggressive schedule to determine policies and standards for rolling out a national health IT plan that was outlined and funded in the economic stimulus legislation.
“If you work back from that time frame, it gives us very little pause in order for designing policy to support the implementation of the meaningful use criteria,” Blumenthal said. “We have to parallel the process for a strategic plan along with getting started."
Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Health and Human Services Department would tie increased Medicare and Medicaid payments to physicians and hospitals based on their “meaningful use” of health IT starting in 2011.
HHS must define meaningful use and develop interim standards to support it in a rule-making process by the end of this calendar year, he said. “We are already behind in creating those standards,” he said.
The policy committee will add work groups to fill out details to each of the three focus areas, he said. For example, the certification group would take on policy challenges in health IT adoption, such as reviewing infrastructure and workforce issues. But some themes would overlap in all three.
“All of them will concern themselves with privacy and patient centered perspectives on health information technology,” Blumenthal said.
ONC must also release by May 18 its vision for creating a training system to help physicians and hospitals learn how to use electronic health records effectively, a critical component for any plan to achieve meaningful use, he said.
Dr. Paul Tang, chief medical officer at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and a member of the policy committee, said Blumenthal appreciates the sense of urgency that is needed to accomplish the provisions of the law.
“Getting a message out at least about direction is, I think, his intent,” he said. “Very quickly he wants to lay out the direction about how he plans to approach meaningful use and the whole idea of certification.”
The law mentions certification, but what to certify and how and where to set the bar is still “an open question,” he said.
The stimulus law called for the creation of the two policy and standards committees to help ONC pick the most effective ways to using the $2 billion allocated to drive the adoption of electronic health records.
The committees are made up of representatives from government, health care providers, insurers, technology vendors, researchers and consumer groups. “We are not so much people focusing on health care technology but people focusing on how to make our health system better,” Blumenthal said.
Two critical components of President Barack Obama’s health care agenda are to increase public access to health care insurance coverage and to improve the health system performance. “Those are completely and intimately interrelated because we cannot achieve our coverage goals unless we achieve our system performance goals,” Blumenthal said.
The short timelines and sense of urgency in health care reflect the administration’s urgency in its other economic challenges, Tang said. “In a sense, we are on the same par of crisis as the rest of the country from an economic point of view and a health status point of view,” he said.
In a related event the same day, the president met with healthcare industry organizations to discuss how to make the health system more efficient, Blumenthal noted.
About the Author
Mary Mosquera is senior editor for Government Health IT. She is based in Washington

New Healthcare IT News!

2009-05-05T08:52:00.003-04:00

(courtesy www.nextgov.com)
Rockefeller introduces health IT bill
CongressDaily 04/24/2009

Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller introduced legislation Thursday that he hopes will facilitate nationwide adoption of electronic health records, particularly among small, rural providers. The bill will build upon the use of so-called "open source" e-health records by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Open source software refers to a computer program with unrestricted source code that does not limit the use or distribution by any organization or user. An open source exchange model was recently expanded among federal agencies through the Nationwide Health Information Network-Connect initiative, according to a Friday press release. The economic stimulus package signed by President Obama earlier this year allotted about $19 billion for health IT.

Rockefeller's measure would create a new panel within the Department of Health and Human Service's Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to direct and oversee formation of this public utility model, its implementation, and operation. It would also implement and administer a new grant program for safety-net providers to cover the full cost of open source software implementation and maintenance for up to five years, with the possibility of renewal for up to five years if required benchmarks are met. Additionally, the bill would ensure interoperability between programs and create a child-specific e-health record to be used in Medicaid, CHIP, and other federal health programs.

"We need advancements in health information technology across the board to improve the quality of care Americans receive," Rockefeller said in a statement. "To make this happen, we need universal access to affordable and interoperable health information technology - from small, rural health clinics to large, urban hospitals." He added that open source software is a cost-effective, proven way to advance health IT. He noted that his bill does not replace commercial software but rather complements private sector investments by making health IT "a realistic option for all providers."

In Summary, CNSG is ready to assist your organization in all aspects of this new IT initiative! In fact, if you are in the healthcare industry (medical, chiropractic, dental) and you need assistance with implementing a new EMR solution, were you aware the the government has over $44,000 for you to help defer the cost???? CNSG (HIPAA Security Certified ) has aligned ourselves to assist providers in implementing certified HIT (Health Information Technology) that qualifies for this FREE money!!

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EMR...quickly coming to the front of the line..

2009-03-16T10:11:00.003-04:00

I am reading alot lately about EMR (Electronic Medical Records).
For example in the TBTF newsletter just today:
Time Magazine highlights Paperfree Tampa as potential national leader in digitization of medical records
A March 14 article published in Time, "The Move to Digital Medical Records Begins in Tampa," talks about the "revolution" that Tampa Bay is staging to make health records in Tampa and St. Petersburg completely paper-free. Led by Mayor Pam Iorio, Congressional representatives, USF Health, Allscripts, and other health care professionals, Paperfree Tampa has the ambitious goal of digitizing every prescription and patient history written not only in the 10-county area surrounding Tampa and St. Petersburg, but also, eventually, in the rest of the country. A press conference will take place in Tampa this morning to further elaborate on the initiative.
The Paperfree Tampa project stands on the shoulders of the regional leadership that succeeded in beating out 90 other markets in the country for a $3M grant from the Center for Community Health Leadership in 2007. David Schlaifer of Doctors' Administrative Solutions in Tampa spearheaded the winning grant application and coordinated leaders from the local health care community to win the award, which delivered free electronic medical records software to dozens of physician practices in the Bay area to help accelerate the adoption of electronic medical records here.

This is a great idea but businesses in the medical arena will need assistance making sure that their current equipment will be able to support this endeavor...
Keeping up with the latest greatest in order to move companies into the future is what we at CNSG do best. I'm looking forward to this new era, however we need to make sure that it is done properly with backups and allowing staff to be efficient, not 'bogged down' by technology.

IT and the Economy

2009-03-06T17:02:00.003-05:00

My husband, Joe and I attended a great presentation this week. It was down in Tampa, put on by the Tampa Bay Tech Forum and presented by IBM. The topic was What is the Road to Economic Recovery? I've never been one to pay attention to financial details of our government but as I've gotten older and now own a business, I listen. The speaker, Philip Swan, IBM's Cheif Economist gave a good layman's description of what has happened to our economy and where he feels it's headed. It was not only good to hear that we will recover but that IT companies are on the leading edge of that recovery. Companies are lean and mean now and need to do more with less. Technology enables companies to do that. Companies like mine also allow businesses to have the advantage of IT expertise without the overhead of payroll and benefits. I'd like people to know that I'm in the right spot and able to assist them.

CNSG & the Medical Industry

2009-02-24T10:59:00.006-05:00

Here's a blurb I saw in the tbtf.org newsletter:
Funding for Health Information Technology
ARRA includes $19 billion in funding to promote the development and implementation of interoperable Health Information Technology (HIT). The $2 billion in discretionary funds and $17 billion in investments and incentives through Medicare and Medicaid will be used to improve the quality of medical care in the U.S. and create jobs in the information technology sector. The effort will be overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT).
Several new grant and loan programs will provide incentives for the use of HIT. Funding will be made available through many DHHS agencies to build HIT architecture, EHR usage among non-Medicare/Medicaid providers, HIT training and education, telemedicine, interoperable clinical data repositories, privacy technology and best practices and HIT use at public health departments. The department will also spend $300 million to support regional health information exchanges.

Interesting that this came up as just last week when I was in Tallahassee with the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce for their Legislative Day; I sat next to Holly Benson, the Florida Secretary of the Agency for Health Care during lunch. As an IT person we were discussing things not only regarding Small Business Healthcare, but also HIPAA and EMR.

CNSG became HIPAA Security Certified last year and now that there is an initiative for all physicians to implement EMR (Electronic Medical Records), I will be reaching out to the local medical community to let them know that we can assist them with this project. We already have several clients in the medical industry so we have experience with the different aspects of healthcare and IT.

Isn't it funny how IT is not just an acronym anymore but it resides in the core business functions of even our healthcare system now!

Great article on using WiFi Hotspots...

2009-02-02T09:46:00.002-05:00

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/020209-wireless-hotspots.html?ts0hb&story=ts_hotspot

What a difference....

2009-01-26T11:32:00.003-05:00

I preach to my clients about implementing tools to help their business work better with less. Sometimes it's a painful process, as money is hard to find these days and the technology tools aren't always cheap. As for my business, It's hard to practice what I preach as I'm so busy working I tend to ignore the needs of my office. But I finally took a step, not to have my staff as the cobbler's children. I finally invested in a good phone system. I implemented Fonality through Dell http://dell.fonality.com/. So far I'm very excited about this product. For an IT person, way easy to install and program. Their support has been awesome.

What a difference...Now I have extensions, voicemail, forwarding to cell phone, voicemail messages coming to my cell phone, VIP call forwarding and so much more..

The system will grow with my business..My staff loves it. I can have extensions at their houses too so if they have to work from home we can reach them seamlessly for our clients.

New Year's resolution...to keep staff happy, because happy staff = happy clients...

First time for everything....

2009-01-21T10:27:00.004-05:00

As a person who is supposed to be up to date on the 'latest greatest' I had never ventured into the blog world until now..So here it goes...

I hope to reach out to not only my current clients but people who are trying to run their small/mid-sized business the best way they know how. We are all in the same boat right now..how do we do more with less? The only true answer is IT. The tools that are out there right now for businesses is overwhelming. Even for me, the IT advisor, it's tough to keep up. I have to live and breathe it every day. That's the only way to help my clients.

So as I learn about new technologies that can assist a business owner, I will do my best to post it here. I have a great group of friends in the business that are wonderful resources and I will point you to them as well.

So hold on, as this rural community moves closer to the computer age...