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USB2 External drives, flash memory, 'cruzer', etc and ideas for HIPAA compliant security for your data files containing confidential patient informationAll of these 'USB2' devices are the same as far as the Stratford program is concerned and we will use various names interchangeably. When you plug in the device, Windows will automatically recognize it and assign a drive letter to it. When you use the drive letter, it will work the same as your C: drive. Use it like the hard drive that is inside your computer - desktop or laptop. The USB2 device can be shared and used on a network. It is not mysterious. It is simply a different type of storage. We have tested several solutions like this. You can purchase a 2gb flash memory card at Costco or Walmart or Best Buy for under $100. This is plenty of storage for you to install the Stratford program and data files for a group of physicians for many years. You can simply unplug it from the office computer and take it home and plug into your home computer. You will not need to install anything on your home computer. The program will run as-is. It is portable and can be plugged into any Windows computer and will run without being installed (Of course, you do need to install the program one time on the device). You should know that the program may not perform as fast on a USB2 device depending on your hardware. In our tests, it was at least as fast as a hard drive if you use a USB2 port. You could leave your program on the hard drive (C:) and copy to the USB2 device in order to take it off site. For example, a doctor could take the patient information home every night or to the hospital. It would probably work on any Windows computer such as one at the hospital or your personal laptop with no special installation. As long as you don't forget to take your USB2 device with you, there should not be a problem with confidentiality. Another option is to use True Crypt or similar product to create a 'virtual disk' on the USB2 device and you would have ultimate portability and encryption that should be fully HIPAA compliant - we hope you understand that there is no way anyone at Stratford can guarantee the safety of your data - it depends on you. We have tested the Cruzer flash memory, Maxtor 'One Touch' External drive and Seagate External hard drive. As an additional test, we purchased a 'generic' USB2 external drive enclosure from CompUSA for about $20.00 and installed a 120 gb hard drive that we had laying around. It worked perfectly. Windows will automatically recognize these devices and set them up with a drive letter. When you install the Stratford program simply change the default 'C' to 'X' (or whatever letter) and install as usual. If your programs are now on the C: drive, you can copy them to the external drive and they will work without installation. Copy C:\ssiwin and all the subdirectories. To create an icon on your desktop, use the Windows explorer and navigate to, and double click on X:\Stratford\ssiwin\0\shortcutsetup.exe. You will get a desktop icon and be ready to login. (X: is whatever letter you need to use for the external drive). If you are using your Stratford program and data on a foreign computer and you do not want an icon, simply double click on X:/Stratford/ssiwin/0/stratford.exe to start the program. You will be able to use the printer that is installed on the computer. Remember, if you are using a copy of the data, nothing you enter will be on the permanent copy of the data that you left at the office. To avoid losing/corrupting your data, you must log off the Stratford program before you reset your computer, turn off the power, or unplug the USB2 device. There is a special procedure you must follow in order to unplug the USB2 device. If you forget, be sure to have a recent backup. Regardless of the discussion above, we believe you should have a permanent backup on CD/DVD at least daily. There is no substitute for a recent backup. In other words, an external USB2 device is not an acceptable substitute for a CD/DVD backup. You can use a tape backup if you want, but we will not be able to read it or help you restore your data. Also, remember that a tape is not permanent. Click here for more information about security that Stratford recommends. Please send any feedback to support@stratfordsoftware.com. |
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