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About the Customer

ROS is a state of the art cancer treatment center serving the metro Atlanta area with 6 locations.  Their cutting edge facilities treat over 2000 patients annually while maintaining top level care. 

Radiation Oncology Services

“Before we met with CentriNet, we had no way of accessing our electronic medical records within patient exam rooms. The solution needed to have simple fast access the patient’s e-chart as well as providing patient privacy.

Since CentriNet helped us implement their Smart Access solution, we now have a secure and simple way of accessing a patient record in and out of the exam rooms.  In addition, by going to Thin Clients and smart cards, we’re saving both time and money managing the end user devices, and have added a very important layer of security for our patient data.”

- Greg Wilson, Director of IT, Radiation Oncology Solutions

Key Benefits of CentriNet’s Deployment of Citrix SmoothRoaming™

• Simple, fast access to the patient’s e-Charts
• HIPAA compliant security for patient data
• Eliminated need for multiple logins and passwords to be remembered by clinicians, allowing more time for patient interaction
• Tremendous cost savings and elimination of down time due to thin clients vs. PC’s as workstations in exam rooms and nursing stations

The Challenge 

In the fast-paced atmosphere of the hospital, doctors and nurses are constantly jumping on and off various computer workstations throughout the facility to retrieve and update patient information, sometimes as often as 40 times each day. But with no time to log off each time they leave the computer to visit with a patient or attend to another task, users would often walk away from their workstations without disconnecting – leaving them open to major security risks. With HIPAA and other security requirements growing more stringent each day, the hospital needed to find a way to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of the information being accessed. At the same time, it was critical not to bog down the hospital’s doctors and nurses with a lengthy logon/logoff process that required multiple passwords and various steps.

The Solution

After reviewing the clinic’s specific challenges and needs, CentriNet spearheaded the development of a solution designed to automate the process of connecting users to the information they needed – and disconnecting them quickly when their session was complete.  The solution focused on creating unique sessions for each user that could automatically “follow” them to the next workstation – eliminating the need to both log off the previous computer, and log into the new one.

At the heart of the solution was the Citrix Xenapp Platinum Product, featuring SmoothRoaming and Hot Desktop. Citrix delivers functionality to any kind of terminal (thin client, laptop, Cart on Wheels, desktop, etc.), while also allowing for a single sign-on (Password Manager) and VPN security with the Access Gateway.

The Citrix solution is extended through a thin-client interface at each workstation. Data and information is stored on a central server, and accessed directly through the thin client, which also offers an integrated smart card reader and easy-to-use management tools. In addition, CentriNet equipped the hospital with Gemalto smart cards and readers to provide universal access for users at any workstation, from any location within the facility. This created a “Hot Desktop” functionality that allows for instant logon/logoff capability, with the card adding an additional layer of physical authentication and security.

The Benefits

Today, the clinic’s practitioners log in once in the morning, and work seamlessly throughout the day by inserting their Gemalto smart cards into the readers and/or thin client stations anywhere in the facility. When they change locations, they simply pull out their card, which leaves their session in a “disconnected state” – while locking down the workstation and keeping it fully secure. This automated disconnect process guarantees the security of each workstation, ensuring that users are logged off 100% of the time. It also offers the two-factor authentication that is required for the hospital to comply with current HIPAA standards. At the next workstation, users can re-insert the card, and pull up the screen that they were working on last.

By implementing CentriNet’s recommended solution, the login process has been reduced to mere seconds – enabling them to spend less time on the computer, and more time with their patients. In addition, with instant access to their last open session, the hospital’s practitioners can easily walk away from a workstation to be with a patient, then return and pick up exactly where they last left off. This has improved efficiency and productivity throughout the hospital.

 “Our team brought deep Citrix expertise to the project, with an average of more than ten years of experience as well as certification as a Citrix Platinum Solutions Advisor,” said Keith Paschall, President of CentriNet. “Ultimately, we were able to seamlessly and successfully integrate a number of different technologies into a single, cohesive solution that effectively addressed the client’s needs – while delivering the ease of use its end users demanded.”

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