 |
|
|
|
Industry
|
|
Healthcare
|
|
Customer
|
|
Oxford Physical Therapy Centers
|
Product
|
|
Ericom AccessNow®
|
Challenges
|
|
- Provide a centralized system with which to provide employees access to all desktop software from any office location
- Integrate the use of Chromebooks and other devices to allow management, physical therapists and personnel leverage mobility to deliver better patient care
- Centralize the company's PTOS specialized business software and other Windows applications across 14 locations, enabling "anywhere access" to patient information from an array of devices
|
Solutions
|
|
- Employ Ericom's AccessNow and Blaze technology in order to allow employees to access desktop applications from any office location.
|
|
Benefits
- Managers, physical therapists and office personnel can access Windows applications and other software from any office location using Wyse terminals and Chromebooks
- Technology requires no endpoint configuration or regular IT maintenance, thus saving Oxford money and time while proving simple to manage across multiple office locations
- Blaze technology creates an efficient user experience by providing lightning fast browsing capabilities from all HTML5-compliant browsers
"After integrating AccessNow, everything is now browser-based. ...The process is seamless."
Floyd Wagers, Owner,
TCG Communications
Background
OXFORD PHYSICAL THERAPY CENTERS is a physical therapist-owned company that has been providing progressive physical therapy care since 1993. Oxford leads in musculoskeletal healthcare by serving, rehabilitating, and caring for its patients. Oxford also engages in public education and professional advancement by participating in seminars and other community events. Throughout 14 locations in both Ohio and Kentucky, approximately 100 employees aim to provide physical therapy care of the highest standards. Oxford physical therapists cater to patients by diagnosing and treating issues such as arthritis and body pain with treatments including Aquatic Physical Therapy and Soft Tissue Mobilization. Oxford also specializes in treating athletes and provides services such as Golf Fitness and Kinesio taping.
Oxford uses Physical Therapy Office System (PTOS) in order to perform daily business functions such as scheduling, billing, patient notetaking, reporting and electronic documentation. As a company specializing in vital health services, it is important that Oxford employees at all levels, including managers, physical therapists and other office personnel, have consistent access to all software applications necessary to provide the highest level of care to patients from any location, at any time.
However, each Oxford office location had its own installed PTOS that could only be accessed from the location where it was installed; employees could not access their documents, applications or desktop features outside of the office. Additionally, Oxford wanted to integrate the use of Chromebooks as thin clients. Oxford Physical Therapy Centers needed to find a way to use one centralized system that would allow employees to access their desktops and applications remotely and with ease from a variety of devices.
Integrating Ericom AccessNow
In order to put in place a system that would allow employees to have remote access to PTOS, Microsoft Office Suite, and other applications, Oxford reached out to IT service provider TCG Communications for assistance. Oxford was interested in finding an HTML RDS client with enterprise-grade products and found that Ericom, as an alternative to Citrix and others, was a perfect fit for their needs.
Ericom's AccessNow now lets users at Oxford access Windows, applications and their desktops from any HTML5-compliant browser. "After integrating AccessNow, everything is now browser-based. From their Chromebooks and Wyse terminals, users simply open up a browser and can log in to PTOS and other applications. The process is seamless," said Floyd Wagers, the owner of TCG Communications.
In addition to other thin client terminals that make applications and desktop features available in any office location, AccessNow has allowed Oxford to integrate almost 50 Chromebooks into its IT environment. These Chromebooks can be used securely both in-network, using the AccessNow server, and out-of-network, through the Ericom Secure Gateway Server, by physical therapists and managers.
Ease of Use
AccessNow was easy to set up and took under two hours to deploy to all office locations. In fact, there was no install at all for the client; clients need only log in on a webpage to get connected. In addition to saving Oxford the time and frustration that often comes with a complicated installation process, AccessNow also provides convenience because it allows all locations to function without maintenance on endpoint devices. In addition to providing ease and convenience, the lack of IT installation and maintenance services saves Oxford money.
"We wanted to use Chromebooks as thin clients," stated Wagers. "Because these devices do not have an installable operating system, we needed a clientless install. AccessNow's support of HTML5 out-of-the-box made it easy to deploy."
Ericom's Blaze technology has also improved Oxford's business function by accelerating remote browser functions. In addition to accessing software applications and Windows, Oxford employees need to regularly render files as PDFs and access training tutorial videos. In the past, Oxford employees experienced issues such as choppy scrolling functionality and slow video playback speeds. Ericom's unique Blaze technology creates a reliable and fast user experience.
The transition to AccessNow has been so smooth that most users don't even realize that they're benefitting from it on a daily basis. Many employees at Oxford are unaware that, when they use their computers, they're actually using a remote system and that their Windows, applications and other software are stored in a data center in Chicago rather than on their physical devices.
Moving Forward
In addition to Chromebooks, Oxford also plans to integrate tablets like the Microsoft Surface Pro into its IT environment.
Ericom's AccessNow will also enable Oxford to install and use voiceover IP phone software on all Chromebooks. This software will allow employees to participate in video conferences and voice calls both in and out of network from within a browser. This allows personnel to connect with patients or collaborate with colleagues in the same or different office as well as other remote locations.
Following the success of Ericom's AccessNow and Blaze technology in its office locations, Oxford Physical Therapy Centers hopes to implement a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) campaign. In the near future and in partnership with Ericom, Oxford aims to integrate this program to allow employees to use their own devices in the office just as they would the Wyse terminals or Chromebooks that already allow Oxford employees to provide excellent care to their patients.
GO TO TOP
