Frequently Asked Questions and Queries

• What should I do before contacting support?
• I have an Interface problem, what should I do?
• What is an upgrade and how long will it take?
• What are Single User Version and Network Version?
• I want to connect to my office system from home, is this possible?
• What do I need to know about backups?
• How to make the most out of the Instant Online Support.

What should I do before contacting support?

For the sake of providing you with the quickest support possible please ensure that the points below are followed before you contact our customer support team.

Refreshing ECHO VNC

Echo VNC is a secure, remote desktop tool that we use to connect to our clients for technical support matters. Before contacting customer support please ensure that your EchoVNC connection has been refreshed. To do this, please follow these instructions.

Go to START and then RUN.

Type in SERVICES.MSC

You will see a list of services. Scroll down until you find EchoVNC.

LEFT CLICK and then RIGHT CLICK on EchoVNC.

Then LEFT CLICK on RESTART.

If EchoVNC has not been installed on your computer before or you have a new workstation please contact the support team through the online chat and we will happily install it for you. It will take us under 5 mins.

Administrator Login

Before you contact customer support or before any issue to be addressed by our technicians on your system please ensure that all the workstations are logged in under the ADMINISTRATOR. This is because other user logins do not have the same rights as the ADMINISTRATOR and therefore our technicians may not be able to finish the task accordingly, and in worst cases might need to start over again.

I have an Interface problem what should I do?

Please note that if there is an alert saying "Interface error in Praxis" or "Missing Data" then please contact the support team via the Online Chat and they will quickly help you solve this problem.

If you have another interface problem then please contact the support team but try to have the following information ready:

Which is the interface that is failing?

A client can have more than six different interfaces running at the same time. It is very helpful if you can identify the interface so we can restore it as quickly as possible.

Connection.
Please ensure there is a connection with the server via EchoVNC and the Administrator is logged in. (Please see above). If the issue involves an interface with X-Link please ensure the machine has a connection and an Administrator log-in as well.

Contact information.
Please have the contact information for the technician in charge of the interface for the respective software company. It is helpful if you can provide us with the email address as we might need to exchange files.

What is the directory from which the information is being exported from the other software?
We will need to know the computer name and folder of where the files are being generated on the system. If you don't know this information please either contact your representative from the software company or with the contact information we will find out for you.

What is an upgrade and how long will it take?

An upgrade occurs if you want your system to be working on the latest and most up to date Praxis software release. To schedule an upgrade please contact our support team and they will schedule the upgrade for the earliest possible time.

The length of time it takes to perform an upgrade depends on several factors. The most prominent being the distance between your current update and the update you want to be upgraded to.

For example: An upgrade from 2.19 to 4.12 will take longer than an upgrade from 4.11 to 4.12. (Please notice that the first number e,g, 4.12 relates to the version, and the second number relates to the update, e.g. 4.12)

Another factor that influences the time taken for the upgrade is the speed of the hard disk and its transfer of bytes per second.

Please contact the support team for more information regarding this.

What are Single User Version and Network Version?

Single User Version can be used for solo practitioners or first time users who want to get used to the program before switching to the network version. The Single User version can also be used for training and at home.

Network Version is used for a clinic with more than one practicioner or user. For example there maybe receptionists, nurses, group assistants etc. as well as a number of physcians. Each user has their own login information and the system is constantly updated as information is entered.

Important Single User Version backup.

An important aspect to remember about the single user version is to always keep an eye on the size of its database. The Single User Version users the Microsoft Access Database and this database has a limit of 2GB. If your database goes over the size of 2GB then there is a chance the backup will become corrupted and important information can be lost. If the database is becoming close to 2GB contact our support team and they will be happy to schedule you to a Network Version. This will have no difference to the way you use Praxis it will just mean that an Oracle database will be used instead of Microsoft Access. The transfer from a Single User Version to a Network Version in this case will take roughly 2 hours.

I want to connect to my office system from home, is this possible?

Yes this can be easily set up. We recommend using terminal services or otherwise called Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). This will provide a stable connection to the server in your office and you will be able to access Praxis as if using one of the office workstations.

Can I use VPN?
VPN (Virtual Private Network) is not recommended to use to connect to your office system. Although it is arguably more secure than RDP it is very weak and the connection is unstable.

There is an option for using RDP over VNP to get the best of both types of connection. For more information on how to set this up please email: support@praxisemr.com

What do I need to know about backups?

If you would like our technicians to set up your backup for a time of your choice our technicians will be happy to arrange this for you so please contact our support team via the online chat

If you would like your own technician to do this for you these are our recommendations:
We recommend using professional Software Backup systems for the Praxis database. Most of our customers have had good results with DAT/Tape device systems, for the following reasons:

1. The DAT/Tape can handle large amount of data and the Praxis database will grow with time.
2. It is a stable and very reliable system that has been on the market for years.

Prices of these devices are reasonable. The Praxis database will be an average of 5 GB of space in hard drive, therefore a DAT/Tape of 12/24 GB is suggested.

Note: These kinds of backup system are required due to the robust nature of your medical database over time. The backup performed by an Oracle system with Praxis data is called an 'offline backup'. The backup systems named above will automatically take Oracle offline and make a safe copy of all Praxis data after office hours. There are alternative brands that support this procedure, however the programs named above are those which Praxis technical support have tested extensively.

Another type of back-up is the HOT backup. This backup exports information inside the database to a file with an extension dump file. This is a valid backup and means the office can still work on Praxis however any information entered while the backup is occurring will not be added to that backup. For more information please email the support team: support@inform-med.com

In any case if you already have a backup system in place our technicians can add Praxis to that backup system. Once again please email the support team for more information.
The recommended systems that have been tested with the Praxis network database are:

• VERITAS Backup ExecT for Windows Servers -https://www.veritas.com(no need to buy Oracle agents)

BrightStor ARCserv Backup -http://www3.ca.com

Note: These backup systems sometimes offer special software agents to handle Oracle databases. It is not necessary to buy them.Praxis takes care of the selective data extraction for secure backups.

How to make the most out of the Instant Online Support.

We are happy to say that our Online Support mechanism is working extremely effectively. In order for you to reach our support team even faster please create a desktop shortcut by following these simple steps:

Right click anywhere on your desktop.

Scroll down to NEW and then SHORTCUT

A box will appear. Please copy and paste this link into the white box: https://www.praxisemr.com/livesupport

Click NEXT

Name the shortcut – Praxis Live Support

click FINISH.

You now have a shortcut on your desktop. Whenever you need to contact support all you need to do is click on the shortcut and follow the instructions.