The billing coordinator wants to work claims from home two days a week, and the owner wants to see the schedule on Sunday night. Both need a way into Eaglesoft, which is a Windows program talking to a SQL Anywhere database on the office server. There are four routes.
What are the options?
| Option | What it is | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Remote Desktop to a workstation | Your laptop shows the screen of a PC in the office | One person, occasional use |
| Terminal server | A Windows server several people share over Remote Desktop | A remote billing coordinator, or several part-time staff |
| VPN | Your laptop joins the office network and runs Eaglesoft itself | Technical offices; slow in practice |
| Hosted server | A provider runs the Eaglesoft server in a data centre and everyone connects the same way | Groups, or any office tired of a server closet |
Which one should I pick?
Remote Desktop to a workstation is what most offices already have because the IT company set it up for support. It works for one person at a time. The danger is how it is exposed. If the Remote Desktop port is forwarded on the office router to the internet, it will be scanned and attacked within days. Remote Desktop should sit behind a VPN or a gateway that requires a second factor.
A terminal server is the standard answer once two or more people need access. One licensed Windows server runs Eaglesoft for everyone who connects, and each person has their own session and login.
A VPN on its own is tempting because it looks simple. In practice Eaglesoft over a VPN is slow. The program reads from the database constantly and every read crosses your home connection. Most IT providers put Remote Desktop over the VPN instead, so only the screen travels.
A hosted server removes the office server. The provider handles backups, updates and the server itself. The office then depends entirely on its internet connection, so a second line or a mobile backup becomes part of the cost.
What makes it safe?
- One login per person. Shared logins mean the audit under Utilities shows the same name on every change, which makes it useless when you need it.
- A second factor on the VPN, gateway or hosted desktop. A password on its own is not enough for a system holding PHI.
- No open Remote Desktop port. Ask your IT provider in those words: “Is 3389 open on the router?” The answer should be no.
- Session timeouts. A home laptop left logged into the office server is a PHI exposure every time someone else sits down.
- A Business Associate Agreement with the hosting provider and the IT company, because both can reach the database.
- Backups you have tested. The night you need them is a bad night to find out the restore does not work.
Do you need the whole program from home?
Usually the Sunday night question is not “let me post a claim”. It is three things. What did we produce this week. Who is on tomorrow’s schedule and are they confirmed. Did anything odd happen with money.
A billing coordinator needs the full program. An owner checking in does not. For the owner, a read-only view of the numbers on a phone is less work, less risk and no VPN.
What Calibic adds
Dashboards and the Daily Huddle are LIVE, and Eaglesoft coverage is partial. A small read-only agent runs on the office server, reads transactions_header, appointment, patient and provider over a read-only connection, and sends the figures to Calibic over an encrypted connection. You open Calibic in a browser on any device. There is no Remote Desktop session and no patient chart on your home screen. Protect alerts arrive the same way, so a voided $310 payment on Wednesday is in front of you that evening. Figures whose meaning on Eaglesoft is not yet verified show as not available, and the Coverage page lists which checks run.
Calibic cannot change a record and is not a way to post payments or book appointments from home. Calibic is built for HIPAA, and a Business Associate Agreement is sent with every sign up.
See the evening view on the Dashboards product page. If the thing you want from home is the day’s numbers, the Eaglesoft dashboard guide explains what the built-in screen shows and misses. What the agent reads is on the Eaglesoft integration page.