Therefore, it is no surprise that the installation and maintenance of reliable computer system is a huge concern for a physician.

While a PC based network has been the backbone of a physicians practice for many years, recently, many doctors have been considering switching to thin clients. Thin clients are devices that replace desktop and laptop computers for easy,  low cost access to the web, and other applications; they provide the same benefits as a PC, but with fewer moving parts as a PC.

One of the major advantages to a thin client system is that less technical support is necessary. With PCs, each is unique. Each new PC then requires more then just being plugged in; it has to be configured and connected to the network and peripherals. Since a thin client works directly off the server, it is plugged in at the desktop and the terminal is ready to be used.

A thin client has all the applications a stored on the server. Access can be granted on a user-by-user basis. If a user needs to be added, it as simple as creating a user profile. Then the user is granted access to only the items that are appropriate for their duties.

The thin client functions just like a regular PC in terms of feel and response time. Users report that applications may even run faster.

The most important feature of the thin client is no hard drive or memory comes into play at the desktop. Everything is stored on the server.