Microsoft has announced that as of Oct. 22, it would no longer sell Windows XP installed on notebooks. This is a milestone event. Initially released in late 2001, Windows XP is undoubtedly the most popular operating system ever, with over 400 million installed copies by mid-2005 (according to www.w3schools.com).
Windows XP is being replaced by Windows 7, which was released worldwide in mid-2009.
This does not mean that Windows XP will stop working. It merely means that if you buy new workstations or laptops, they will not come with Windows XP, they will come with Windows 7.
What are the implications to a surgery center manager?
First, you will no longer be able to buy new workstations or laptops with Windows XP; they will come with some version of Windows 7. So that means you may soon be faced with supporting two different operating systems. That isn't a showstopper, but it is preferable to have just one operating system platform in a business because it makes for easier support and causes fewer user issues. For example, if an employee who typically uses XP has to switch temporarily to a Windows 7 machine, they may not know how to do some routine tasks.
Second, the software systems you use in the surgery center — scheduling, billing, electronic records, materials management, etc. — may not yet be certified to run on Windows 7. So you should check with your primary software vendors and "encourage" them to get on board with Windows 7, since Windows 7 has been out for over a year and since XP will no longer be available for new purchase.
Is Windows 7 "ready for primetime?"
The short answer is yes. Unlike Vista, which had a product launch that was about as popular as New Coke, Windows 7 is stable, fast and probably has had the fewest issues of any new Windows version ever. (To be fair, many of the issues with Vista had to do with the huge increase in required RAM, which most systems did not have, and the fact that many software and peripheral vendors had not made Vista-ready systems by the time Vista was really launched. So most of the problems had more to do with hardware and external interfaces, not with Vista itself. But Microsoft, being the big/bad established company, had a huge PR nightmare on their hands.)
Should you upgrade all your systems to Windows 7?
You don't need to, at least not right away. Windows XP will continue to have user support and periodic upgrades/patches (known as service packs) for at least two more years. But at some point you will need to consider upgrading to Windows 7, so you should work with your IT staff or outside IT provider to develop a migration plan so you can do it in an orderly fashion, with appropriate timing and budgeting.
Can this mess be avoided by getting a Mac?
You can certainly get a Mac, but that trades one set of issues for another. Apple is completely different in both hardware and software, so you would be supporting disparate technology platforms within the ASC. Apple has done a very good marketing job convincing people that its systems do not suffer from the common issues of Microsoft, including operating systems' upgrades. That is incorrect, because they have had 10 versions of their operating system, including seven distinct versions of Mac OS X. Plus there is very little client/server software that runs on a Mac. The easy way around that issue is to install Windows on a Mac, but then you have converted that Mac into a PC, with all the software vulnerabilities you were supposedly trying to avoid, and at a much higher price to boot.
Lastly, regardless of whether you continue to use XP or upgrade to Windows 7, you should never use any version of XP or Windows 7 with the word "home" in the title. Those operating systems are designed for home users, and do not contain the proper security and other functionality dictated by IT best practices and required by HIPAA Security.
In summary, check with your software vendors, develop a plan to migrate to Windows 7, and always follow industry best practices using trained and experienced IT professionals.
Marion K. Jenkins, PhD, FHIMSS, is founder and CEO of QSE Technologies, which provides IT consulting and implementation services for ASCs and other medical facilities nationwide. Learn more about QSE Technologies at www.qsetech.com.