Doctors who are making changes to technology in their offices or accessing a new private wide area network (the private physician network: PPN) are encouraged to contact the Doctors Technology Office for technical support focused on understanding the PPN and how to maximize performance issues and reduce security risks. The PPN is a private wide area network managed by BC Clinical and Support Services. A private network allows greater control, security, and reliability than a standard Internet connection.

Common technical frustrations that doctors encounter are often related to connectivity issues. For example, setting up a wireless router without a complete understanding of what the PPN can do will introduce performance anomalies such as random disconnection to your EMR vendor. Sharing your private network with patients may also expose the network to security issues. For more information about how to optimize PPN performance, visit www.doctorsofbc.ca/technical-bulletins [9].