As a service to our Customers, NPC provides a means by which you can access your physicist reports plus a number of other useful files via the Internet.  Have you ever been in the middle of a state or MQSA inspection, and you suddenly realize you are missing a physicist report, continuing education documentation, calibration reports, etc.?  When that happens, all you have to do is log on to our server, and you will have immediate access to everything you need.

Using the Server

Of course the first thing you'll need is a logon account.  You'll choose a user name and password.  Contact your consultant or the webmaster, Bob Kobistek, at 888-456-5255.

There are two ways to access your files, through an ftp server and via a web-based server.  To access the web-based server, simply go back to the File Access page of this website and click "Web-based" in the navigation bar on the left.  The web-based server is new, so if you've been using our ftp server up until now, you may not have immediate access to the server.  Contact our webmaster to set up an account.

The ftp server is a little trickier.  If you are familiar with accessing files using ftp, then all you need to know is that the address is ftp://ftp.nationalphysics.com.  If you're new to ftp -- FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol.  It is a method for moving files across the Internet.  The most straightforward way to use ftp is to install a dedicated ftp client.  But you can also access ftp using Windows Explorer.

When we initially introduced our ftp service, we were recommending using Microsoft's Internet Explorer.  Unfortunately, beginning with IE version 7, IE began displaying ftp sites differently -- in a manner that is incompatible with the architecture of our ftp site.  If you do get into our ftp site through Internet Explorer 7 or above, you will see a line that says something like, "To view this FTP site in Windows Explorer, click Page, and then click Open FTP Site in Windows Explorer."  Or on some versions it says to click Page then something else.  This is one way to get to the ftp site, but it sure takes a lot of extra steps.

Instead, you could just click on your Start menu (lower left corner of the screen) then open Windows Explorer.  You'll probably have to click "all programs," and Windows Explorer might be located in your Accessories folder.  Once you have WE open, simply type the address ftp://ftp.nationalphysics.com into the space called "address."

At any time, if you have any file folder open, you can also type ftp://ftp.nationalphysics.com into the address field, and you're there!

Typical Problems

At this time, the most frequently encountered problem is that some of our existing users are still using our old address.  We have fielded a number of support calls for this reason. Our old address was ftp://ftp.npc-link.com.  A few years ago, we switched our domain to nationalphysics.com, but we left the old one intact for a while.  In late 2010, we terminated our old address.  Now the only way you can get into our ftp server is through ftp://ftp.nationalphysics.com. 

The second most frequently encountered problem is due to your own local network security.  Many hospital networks have firewalls that block the access of ftp sites.  If you think this might be the case, contact your IT department.

Of course the third most frequently encountered problem is that the user misplaces or forgets the login information.  If this happens, just contact Bob at BKobistek@nationalphysics.com or by phone at 888-456-5255, and he'll set you up with a new password.  If you're using the web-based server, you can just click "Forgot password," and your information will be sent to you by Email.  And on the web server, you can change your password at any time.