Good luck. Access is an excellent way to organize data and report on it. It doesn't make for a good distribution platform due to the issues of security and intellectual property.
What I have found though (I have products sold to the "public") is that businesses are not inclined to "share" your database with others. It's not like a game or utility. Hey, Sam, I just got this cool new game, wanna try it? So, if you include a good confidentiality agreement drawn up by a lawyer and use the techniques you can learn here about locking the database, you can get pretty far with keeping the FE safe from tinkering. I never lock the BE though because that is data and the data belongs to the client. There are some ways to protect it from accidents and the client needs to be religious about backups though. Usually doctor's offices have some type of IT support so if you sell/lease it with a custom install, you can ensure that it gets installed properly and the backups are set up. You would also need to provide some level of training and support so although starting on this journey by yourself is feasible but unless you have room in your life for a second day job, at some point, you'll want to turn this over to some one with a little experience or you'll become tech support instead of Dr. No.
I would also worry about HIPPA requirements if the data you are keeping falls under their purview. You might not be able to use ACE as the BE because if anyone has direct access to the folder that holds the BE, they can simply copy the BE and crack it at their leisure. So, you might need SQL Server anyway and that becomes a bigger problem. There are other options such as a web app but if you host the data, then YOU get to deal with HIPPA.
One of my semi-custom apps is used to audit insurance plan members to ensure that they are eligible. The app is used by two classes of companies. One is third party brokers who perform audits as their business so the app is designed to work for their business model but we also have large clients who are self-insured so they care very much who they are paying to cover. They tend to audit some percentage of their employees each year rather than doing all of them every year. One of the clients sends me a 20 page questionnaire every January. I can hardly wait
It is a document that they ask all their software providers to fill out each year as part of their diligence in closing security holes. Luckily since this particular client uses the SQL Server BE, it isn't my job to secure their data so I can skip most of the questions.
I deliberately do not keep any sensitive data in the app so if the BE database were stolen, they would have names and addresses of the members but no confidential information about them so the app is sold to work either with ACE (Access) or SQL Server BE's. I even did a custom install for one client who wanted the BE to be Oracle.
