For the most part I whole heartedly agree with everything that has been said in the last few posts. My one real objection has always been lease verses ownership, right to continue from any given date forward to still be allowed, perhaps with support limited or terminated, the actual program itself under the original terms and conditions, in the number of legally last purchased licenses (which Jon and AC are some of the most generous of in this entire business, medical or otherwise). In this way if both parties, AC and the licensed user, decide to part ways, then that user can continue to use the program that he/she originally purchased.
Again my tools to create intellectual property position I think speaks for itself. MS creates programs that then allow folks like Jon, AC to use to create tools (programs and software like AC, QuickBooks, Word Perfect) for end users like ourselves, AC's customers. Restricting Jon's, AC's access to such programs unjustly would not only punish AC but any and all users and patients down the entire food chain. AC is Jon's intellectual property and he should have a protected right to fix, update and care for and to contiue to use and sell this program that he created with these MS tools.
Then we the end users use AC itself as a tool to then create what is by most legal opinions a form of mutually held intellectual property and what in many cases will become a legal document, and patient's chart. These charts we create using the tool that Jon, AC sold are our intellectual property as well as that of any given patient whose chart was created in our tool, AC. Again, any form of limitation to access to the chart and to be able to continue to build and grow that chart is not acceptable. They are ours and our patients' charts and many of us are now importing labs, running ECG's, scans, scanned documents and other items into other sections of these charts as well. I think it would be a nightmare to have to separate out and recompile in a HIPPA compliant manor all of these items, no less the data in the charts themselves, such as growth charts, vitals, vaccines and meds and all the other things that we use AC for every day.
I just feel that if AC and a user decide to part ways, then that user should still be able to "fly without a net" so to say, and continue using the program, understanding there is no more support or responsibility on the part of AC and Jon. And I certainly hope that Jon and AC are allowed to protect their intellectual property to the fullest and I would be one of the first in line to assist Jon in doing so if such a situation were to ever occure where someone was blantantly abusing the their rights to use the program or bootlegging it. As an academic, a man of science,and a creator of my own music I find such behavor totally unacceptable.
Also I find the fact that each and everytime someone boots AC on any client that AC "Phones Home" pretty upsetting. We wish that such a feature was able to be turned off without any penalty or reduction in functionality of the product. As most of you here know Nancy and I are real consitutional privacy advocates and having this privacy laden program constantly "phoning in" we find very upsetting. Can such a thing be done and would you be OK with that Jon? Why did you add this feature in the first place? What is it for and what are you checking for or collecting? Thanks.
And I too like Bert have taken many hours of my own personal time raving about AC and FAP to many people both on line and at conferences and meetings like the IMP Camp Nancy and I attended this past spring while many of you were at the AC conference in Branson. AC is certainly the best bang for your buck EMR wise in the industry bar none. And every day I boot my laptop or log on from home to use AC I thank my lucky stars that we have Jon who created it, and AC itself which has become the backbone and the form around which much of our office flow has taken shape. Lastly, thanks to this forum, I have learned so much about computers and tech that now I am half qualified to keep this office up and running for my wife everyday and I thank Jon for that as well.
Thanks for a great product at an unbeatable price and license structure and can't we just clean up this one section so we can be done with all this non-sense already? We all are really just about on the same page here.
And who was flogging AC at Yahoo? Does anybody know? This is the first I've heard of it. This one sticking point is really my only major peeve with the EULA and I am honest with anyone I speak to about the product verses this one issue. Thanks for listening and taking feedback and input as you have always done.
Paul and Nancy
