Here is the latest news on V5:
1. V5 CCHIT has passed CCHIT certification to their 2008 standards (the most up to date). Like it or not, and until there is a definite different certification standard from the government, CCHIT is the most likely candidate for the "certification" needed for our users to be eligible for stimulus money - and so we have been certified despite the high cost (43K) and the significant hit to our development cycle (i..e, PM has been pushed back to a later release). Thus, V5 has the CCHIT certification features (which you can read about at
http://www.cchit.org/products/2008/ambulatory/906).
In addition to a bunch of other fixes, the main new features of V5 are:
1. A much improved e-Prescribing module that is integrated directly into our meds window so one doesn't need to go to New Crop's windows to use e-Prescribing.
2. A complete Health Maintenance module (using USPSTF guidelines) and that will notify user of what shots and other HMs are due.
3. An improved orders ability that ties HM and in-house testing to orders and allows users to track what they need to do.
4. A practice document filing cabinet that will hold all forms that are regularly used by the practice.
5. An ability to add Health Information Exchanges into the program so they can be accessed without having to open a separate browser window.
6. And literally dozens of other improvements, interfaces, etc.
Unfortunately, because of the CCHIT jump in priority and the strong feeling from clients that they need e-Rx to work better than it did, our Practice Management development has been delayed. Mostly this is to ensure we get it right, and not just incorporate a patchwork of complicated windows that is the hallmark of our competitors. The goal of our PM is nothing short of a totally easy and totally integrated module, and while we hope to have it done later this year - a lot depends on how the introduction of V5 goes. It is a major release, like V4 SQL, and may take some tweaking to sort out the myriad of issues that always arise.
Jon
