Dr. Osler:
If it is possible, could you sign with your first name or is that not a good thing. I feel funny saying Osler just as you feel funny saying first name for patient.
As you may have guessed or seen, I think I am now the remaining original user of AC. At least it seems that way when one looks at the user list. I can recall what attracted me to AC: a fast, no frills, inexpensive program that could not be found anywhere else.
At the time and even now, there are only two unique EMRs (that I have seen), Praxis and AC. I have always said if I ever changed EMRs, I would try Praxis again. Huge, steep learning curve but a great concept.
Anyway, in the beginning AC had no competition. None. Therefore, it sold easily mainly by word of mouth. Consider how small Bangor, Maine is, and I convinced two local doctors to use it.
But, now with PM coming along, AC is beginning its quest to compete with the "big boys," something it will most likely fail at. Logician, eMDs, NextGen, etc. have 20 programmers, CEOs, COOs, etc. I doubt the president of NextGen emails his users on same day.
Obviously, there are many users of AC which can't wait for the PM module. So, who am I to say we shouldn't have it. But, I guess at some point Jon has to decide do I want to keep those users or the ones who want a GREAT emr and continually make it better and better.
How cool it would be if AC still moved forward, yet was able to take certain "modules" of the program such as the script writer, the lab writer, the letter writer, etc. and say, "This six months I want you two programmers to completely revamp the letter writer.
If it makes a difference, feel free to call me "Ozzy". In my opinion, there's already too much personal info available on the Internet, but that's another issue.
I don't think Jon has a choice in the matter. If he wants to keep Amazing Charts viable, he simply
has to get it certified (so that all of those physicians lured by the promise of "free money from the government for buying an EMR" will put Amazing Charts on their list). To not get certified in 2009/2010 would result in instantly being shut out of a large chunk of his potential market. Likewise, I feel that most physicians are looking for an integrated EMR/PMS, so adding a PMS will only serve to open up the market further for Amazing Charts. I disagree with your assertion that he is trying to compete with those mid and high priced EMRs you listed. Right now, Amazing Charts has
no competition in the low end of the market, and as long as Jon positions Amazing Charts as a sub-$2000 package, he should do well. The problem is that he's trying to do everything all at once, with limited resources. While I'd like him to "fix" what I think is wrong with/missing from the EMR ASAP, he obviously feels that the time is better spent on adding features/certifying/adding PMS. I think he's decided it makes more financial sense trying to go after a bigger slice of the pie than it does to try and keep current users (who have already purchased his software and thus provide limited additional revenue) happy. I bought a license for $1000 and added 2 additional licenses for an additional $400. I could easily (and I'm sure
many users do) have chosen to decline the optional "support" charge and that would have been all Jon may have potentially earned from my practice. Admirably fair pricepoint, but definitely not a good way to stay in business longterm, unless he was able to count on a steady stream of new sales. The new revenue model that Jon introduced in July, 2009 reflects the reality that his previous model was not sustainable. The cost of properly supporting hundreds of new users of the SQL-based Version 4 alone could quickly drain any profits Jon may have made over the years. (He'd probably have to sell 40 new licenses just to recoup the cost of hiring a single new tech.)
I half-expected a company like eClinicalWorks or e-MDs to buy Jon out in 2009, just to gain access to his hundreds of current users and atempt to then upsell them to their mid priced EMRs. Certainly, these companies have the resources to pretty up the Amazing Charts GUI and fix the lingering bugs + missing features much faster than Jon can. Also, they would be able to actually advertise the EMR rather than depending on word of mouth sales.
At this stage, I'll see if they can fix my installation of Version 4 and then if it proves to be stable I'll retire Amazing Charts to backup EMR duty again and probably skip renewing the technical support fee next year. If version 5 comes out in January, I'll take a look at it, but after seeing the nightmares that several early adopters went through with moving to Version 4, I doubt that I would ever install it in my clinic.
