OK, I had decided I was not going to comment here, but many of you know it is impossible for me. I was just going to say, "Yeah, Leslie. What she said." Also, I will say that I like everybody on here. The very premise of what we are talking about is that Jon owns AC and has made the best EMR ever. And, we own the boards (OK, actually Jon does), but we have made it the best EMR user board ever. Sure, you can't make everyone happy. I deplore the production of the PM, but there are those on here or those looking to purchase who won't without it. It is the yin and the yang, and it ultimately boils down to the direction of the product.
Fair enough, and frankly I'm posting here (and check out my other post from today) out of frustration - breaking my first rule of not responding when frustrated (of course I break that rule all the time)
You have rarely broken that rule, but I must say it is a VERY good rule. As Vicki states, a news letter or separate blog (I don't think a separate forum would be wise as we would all end up replying) would be a great idea so we know not only where it is going but also little things about why radio buttons are very hard to tab through. Bill Gates doesn't jump into the fray, but then again, you aren't Bill Gates, and that is what makes AC so user friendly. I have often wondered how you have stayed off the boards as much as you do. Personally, I would simply have to not look.
Having a feature doesn’t make it usable – look at eCW’s 30+ clicks to document a flu shot
We saw 104 people yesterday at our H1N1 flu clinic. Wow. But it was fun. Based on the 30 clicks, it would have taken my MAs 3120 clicks, and we would still be here. Fortunately, we have VIPER, one of the most incredible immunization and inventory programs every built. It took 104 to 208 clicks, given it only takes one click after the vaccine is chosen to place it in the program AND in AC.
(Well, actually, dealing with clients that complain is worse.)
This, to me, is an unfair statement. My analogy is that the user board is like a patient chart. The chart belongs to the practice, but the patient has a right to review it or a copy. The message boards are owned by Jon, but we have a right to review it and comment in it. While asking for features, which after awhile may turn into complaints, may be frustrating for AC to hear, it is these comments that allow AC to see where its users want. As many have said, if AC does not want to hear ideas/complaints (depending on how they are said), then the Wish List shouldn't be there. One of the great things about the user board is that these ideas or requests are refined by the other users (usually with more experience) until the initial piece of coal becomes a diamond of an idea. I doubt any EMR has a better source of fresh ideas or feedback than AC. My guess is NextGen's Wishlist would simply be "Lower the price." Over and over.
I guess what has happened since is that we’ve grown to the point that there are literally thousands of requests from users and they take time to implement.
I am sure you receive quite many. Part of the problem is there are so many different ways to get those requests to you, email, the program itself, the user board. But, hopefully, you can distill these down to the ones that come in the most frequently: #1 the letter writer, #2 the lettter writer, etc.
I have often commented to users on here to compare AC to Office Word. I have asked for a few things from Microsoft and even get a polite response, but no matter how many things people ask for, none of them are applied until the next version. AC may be the same. But, again, it is a smaller company with smaller code and lends itself more easily to changes. This may not work, but I love the way Firefox does it with these small updates all the time.
Perhaps the real issue is that we’ve not clearly communicated our development plans – or provided information when these plans change. That is something we can and will immediately solve.
This would be very helpful. A statement such as we have kept the letter writer so that it opens in AC's own window, because we are concerned that others don't have Word, etc. To that, it would be easy for users to reply that most people nowadays have Word, or Open Office or definitely Word Pad, all of which are editable and can be saved in a format that is reuseable. Take the fact that AC is only compatible in Windows and not Mac (unless they use bootstrap or whatever it is) means those who wish to use it have to go out and get 10 new computers that run Window. Definitely more expensive they downloading Open Office for free.
And bitching on the board, while I'm sure is cathartic, causes me to spend time defending our approach, rather than working on adding the enhancements that we all would like to have. (Not a great argument, I know; but simply the truth.)
"Bitching" on the board is not cathartic. Sure, it may be misery loves company, but it helps to know that everyone wishes they could put an allergy in the script writer or note in real time. To know that many of us want a better letter writer which leads to your knowing that this is a big feature to many and led me to spend 10 useless hours on a workaround, which actually works. No, it's not a great argument. And, you don't have to defend yourself on the board. Just getting back to us as Vicki said or even changing the letter writer would be helpful.
Amazing Charts is a work in progress. It is moving forward, and most users who have been with us for years recognize it to be a slow, but steady, process.
We are all happy it moves forward. I, for one, love SQL and love the improvements. But, I wonder if it would be helpful to return every once in awhile to the core program and at least fix a few things. I have the advantage of using a progrmmer to make our programs who does let me know that it isn't so easy as changing a line of code. But, adding a new letter writer or even changing the GUI (very cool), would be helpful.
I think of a conversation I may have with a possible new user:
Shopper: Does AC have an incredible scheduler?
Bert: It's OK. Actually, shopper, most schedulers suck. They are always an afterthough of the PM programs. But, you can use AC's or a separate one as we do in Medware.
Shopper: Can it autocode and do all sorts of cool things like eMDs?
Bert: No, it is just the least expensive, fastest and best EMR ever designed.
Shopper: Is it CCHIT certified, and AHY certified and DDTHHJJ& certified?
Bert: No it is just the least expensive, fastest and best EMR ever designed.
Shopper: Does i thave ePrescribing and can you pay $10,000 to help them train you each year?
Bert: No, they won't take $10,000 for training. You barely need it. Did I tell you it is just the least expensive, fastest and best EMR ever designed?
Shopped: How did that happen?
Bert: Because it was built and designed by one person, Jon, who is a doctor and knew what doctors wanted. He also listens to his customers and makes sure to try to get what they want.
** And, I know we have CCHIT.
Thanks, Jon, for a great EMR. We aren't bitching. We are all just on here until 2AM sharing thoughts and commenting on how things could be better. Sure, eventually, it may lead to frustration. The boards also help everyone to help others with no only AC but with many other things, some of which do not even pertain to healthcare, such as home security systems, etc.
