Jon and the AC team have some unique challenges because their audience, especially the next wave of adopters, are coming from a very different perspective.
The next wave of prospective users and eventual adopters will probably have less interest in the technical details, and will judge the 'system' [EHR, server, fax solution, scanning, security, network, updates,OS patches, etc] by stability, usability, and output. They are just wanting it "TO WORK", and don't want bothered with the details of how or why. I come to this conclusion from talking to several folks at ACUC 2010, and my experience with the different waves of users who adopt technology solutions.
The challenge for Jon and the team is to keep improving AC while keeping the newbies and the long-timers (make no mistake Gino, you've earned your spurs) both satisfied.
Some of that may be by making the GUI more modular so that each user/practice can hide or display functionality they use more frequently. Please know that this is a *significant* undertaking, as it means tracking the dependencies of functions and the related data model, managing dependencies in memory/controls/flags, and adds exponentially to the time required for full testing. It still may be worth it, but it doesn't come cheap.
Several folks gave very generously of their time to suggest several concepts to me, and I want to thank them for their time and amazing insight. One is that some existing practices, but most of the new adopters need help in implementation of the systems that make up the whole. This community of gracious folks has functioned as a 'committee of the whole' to help each other in the past, and it is an awesome thing to behold in action.
One area that is significant, and that several have commented on,
is the knowledge transfer between different practitioners (new and old) of tips & tricks for how to use the tools to practice medicine. That is the single greatest gift of insight that this community can give each other, and I hope that DocMartin and I can capture that interaction as we kick-off some MeetUps.
In the area of documentation, there is a need for precise electronic documentation, but I also see where rich media can provide value given the proper application. More on that once I have a test case.
