Excellent post Bert. I too wanted to comment on Jon's announcement but couldn't.
I appreciate Jon comparing the prices of AC to other big EMRs but it's not comparable. You're comparing apples to oranges in some ways. Some of those EMRs are quite excellent programs but I didn't go with them simply due to the price, not because AC was better. I really like eMDs a lot. It worked with my workflow and had an integrated PM system. I felt it was well thought out and quite adaptable to my practice. But the upfront cost was tough to chew.
As far as costs though, we should compare the price of AC plus my PM software/clearinghouse with eMDs. I spend an extra $2500/year on the PM software. So really, I spend $3500 on my EMR/PM which is comparable to the ongoing cost of eMDs and more expensive than several. So the savings on AC is upfront costs but not ongoing costs in my office.
Now if the PM system is awesome and I drop the cost of my current PM system, the cost of AC will still be quite inexpensive. If not, my ongoing costs are comparable to other EMRs. The initial cost is still quite cheap which is good for new customers.
With increased costs come increased expectations.
These will include:
1) less bugs, or rapid fixes of the bugs. Although the major ones should be fixed quickly, fixes to the ones that interfere with day to day use will keep your customers happy
2) fixes to the simple things like the letter writer and scheduler which are not nearly as good as the "bloated EMRs". You keep customers by changing the things they gripe about most and this is it.
3) of course CCHIT (I despise it and wish I could turn off every single part of it but need it to recoup some money in the future)
4) good support (I've never actually had a problem with the support)
5) some knowledge of future upgrades is nice
6) a really good PM system (I know Bert could care less but if we are going to compare it to others, they have it included in their cost)
There are others that I have posted on these boards in the past that I would love to see addressed.
That being said, I'll pay $995/year for eRx, future upgrades (that's a biggie), and the ability to use support (although I rarely need it). Larger offices won't appreciate if the $995 is per provider but it doesn't effect me so I don't know.
