I am in a very busy solo pediatric practice and began using AC in January 1, 2011. I have worked hard to focus on how to use this very flexible and very intuitive program. Every day it is improving my life by making my office run smoother and improving the quality of my medical care. Since downloading and installing AC in Nov 2010 I have called tech support about four times, mostly to do with the initial install. Otherwise I have been amazed at the reliability of this software.
Now I know we tend to expect this software to be as reliable as a hammer and nail. However, after about thirty years of writing and using software in medical practice I have learned that it requires me to pause and to think carefully on how to implement and use a peice of software. I have also learned that it makes a world of difference how one maintains your hardware and operating systems. As you know, it is a miracle that Windows works at all!! I see physician's offices all the time where computers are loaded up with all kinds of bloated software, people doing all kinds of crazy email, and people working social media. Complexity courts disaster in Windows systems.
If you can't take care of your computer then it is important to get your own tech consultant who knows how and has a proven track record of careful and thoughtful maintenance....and pay for it. If your hardware and OS are well maintained then you at least have a decent chance that whatever EMR you use might acutally work and be reliable.
All Windows software today is buggy and fragile and requires great care to use properly. It saves time but also requires some of your time to learn it's complexities. Tech support is necessary at times, but I beleive that we tend to cry help too soon and too frequently. Most computers you see in homes and offices NO NOT WORK because users have not put in the effort to learn the pitfalls of this new tool.
No matter how much you spend on tech support or what EMR you own, reliability will not be acheived unless you pause, take a deep breath and focus on computing. Someday computers and software will be bullet proof but we have beeen Microsoft's beta tester for thirty or more years with no end in sight. So get used to it.
It warms my heart that Jon is busting his ..alls on the Management Practice part of AC and it will probably will work pretty good someday. In the mean time I'm going to bust mine too to make this program continue to make my life better. I might even give tech support a try. You all are pretty good support most of the time and have a good sense of humor. Three cheers for Amazing Charts, a small company with a heart.
