I wouldn't assume that Jon didn't consider things like partnerships and acquisitions before they were mentioned here. Actually, I'd assume he did consider them and investigated them, but couldn't find a partner whose software he liked and who 'saw eye-to-eye" with him. It acutally seems typical for the industry. Even OfficeAlly came out with its own EMR. Dont be surprized if EZClaims releases one. Though it does seem like Jon could have found someone to partner with temporarily until he had resources to develop his own PM/Billing Mgmt. There are alot of vendors out there with products targeted at managing athe "medical office revenue cycle."
It really comes down to what products/service Jon sees his company as providing, and obtaining financing and other resources to do it properly. Obviously it was intially that he supplied an (inexpensive, etc.)EMR and that was it. If he defines AC as supplying "software to help run small medical practices" you have a broader, though admittedly more clumsy, definition. Once you change that definition, you can think about what is needed to provide that broader product/service in a different light. I wonder how Jon is defining AC. If it is as an EMR vendor, but "we'll try to do this PM thing since people want it" then Bert's fears may be realized.
A few years ago I was actually expecting AC to announce the acquisition of a small billing company. It just seemed to me the natural thing to do.
