Todd,
I think if I read your question correctly it has more to do with getting the 7 to come on board with the most logical EHR for your 2 offices. Do you envision one commonly shared data base For the EHR? I do not think AC is designed for this, however with that being said, our office has 9 physicians, and 6 are currently using AC and quite pleased. We have chosen to individualize our AC databases per provider, so that I have my own pod and manage AC on my own server and have my 2 additional computers to fit my needs. As an office we share a server for our PM/scheduler, which happens to be Lytec.
I have invested about 10-11 grand to get my AC pod extremely functional, and just to show some perspective, had a conversation with a drug rep yesterday who majored in business, and we chatted about different EMR's and he was bemoaning his own experience with his primary care doc. It takes anywhere from 2-3 weeks to get in to see his hospital employeed doc because he has transitioned into an EMR that is quite laborious to utilize, and admittedly is less efficient.
I showed him my system, and made him realize the technology is out there to quite literally be paper free and communicate safely and securely electronically and walked him through the process, how if he were to see me he would be handled. 2-3 days before the visit his labs would be viewable on the Updox portal site. Before he gets out to his vehicle after the visit he would have the summary of the visit available on his smart phone The CXR report would be viewable within minutes of my viewing with an interpretation later that day following his CXR. In 2 days he will message me asking for a prednisone burst because the advair sample and antibiotics aren't helping his bronchitis induced ashtma flare. As soon as I send in the prednisone burst to his pharmacy he will get a message to pick it up and in a few days he will message back that he is better. All of this easily capturable and recorded in AC as part of the permanent record.
Needless to say the drug rep/ business major was quite surprised how I run my little pop sickle stand. He had not realized that the technology to this degree is not only available but currently being utilized quite extensively in pockets of areas everywhere.
So back to your question, if your partners can find a better deal other than AC/Updox for the cost and functionality. I would encourage them to do so, and let me know about it. I think you have to impress on them it is not about the # of clicks, it has to be more of the functionality and improved efficiencies over time. Those # of clicks will subside, as you know, once you get your routine down.
The other issue is that if they see the light and choose AC, then do you do it in the cloud or do it on site. I do not know what to tell you there. Crunch the numbers and see what works best.
