I am including this post, for those who missed it. It apparently was not picked up in the transition to the new board. I don't mean to exaggerate the importance of this, or any other post, but given the turn of events, I think it is worthwhile to copy it here. It originally appeared a day or two before the old board was shut down:
"Unfortunately, this is a "no win" situation.
Yes, the board is a great value to users. Hundreds of us would be happy to testify to the help it has provided in so many ways. These include:
1. Sharing work flows and processes in the EMR that can ONLY be known to providers who use it every day
2. Sharing tips and shortcuts that may be known to the company, but people only use when others point out and share their value
3. Morale support, the value of which is not to be underestimated. When I started AC, 75% of practitioners owned their own practices; now about 25% do. AC is almost entirely used by the latter, so we are a natural support group to help each other survive in an essentially hostile environment. The user community is a valuable support network for dealing with innumerable issues.
4. Installation and support - AC support is great. But SOMETIMES users or the techies here have answers that AC cannot provide. Or SOMETIMES AC support is not available. OR some issues, like networking and hardware questions, are not part of AC support at all.
Now that is the value to US, the users and our staff... in addition, I believe that the user board is an asset to the company as well. I could list the reasons, but will not... the bottom line is that the company does not see it that way.
In order to have #1,2,3, and 4 above... the board needs to be open to all opinions. Some people are consistently negative about the program, support, development, etc, etc. Most, though, are happy and proud to be AC users but need to be able to express the negative as well as the positive.
I know it has never been easy for Jon Bertman and his team, or any of the successive owners and their staff to view negative comments here. It has to be painful at times, and I suppose I can understand their view that it is ultimately "bad for business".
On the other hand, I always saw the openness and the willingness of the company to permit that dialog as a major sign of their good faith and their commitment to their customers. When someone is looking to buy or switch EMR's... they are not going to be like car buyers... excited and enthusiastic about a new purchase. They know the medical community is overwhelmingly unhappy with EMR's. Not so much AC - but essentially ALL of them. In every survey and study, physician burn out is a major problem in our profession. Why? Every survey puts EMR's high on the list. So people are not looking for reviews that say "this EMR is PERFECT"... they are looking for honest assessments of the pros and cons, like the ones they get here.
So this is why I say we are in a "no win" situation. If we get angry and complain about Harris taking down the board, it just feeds into their perception that we are negative and "bad for business". If we keep quiet... then one of our lifelines is gone.
All I can say to all of the users and my friends here, is thanks for all the help and camaraderie over the years. Lets hope we can continue to work together on a new board.
To Harris... all I can ask is that you try not to stand in the way of a new user board, and do all that you can to support it, even if you do so passively.
Copy my email address now if you are concerned that this board is taken down, and there will be a new board but you cannot find it. Hopefully, I can direct you to the new one. jonbschreiber@gmail.com"
