Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Is AC Right For Me?

I am somewhat familiar with EMRs and I have used eCW x 5 years. I am starting a new office and am not excited about spending money on eWC if I don't have to. I have a 2008 server, tablets, desktops all ready in my wired office.

I really just want to be able to do basic EMR things. Takes notes, organize information and send out RXs. I use RelayHealth for email x 6 years and don't want to give that up.

I have found eCW to be too feature rich. Rather, too disorganized and too many clicks for those features and it is distracting in the exam room.

I am about to just use a doc man with my tablet but thoght AC might be an option. Honestly, I don't trust the EMR market anymore and worry about what it will do to my flow.

Advice?

Lowell

The best way to find out if AC is right for you is to download it and play with it.

You have 2 options. Download it to a xp/vista machine and play with it or download it to the server. I understand that installing on a server may be more difficult (I have done it without problems but this has been a problem for some.) If you choose to do the server, it would probably be a permanent install and I might consider calling AC to schedule an install. They will probably help you even though you have not bought the program.

If you install it to a regular machine you can play and figure out how to work it and simply change the database over to the server when you install it. Thus you can have a lot of dummy patients. (which you can have anyway even in a functioning system.)

The flow is slower only for a couple weeks , but then you are starting a new practice and the flow will probably be slower anyway, you probably have time.

I find that using AC is time neutral, but the information is much more detailed and usable.

I have played with eCW and thought it was a good program but agree there are a lot of screens. I will accept your comment about it being disorganized but did not use it enough to verify that. If you still felt it was distracting after 5 years, that is quite a testament. AC is very straightforward.

For residents and Nurse Practice students, I usually set them up (with user name and password) after having followed me for a day and put on the tutorial that is on the website. Usually within 1-2 hours they are up an running. I will usually go over a dummy note first so they get the hang of it. By the next week they are fully functional. I am sure there are a lot of little tricks they could learn, but have not spent the time, but they are usually only in the office for 4-8 hours a week.

Report back after you've played with it. We wil be glad to help with any questions you have.

Lowell,
I agree with everything Wendell says, as I usually do. If you want to write a note ten times faster than in most drill down programs, then AC is right for you. If you don't want to pay $5,000, then it is.

I do disagree on installing it on the server. It certainly wouldn't be permanent, and you wouldn't need AC support to uninstall. It would simply be Add/Remove Programs -> uninstall AC, then uninstall SQL Server Express 2005 AC instance. In fact, keeping it on using the excuse it is too difficult to take off would be violating the EULA. But, to play with it, you don't need to network it anyway, and thus, could install it on any computer. But, you do have the option of networking it.

I used it for a few hours last night. Flawless download and easy to figure out...unbelievable. Compare that to my eCW download which takes 8+ hours and needs tech support watching the entire time!

Can I set up HMGs so that people over age x,y,z need a flu shot for example? Any way to set up reminders that pop up?

Any way to do drug-drug interactions other than using ePocrates? I could not see of I could import the pt's meds into ePocrates.

Thanks much!

Lowell

I know this is an old response, but Version 5 is supposed to have much more HMG's - it has been delayed, but I think that is because Jon always spends lots of extra time tweaking features and really fussing with major releases. I think we can only wait to see.

As far as drug interactions - the e-prescribing does interactions based on the same guidelines that the pharmacies use - Jon states that his new version has easy to use and FREE e-prescribing and we will have to wait to see about formularies and interactions.

If you set the reminders they appear in the sticky note area in the chart, also we send them to our dummy user so we print them out so reminders can be sent out the beginning of the month. This works well for most of the things we keep track of for labs and visits.

OK, everyone. This doesn't happen often. Get ready to make fun of Bert.

What is an HMG?

Nevermind. I found it. It's HMG Co-A Reductase. Whew! Thought you had me didn't you?

health maintenance guideline

Thanks. Thought I was going to have to dust off my Biochemistry Book.

Boy, the new way they do medical school nowadays. Wouldn't it be so much cooler to have a patient with mitochondrial disease on Carnitor and Riboflavin and Co-enzyme Q10, and it all make sense when you study the Kreb's Cycle?