Home Forums Discussions General Discussion While everyone's at ACUC

Hey, Boondoc...

It's really quiet here. Now's our chance to ask all those REALLY dumb questions we're afraid Bert or Wayne or someone is going to roll their eyes at....

Heads up, Bert's up and speaking right now, and while I won't live-blog the presentation, I will tell you that Jim introduced him with his theme music, and Bert is on a roll.

dgrauman

There is no escape - they have wi-fi here and laptops everywhere. The questions will be scrutinized! (hides)

Yes, Carolie is right. A break is coming...and some of us are multi-tasking and watching the board.

So how many of you are finishing up chart notes while you're sitting here?

It depends on the internet working.

And that's a wrap for the morning. Conference is great and it is amazing how many are still in the room at he end of the am. Speaks to a good morning.

Hopefully with all the technicians they had in here during the lunch break they'll get it up and running. I overheard a "worst case we'll just start over"

Internet is better, for now.
Now on to dialing back the air conditioning. I knew New England could be cool, but ....

Leslie is now on ShortKeys .... Wendell has galloped through his presentation, then scanning paper charts came up, and DocMartin appears to hold the record @ 27,000 total charts in storage.

And now Indy is up.....interesting and important info.

Down to it!! For a new user much of the information has been interesting but not really applicable.....yet. I do not take exception with the format of the conference, but I would have liked to have gotten to some hands on a bit earlier. Perhaps as the conference grows and more variety of users attend a different structure might serve more folks better in the short time we have together.

As a "green dot" (it is the secret code...don't ask:)AND a support staff attendee FROM a specialty practice, there are many things I have to learn from the "blue dots". Of course as these things go, there will never be enough time to do it all.

Break time is over and here we go...........

Hi Skyr, were you able to get more help in the breakout sections? What sort of things did you want to hear exactly?

I did get some very good assistance from a couple other conference attendees. I was a tad bit disappointed that the afternoon agenda seemed to disolve in a way that some of us "newbies" were left to our own devices to find assistance. This became difficult when trying to find a cluster to join that was at a "basic" level.

However all is not lost!! AC has a GREAT help desk and every "blue dot" I have met has been enthusiastic and patient with my questions. I know that there are a host of good tutorials but there is nothing better than being able to sit with someone face to face who knows the program and can lead a new user to use the program efficiently and with a minimum of frustration.

There is also this group. I am confident that as I use AC more and spend time here, in time I will find the answers I seek.

Don't be surprised if I start calling you all Yoda

I'm still wishing we'd be able to spend some time on the PM design. So far the main thrust of the conference has been discussing ancillary programs and e-prescribe. I'd like to get into other things with version 5 such as setting up the practice rules, how to manipulate the HMO information with regards to injections. I don't see that the presenters are getting the chance to give their full talk and then take questions, just alot of interruptions.

I was lost yesterday afternoon too and wandered from cluster to cluster. I think the PM cluster was infiltrated by billing services who want to hang on to their business. Too bad. We do in house billing and it is very easy. We shouldn't be scared off. A basic accounting system within ac would be helpful. Using easy claim seems to work just fine. Our old PM vendor disappeared. So far so good. We haven't needed their support and not having to pay our annual support for them allowed us to shop and buy AC. That is the very best thing in the near distant past that has happened for my practice.

the one anciallary program I really wanted to hear the lecture on was Instant Medical History, so I was unable to go to any of the other work groups. We do all the billing/payroll/accounting in house as well. We are unfortunatley stuck using the devil company AllScripts for our PM because of the reporting access that is essential for our accounting side to function. I know the PM program is a ways out, its been a ways out since the first conference I was at and I understand that. The staff really have been doing a good job with the number of people that are here and want their 25 cents heard.

As a VERY new user I completely agree with Carolie. Having never been to an AC conference before but being fairly conference savvy I have nothing but praise for this group.

There are always those folks (both presenters and attendees) that can hijack a topic to the dismay of others. I think the facilitators have been plenty aware of redirecting those situations

The help desk presentation we are sitting in now is being very informative ahd helpful. I am weeks away from being able to implement some of the features of AC. Having the ability to hear what others are having issues with in day to day use and what the potential remedies are will surely keep me from beating my head against the wall.

I'm a blue dot here if you have any questions you want to talk about. I don't have all the answers by far, but I'm happy to help any way I can. Look for the solo person with the black jacket and the AC hat on =)

Ironically, I was the lowest tech prepared there. I have NEVER used Wi-Fi or had a wireless card or router, so I was unable to access the Internet.

These aren't excuses or complaints just some FYIs which may help you put some of these comments in perspective.

First, during the entire conference, I was freezing. Not cold, literally uncomfortable to the point that I went back to my room and crawled into bed rather than listen to a couple of talks I really wanted to listen to. But, without a sweatshirt or coat, I couldn't sit there.

Second, while there was a lot of planning for the conference, all of it was done via conference calls. We would all discuss what we thought we make good lectures -- all while meeting the restrictions of the CME -- (and I should say Jim did a great job with that and the conference)then go back during the week to work on them separate from our co-presenter. In retrospect, at least for me, it would be more cohesive if one topic was handled by one person.

I, personally, was petrified of being a presenter in any fashion. I was still working on my talk(s) until 4 am Thursday morning. I did realize that my backup talk was probably going to be too high tech, but it's hard for me, because I am very excited and passionate about technology. I was completely unaware of how much time I spent (on the exact talk itself -- it definitely didn't feel like an hour -- again from the first slide). I think, given some of the complexity, being able to slow down and go through each slide or even having time to decide which slide or slides could be skipped would have made the talk a little better. I am going to upload them along with comments.

Again, in retrospect, I would have skipped the VMWare demonstration and even the backup/restore and concentrated on the programs and Volume Shadow Services giving you the previous versions. But, given I think virtual machines, are the coolest thing ever, I wanted to share that with everyone.

Getting back to the overall general conference, I sort of thought the questions for the "panel" were going to be more general, and there would be more emphasis on the "expert's" information. Instead, it sort of digressed into "I try to do this or that, and Jon learning about another bug.

I agree that the breakout sessions' overlapping with some good talks was frustrating. I ended up spending the entire hour helping one couple, but it was very rewarding, especially going from start to finish. With the Wi-Fi working, together we were able to register for prescription writing capabilities which was also a testament to how smooth Jon has made that. That was very exciting. (It doesn't take much to excite me)

Another few FYIs. Version 5 has not been out that long. Some of us have been using it less than a month. It is much more complicated than any of the previous versions, and I think that led to some of the confusion. In v4 and prior versions, I think I would have felt comfortable with 90% or more of questions. With v5, maybe 25%. I felt just as lost as any blue dot or yellow dot or whatever dot.

It's also a shame that as doctors or those who work for or with doctors, most feel they can only afford to take two or three days off. A conference starting on Wednesday rather than Friday with more time to sight see would solve a lot of the problems, but alas, none of us can afford it.

Finally, and this came up in the conference calls many times, the first conference was around 90 people and was more intimate. No one had any expectations, etc. This conference had over 225 people, and I think that took away a little of that.

So, from my viewpoint, I think that caused some of the above issues. And, I think if I had been better prepared, the conference would have been better. That was my fault.

But, overall, the conference was great. I learned a ton from it, and I also learned that the Rolodex is intermittently buggy. I think I will work on that one.

Actually Bert, I think your talk was a lot better than you give yourself credit.

I also think it was colder on the diaz than the rest of the room, there was an artic blast from Canada that swooped down on us.

I do agree that the helping sessions did keep me out of a couple of sessions, but I had a lot of fun helping others. I, like you, are easily amused, but it feels good to help others.

I think that there was still a LOT more intimacy in this conference of 200 vs any other conference I have been (excluding the first ACUC, which did have that advantage).

I will throw this out... SHOULD THERE BE 2 CONFERENCES, ONE FOR BEGINNERS AND ONE FOR ADVANCED?

Wendell,

Thank you for you perspective and kind words. I think your patients are lucky to have you. Next year please bring me an extra sweater, lol.

Having done many conferences (more typical in the propeller-head/tech trade), one thing would be to provide a part of the program where there are multiple tracks - e.g. starting out, practice techniques, specialty practice.

One thing that is special and should be retained is where there are peering (blue-dot to green-dot) sessions because the practicing speakers where so giving of their time and expertise.

I'd suggest what is so effective in the open-source community, having attendees suggest or request certain subjects, then getting coverage for those selections from the speakers who have volunteered. They tend to be shorter, single subject, more focused sessions.

I need to process a bit more, but I'd also suggest another methodology for connecting new users, practicing users, and inquiring practitioners - MeetUps. More fluid than a typical user group, and perhaps a better fit for what the AC user community is growing into.

Gino, some folks from a (Richmond, VA?) practice that sat behind us, were talking about the ACUC, UpDox, scanning, etc when a gastroenterologist that was next to us (and listening in it turned out) - jumped in and started asking questions about how it would work with his 14 DR practice. It seemed that even as an ad-hoc conversation, he was fully engaged and curious.

For those who had questions or stood around and didn't get to ask I apologize, I really didn't anticipate that level of interest in what was covered, but by all means go ahead and ask at your convenience .

I'm working on a method to cover some of the most often asked questions in a way that I hope will help more people.

Interesting ideas Indy. Well put. Thanks.

I've been using V5 beta testing I believe for several months. Maybe even a month after it came came out. We met Jon in November and he asked if we wanted to beta test and we declined but soon after it was available we went to it because summer is our busiest time and we didn't want to be getting used to a new version when we were so busy. We had lots of crashes and bug messages sent to ac over the past few months and with version 28 have been very happy. I think we did experience a couple of patients with the critical prescribing bug but it was with a non-critical drug and no harm. When that happened though, I stopped eprescribing until we would be able to do verison 29. We did that just before the conference so we had it on our laptops. We were going to do the major upgrade this am before office hours but then came to the office to find that an electrical storm hit us. Live and learn. The computers were fine but with the router out I had to just use a laptop and print my notes. Handwrite scripts and orders. Iceage activities now.

Anyway I thought the conference went great. You guys put together a great program for all levels of users. We are only 15 month users but have used V5 for quite some time so we knew things that old time users didn't know. Some of you older users do things the hard way because they couldn't be done the easy way we do them because they weren't in your version.

I loved Jon's comment that we all share and help each other and that's why we wear the birkenstocks while those other guys are wearing the pinstripes. I love AC and AC user. EULA...to bring up an old Bert quote I read recently here.

I also really enjoyed Bert's talk. You had to be sitting close enought to catch the clever comments he mumbles to get the real humor. On the forum you can experience his dry humor, but you miss all of his delivery, in person he is really funny and very clever. His talk combined with Indy's, combined with the Postem note that I found on the server monitor Wednesday night as I left for the conference (a note with our server Password!) gave me PLENTY to think about. (I don't even know whose handwriting the note is written in!)

I was impressed with the job Jim Blaine did with arranging the CME and keeping it on track.

But I was also impressed that over half the attendees were not Doctors and would not use the CME. Likewise there were a great many DO's there and we can only use the CME in category 2, which I rarely need.

I wondered if we might head toward TWO kinds of conferences.
One like the first conference, tips, tricks and users helping users.
-One whole day with round tables set up, with a monitor (or a big screen)at each table and a flag pole on the table announcing the topic for that table. IE: e-Rx, or Backup, or Templates, or Intranet issues,
- One day with prepared talks, IE: Jon showing how he meant for AC to be used.

A second conference for CME:
- Amazing Charts and the Diabetic Patient. How to write scripts for needles and test supplies, how to track HgBA1C, How to do searches and to recall patients that need more follow up.
- Mix in an appropriate piece of medical education, IE: PAD testing for one hour, then how to chart it and search for it.

Just a thought, still dreaming of the "Outcome Oriented Medical Record"

Martin,

Thanks for the compliment. I wish I could have slowed down a bit. My goal was to mix and match a bit real time vs slides. I now realize I could, and that would have been fun.

On the same theme, I was able to look directly at Martin's monitor. My weak spot as a physician is in documentation, and Martin's is incredible.

The only thing about a second conference would be how long it takes to put on.

Maybe it would also be helpful for attendees to submit bugs or what appear to be bugs so Jon would be prepared to handle them or talk about how far along fixes were.

I thought Jon was very gracious in accepting these bugs.

I also found it incredible how Wendell was able to prepare for so many presentations and still be prepared.

Leslie, did a great job. I know there is nothing worse than waiting for a slide or picture to come through over the Internet. I felt the same way waiting for my backup to restore.

And, I don't know if I have met someone as good at IT as Indy who makes you feel smart when you listen to him.

My biggest suggestion would either be less light over the screens or multiple HD monitors throughout the room. Indy?

I talked with Kathleen on Sunday about the possibility of doing 2 types of conferences or seminars. One for the support staff (such as myself) who have to answer most of the questions and problem solve for the doctors, and then one for the physicians themselves. She mentioned they might be looking at regional conferences. That's a fabulous idea and I hope it comes to fruition. Bert, it was fricken freezing out in the main area as well. I think at one point I went to my room and grabbed an extra blanket to try and warm up. I don't know why Westin couldn't get that fixed. I'm not sure they wanted to to be honest.

I really appreciate all the hard work you guys did with your presentations and such. It seemed that the presentations would get "hijacked" by people in the audience and you weren't ever able to really get through your talks and that was frustrating to me in the audience.

Good job guys!

Hijacking is a problem. I was guilty of it myself on several occasions. Ego may be part of it, but you really want to help and in that instant you think that you have the answer and you want to share it for the praise of your peers.

Maybe we will reach a point where we have a thousand little short presentations on video or power point and they can be accessed on the forum. Then the user conference will be more of a product development meeting.

Why hijack when you can just sit up there and yell at people, like I do.

I remember about 11 years ago, I worked with a young doctor just out of fellowship. But, given there was no one else at our hospital with an endocrinology fellowship, I figured he was the expert. And, he was.

He gave a talk on calcium homeostasis, and he was nearly run off the stage with interruptions about how he was wrong about calcium. I finally stood up and said to everyone, "Listen, he has been kind enough to prepare a talk and give of his time to try to teach us something. While you may disagree with his comments, please have the decency to wait until the talk is over before questions."

I do think in some ways it was the perfect storm to cause some of shortcomings of the ACUC. And, this is not to say at all that it was not a huge success.

But, I think some of the talks may have worked better if given by only one speaker. It is somewhat difficult to completely prepare a conference over conference calls, but then that is probably how a lot of them have to be done. Finally, the latest version came out only weeks ago making us (definitely me) not familiar with many of the features (especially given the sharp rise in the learning curve). And, this is not a bad thing since I may be indicating that lower level dots had more experience and much to teach us. But, I suppose that did lead a little to the questions/answers coming prior to the end of the talks.

We returned home last evening and have had the day to reflect on the ACUC 2010.

Jon, Kathleen and Josephine did a remarkable job setting up the Westin discounted rooms and beautiful meeting room. The AC Staff set up in the breakfast/break room was a welcome addition and were continually occupied helping AC Users throughout the conference.

This ACUC was 225 people and, although this made the conference a bit less intimate than the first ACUC with 95 people, the attendees were still remarkably enthusiastic and supportive of the effort.

I enjoyed the presentations very much. None of us had ever met Bert in person and he did not disappoint. His dry humor and self deprecating wit kept us laughing while his presentations instructed us all. Wendell has a great speaking voice and his Paperless Office talk has inspired me to move closer to that goal. Martin and Indy's HITECH & Beyond talk was instructive and entertaining. Martin wowed everyone with his I-Phone Amazing Charts App. Jon thinks that we can all purchase one by the end of July.
Leslie did a fine job on Shortkeys and Lynn Ho demonstrated the wonders of UpDox for us. Matthew did a great job on Instant Medical History.
The What the Help Desk Wants You to Know crew, Claire, Carlos, Eric and Mark, were a bit hit.
Jon was, or course, the star of the show. He alternately instructed us on the intricacies of Version 5 and coaxed critical remarks from the group to assist his ever present quality assurance. Pete Sundwall requested a spontaneous break out for practice/office management and billing. Kathleen and Nancy facilitated the effort and, for many, this was one of the highlights of the conference.
According to Jon's tally, we had 40% beginners (green dots), 40% Intermediates and 20% Experts (blue dots) in attendance.
Wendell and Bert and many other Blue Dots assisted Green Dots for hours with individual questions on Saturday afternoon.

However; for me once again, I was most astounded by the electricity and the work ethic of the aCUC attendees. They were there every day from early morning until long after the CME time was exhausted. The meeting room was often several degrees too cool and the Internet connection was a challenge at best, but the overall attitude was enthusiastic nontheless. Melanie, Bernie, Pete, Brian, Marie, Heather, Debra, Charlie, and many others kept the speakers on their toes.
Barb and I especially enjoyed our visits with Charlie.

Please check out Josephine's pictures on AC Facebooke
http://www.facebook.com/AmazingCharts.

This was truly an ACUC to remember.

Best,

Jim

Agreed. But several degrees is being kind.

And, while you are modest to a fault, two ACUCs could not have taken place without you. I marvel at your organization skills, and my guess is many others will echo that.

So, this Thursday for the conference call?

Wow Bert - I hadn't heard! But I'll be glad to pass along that Jim volunteered to do ACUC 2011.

Where is it going to be?

You bet; we do need to review before our Old Timers' Disease wipes out all of the great suggestions we heard.

Fortunately, yours will be be preserved by the temporary frostbite you sustained.

Barb thinks that some long lost female soul directed the cold air vent your way after a quip you made early on in the conference.

Lake Tahoe at your house.

Too small, but I'll be glad to help set it up next spring at one of the Resorts/Casinos!

When is the billing portion of AC going to be available? I am sorry if this was already answered.


Ronuk Rana
Office Manager
Naresh Rana MD PA

No one knows.

Bert,
Quit kicking yourself!!! Have a Heineken, or three.

We would take an interface with quickbooks or some other accounting software.