Home Forums Discussions Problems Things about AC5029 that annoy me.

I am almost ashamed to post this since most of you have only posted nice things about AC. I have been an AC user since 2004. I have been using 5.0.29 now for a few weeks. Although I would continue to give it a high rating, this version - to me- behaves too quirkily. My complaints with the software involve a multitude of tiny annoyances that I hope will not be ignored because they are 'tiny.' If anyone can show me workarounds for these (or maybe I am just using the software wrong), I'd be happy to listen. Here are the things about AC 5029 that annoy me. . . .

1. After using templates that contain the % qualifier (as in %he, %his, etc) the cursor moves to the START of the paragraph. I would then have to re-position the cursor to the END of the paragraph. I do this several dozen times a day. But when using templates that do not contain the % qualifier, the cursor behaves normally. That is, it stays at the end of the paragraph. This has been a problem in older versions. Someone posted this issue a couple of years ago and has not been corrected yet. I think that cursor behavior within a box should be uniform. Level of Annoyance : 8 out 10.

2. When printing a Lab Order Requisition, AC5029 always prompts me with the printer dialog box asking what printer I should use instead of directly printing it to the default printer. However, when printing a medication prescription, it does the " right" thing, ie print it to the default printer right away. The logic behind asking me to choose a printer each time I print a lab report escapes me - please explain. Level of Annoyance 9 out of 10.

3. Rescheduled / Cancelled patients still show a message of "John Doe did not chose to reschedule ....." This grammatical error has been there for >5 years. For Pete's sake please correct it already. Level of annoyance : 3 out of 10.

4. <ctrl> copy and <ctrl> paste work in some boxes but not in others. I would want to see it work in the Free Text Orders box but it doesn't. Instead it forces a few more extra clicks by opening "Select a Template" and makes you paste it instead on the Edit Template box. Level of annoyance : 5 out of 10.

5. What happened to ALL CAPS with the medication list? For years, I have told my medical assistant that she can type the meds any way she wants - all capitalized or all lower case or any combination thereof. In older versions, simply double clicking the meds box converts them all to upper case when printing. I could no longer find this feature - if someone knows how to do this, please help. My notes now look as ugly as I do. Level of annoyance : 7 out of 10.

6. When writing orders while seeing a patient, I print then use "Save without Sending" to include the documentation directly in the notes I am writing. When responding to intra-office mail, I directly use the "Orders" button to the right of the message box WITHOUT opening the chart. On many occasions force of habit has made me mistakenly press "Save without sending" since the button remains active (ie not grayed out). The orders aren't sent but they aren't saved either. They are lost forever in limbo (I hope I am wrong on this one - but I can't locate the orders). Level of annoyance : 4 out of 10.

7. The Personal Template and the Practice -wide template no longer work in harmony. This used to be an awesome feature in older versions. But now, clicking a box in one column deletes a previous choice in the other column. For me this is the single most s%$h#@i&t&(%$t*!y change in AC. Level of annoyance 10 out of 10.

8. In older versions where the ICD code and Diagnosis were in a textbox, I used to include only the ICD codes of the diagnosis and "hide" sensitive info by deleting them, like HIV or Obesity. I can't do this anymore. When printing lab orders, I have to uncheck the sensitive diagnosis and write the ICD at the bottom of the page. Level of Annoyance: 4 out of 10 .

9. My medical assistant commented, "I seem to be clicking the mouse more than I used to." To test this, I ran 4.0.73 in an old desktop I am no longer using and compared the number of clicks using the ever reliable records of Mr. Dummy Chart . We tested her suspicion, from chief complaint to printing orders, printing meds up to printing the note. Using identical entries, I clicked 14 more times with 5029 than with 4073 to accomplish the same thing. Level of annoyance 6 out of 10.

I recognize that a tremendous amount of effort was put into adding the bells and whistles which many of us need. And I do recognize that I will need to change the way I work to adapt to the software changes. But if I knew I was going to be less efficient with 5029, I would have stuck with 4073.

rene

Another reason I have still not "upgraded?" to V5

Great Post

Regarding (6), sort or limbo, but luckily you can get to limbo. At the top bar click View > Orders to open the orders window. The order will be there, though you may need to change the view, select the order then click print requisition... of course now you'll be asking why you need to print each order... well, hopefully polish is next.

[This is on 5.0.24]

And (7) happened when they made it so the check boxes matched whether text was or was not dropped in. i.e. Click the template drops it in, clicking again removes it. Your point stands, I cringed when I first heard about (7).

rene,

Wow, the day after NACNCD is really hopping, lol.

Here are my answers complete with my opinions and frustration. Remember, the problem is I have my top 10 list as well.

1. Will likely never change. At least you aren't a pediatrician. We can't even use them.
2. This is the type of thing that he tends to change.
3. I emailed Amazing Charts on 7/27/2010 about http://www.amazingcharts.com/ACU/index.htm --> go to the Guardian Angel Support paragraph. I pointed out the double "a" in a sentence and the fact that engish was not capitalized. I received an email back from Amazing Charts acknowledging. How difficult is it to change a few words on a website. This is an area where a LOT of prospective customers will read. I notice those types of things when I buy things. So, I doubt that will ever change.
4. Probably won't change.
5. I don't think this one matters as codifying will change all medications to the same characters anyway. The others will be italicized.
6. Will likely never change, but Ben gave a good answer. It's ironic, because it was kind of the other way around before.
7. It doesn't matter what they do with templates. They will always be horrid. Not the ALT + Right click method...that's genius. But, just see the thread on templates. AARRGGHH!! Needs an entirely different set of code. There are three windows to get to templates, and they are all different.
8. I agree completely with #8. Give me that back from v4, and I will gladly donate $1,000. The entire Orders section is not good.
9. How long do your medical students stay with you? LOL. One of the major tests of programming is fewer mouse clicks. In Jon's defense a lot of this goes on the government.
10. You're not ugly.

I think v5 is definitely worth upgrading to. It's hard not to like ePrescribe and the better vaccine entry. Orders...aarrgghh!! I am trying to find another way to do those.

Here is the deal. And, we talk about this all the time. Leslie, I believe is on my side. First, you just have to know that this isn't Jon's strong suit. He is ALL OVER bugs. He doesn't tend to go back and tweak things to make them better. God knows we talk about them enough.

I bought AC because it was inexpensive, lean, mean and the fastest out there, and it was written by a doctor. I think earlier on, Jon still saw patients more, so he would notice the little problems or annoyances we did. Personally, I wish the focus were simply on AC, the EMR. No government stuff (I will lose that battle) and no PM. I simply don't see how we can spend time on PM and then fix all of its bugs and still keep the EMR chugging away. Just as you said about the templates working together. As soon as PM has to be seamless. Anyway, it is either stay where your niche was or "if you don't continue to improve and get bigger, you will fall behind." I don't know. I think with Apple and Google and Microsoft, you can't rest on your laurels. I think with AC, you can. You just have to keep making those Laurels better and better. How do you tell which Laurels to improve. Read the message board.

I upgraded to v5 last week finally mainly because of an interface with my PM system and eRx. I don't even use eRx that much but thought it was cool. I also wanted to start getting used to doing the electronic crap for the government.

That being said, after using it for well over 1 week, I kind of want v4 back. v5 isn't quite as stable, has crashed on my a few times, my m.a. has had several issues with importing items and losing the links (which happened only once with v4 in 12 months), lost the "sign off and send", and the orders wear me out.

With all software (except Word), there is something I wish was better which is what the company should strive to do.

Whew. I'm glad I waited a day longer. I was not aware there was a NACNCD.


Don't patients usually start looking for another doctor when theirs can no longer understand their pain?


Ouch. A day after NACNCD! This being only my second post, Bert I'll try to be on your good side at all times. Thanks for comment #10 - my wife loves you.

rene

Originally Posted By: Bert

I think earlier on, Jon still saw patients more, so he would notice the little problems or annoyances we did.

Just to clarify unless you were joking. I was referring to the program and not Jon's willingness to listen to patients and notice their problems.

Originally Posted By: Bert

He doesn't tend to go back and tweak things to make them better. God knows we talk about them enough.

Not really a criticism. It's just a fact of life on here. Jon's priorities (IMO) are to fix bugs quickly, which he does, and to continue to move forward adding new features and changing to the ever changing landscape of EHRs.

Most people on here are on my good side. The question is am I on anyone's bad side?

Rene, thanks for this list. It was very helpful to me as I complete my own integration testing to upgrade to newest version.

I have to say that after my initial trepidation about upgrading that despite some bugs and inconveniences, V5 is far superior to V4. The eRx alone is worth the upgrade and there are MANY improvements that make life better and a pt encounter quicker and more efficient. The extra CCHIT stuff can be ignored and implemented as time and motivation allow. There really is no good reason to delay upgrading IMHO. AC continues to improve and I could not be more satisfied.

What is NACNCD?
I do not know what the % templates mean. Is there something different about them?

My only concerns have been losing orders and the disp section of ERx. You, in your list of grievances inadvertantly solved the first. I am still dealing with the laughter of pharmacists who say "do you really want that much" and I tell them my EMR made me do it.

Thanks for the list. It made me aware of features I did not know about.


Lois

NACNCD = "National AC No Complaint Day". It was 8/6/2010. Supposed to be a day to say only nice stuff about Amazing Charts. It's over, resume posting.

There are "Template Fillers" that start with "%", to fill in patient-specific variables when building a template. For instance, putting "%he" in a template will be inserted as "he" if the patient is male, and "she" if female. There is a discussion and list in these posts.