Home Forums Discussions Problems Losing the Chart!

I, and my staff, have been more bothered by one problem more than any other issue in AC! If anyone goes to save the chart and accidently mouses the option right above 'save,' which is close the chart, it will actually close and lose the chart. It will trash it and often not even ask if you want to save it. I don't know why it asks at some times and not others. Further, if you navigate to other tabs like the 'imported items', get caught up in what you are doing and accidently hit the 'red X', it trashes the chart and you have just lost half an hour of typing, including the vitals and everything else. AC really needs a better warning system and get rid of that 'red X' and replace it with a 'blue save' button. The default should be saving it back to the message inbox where I got it! Are you listening AC? This was a big problem when I started using the system, but I've had to be trained to stay away from these dangerous buttons. Occasional my staff still groans when I ask for the vitals again, knowing I just lost the whole visit. When I train new staff members, expect charts to get lost. Further, I can't send them back to the staff for any reason without fear that all my work will be lost. AC needs to make it much more difficult to erase charts.

Boondoc,

You are right. If you use the drop down menu and try to "save the chart" you can hit "close the chart" easily and it will not give you a pop up. This is the only instance where this happens and Hopefully will be fixed in a future release. (I am still using 5.029)

One way to avoid the problem with forwarding is to use the Control-S which will send it to your box. Or just use the forward to Chart box in the lower right and don't use the drop down menu. That is definitely a bug and I think they are aware of it. There is absolutely no reason you should be able to close a chart without trying to.

Boondoc

You are not alone. I have trouble losing charts as well.
We were pursuing this topic on a different discussion thread.

One suggestion that I have is that if you lose a chart and you realize it, the thing to do is to re-open the chart and recover the text file. You can save it to notepad or wordpad and cut and paste it back together when you have the time.

I wish that AC would fix this.

I am trying to make sense of how this happens as I will lose one or two charts a week.

I avoid this by using the forward to chart box in the lower right exclusively. This avoids any lost data problem. Occationally I will have the same pt in my box 2-3 times for one visit but all you do is use the most recent chart and delete the others.

I too always use the forward button just above sign-off. This is, indeed, an error and a bug report was forwarded to AC.

Bug reports are the way to forward info to them, they do not consistently read the user board. I'm sure it will be fixed.

It's interesting that apparently only new users are having this problem. It probably relates to the fact that older users have developed a set path and are not looking for other ways to do things, like forward charts.

I will occasionally hit control S but usually just hit the forward button. I rarely go to the menu buttons.

Boondoc, please tell me in steps how to do this. I have never seen this work this way. I have only experienced where when AC crashes, that the next time you open that chart, it will ask if you wish to resurrect it from the text file on that computer.

Bert:

You can go to AC Help, click contents and enter "Resurrect A Lost Note." This will give you the instructions.

or

Take a file that you use for testing and type something new on it.
Delete the chart. Now before you open another chart,on the AC page, open the patient's chart, click File/Print and you will see a drop down menu with 'current note as unsaved draft.' Click on that and your DELETED file will appear. You can save it as a text file and cut and paste later.

I stll lose charts during the day. Mine today happened like Boondocs. I put up with it. I have been using AC for 4.5 years and still manage to lose charts.

I am waiting for the latest release before I start on customer support.

My patients have too many problems to do the whole note during the visit.

rdoc
pittsburgh, pa (go steelers)

If you accidentally delete a chart by closing it without saving you can open the "Deleted" tab and reopen it.