Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Closing Practice Help

My partner and I are being relocated back to Iowa and I am in the midst of closing my practice. I am sure there are several members that have relocated or closed a practice before and looking for any words of wisdom. I've been using Amazing Charts for 2 years and have a physician potentially looking at taking over my practice. I'm thinking of the best option for record retention/copying to CD for patients to sign a release and pick up, etc. Fortunately, I share space with another physician so am not needing to deal with property besides some basic office equipment I'll be leaving.

I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions any one has. I will be notifying patients in the next few weeks to give at least 60 days and also placing an announcement in our local paper.

Thanks in advance for any advice. Now, if anyone would want to take over a practice in Key West, just let me know!

Keep a copy of your AC. enc file. Try to sell practice to younger doc or hospital.

You can buy a cheap computer (about 150 dollars) and copy AC to it and then give it to new doctor as incentive - make him record custodian and take your AC with you. You can talk with ac about turning off license and deactivating users so scrips can't be sent, etc. they can use current version of AC just to supply records - new doctor may like it and decide to license it and just keep using it.

Make sure that you copy the AmazingCharts Directory on the main computer and burn it or external drive, it can usually be found at c:\program files\Amazing Charts\ this contains your LDF and MDF files that make up your database not to mention all the files that make up AC. Of course you can use that AC backup tool I have never tried it, I personally prefer grabbing everything.

As for exporting your charts this is another area that AC lacks in. We have made are own SQL interface that creates exports however we want them and we can import into AC much better than their importing utility. Then move it all to a MS Access database and do with it how you please. I have not looked at AC's CCDs for a while but the last time I looked at it you could only be exported 1 patient at a time. We made our interface because for the billing company we work with uses Centricity so we had to get the two to make nice.

Hope this helps.
-Dog

That is a good idea. You will have to stop SQL server to do that. To stop SQL server you go to Search/Services/SQL Server AC/Stop

Thanks for all your replies. Any suggestions for how best to store/providing patient records if a physician does not want to move here or takeover my practice?

I don't see why you can't just load a version of AC on a stand alone PC for historical purposeses. You just won't be able to update it or prescribe from what I know.

-Dog

I would second this. If someone buys the practice, you can give them a computer with the records (and get AC to deactivate the license.) This would be equivalent to leaving the charts behind. $150 is cheaper and more portable than racks of charts.

If not, let the local medical society know your forwarding address and set up an archive machine in IA.

Since you will probably be starting a new practice back in IA, you will need the license for there. The archive machine, not connected to the system (so you accidently connect to the active database or vice versa) could use it's own database off the same license, I suppose.

Probably need to change the license if you leave a computer behind. If they buy AC, they can change the license info to their new information and new license. IF not, being deactivated, they cannot e-prescribe.