Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Synchronization

I want to take my laptop with me to the nursing homes and then synchronize databases when I get back from rounding. I looked at the option in the Administrator section, and it gave me "are you sure you really want to do this?" type language, and all kinds of warnings to back up my database first.

Then, I got on the User Board, and searched for "synchronize" posts over the past year, and found posts where tech support was telling people to "hold off" on synchronization "until the bugs were worked out".

This would be a very useful feature for me, but I am not willing to even try it if I'm going to have to cross my fingers every time I do it, three times a month.

So, does anybody know if the bugs worked out? Anybody "synchronizing" on a regular basis?

Brian,
I gather you saw what I wrote awhile back so no need to just say it again. There was some women who's name eludes me right now, but she seemed to be ready to take the plunge and she and I spoke thru the board once or twice. But I never heard back from her as to whether or not she went ahead and tried it or what her experiences were. If you saw her post you might want to PM her and see what she has learned or experinced. We are a number of updates behind here. Might some of the newest releases finally have good, detailed step by step instructions??? Also, have you called tech for a walk thru? I would be very interested in whatever you learn for the same reasons. Nancy still does some "black bag" at the local assisted living places. Let us know. Good Luck...
Paul

I'll make sure I look that post up, Paul. Thanks.

I have a number of patients at three different nursing homes in the area, and I visit each one monthly. I also do house calls. I would like to finish my notes at the time of service, then bring it back and synch fearlessly with the main database.

I have played with some of the synchronization features built in to Microsoft Access on some a prescription database program. The synchronization stuff is a little scary. I use Amazing Charts at the nursing home all the time, but I use it through LogMeIn which works great. You just need internet access at the Nursing home. Personally, if I were going to use the Synchronize feature in Amazing Charts, I would definitely make sure my backups are up to date (ie daily which is what they should be anyways) and test it - make sure that encounters at the NH are incorporated as well as encounters made at the main site while the laptop is away.

Brian,

I also do housecalls and have wondered about "taking the plunge" myself, but have been too chicken to try! If cell phone coverage is good in your area, you could log in remotely from your laptop thru a VPN or a service like GOTOMYPC by using a wireless card. Then you wouldn't need to worry about the integrity of your database. I am hoping to try that route soon, but cell service is so spotty here that I am doubtful it will work well.

My office manager and I were planning a test run, but we have abandoned ideas of synchronizing three times a month. You just don't want to gamble on something like that, if it's not 100% reliable. It might work ten times in a row, and then go kerblooey. I don't want to take a chance on a corrupted database.

Right now, I see "synchronization" as something I might only use once in a great while, in a very specific situation. For example, if I became partners with a fellow AC user, and wanted to merge databases. Only a task of that proportion would be worth risking a corrupted database.

What I'm considering now is going very low-tech: just taking my tablet on my nursing home visits and house calls, jotting down notes into Word or Notepad with the handwriting recognition, and then copying and pasting into AC when I get back to the office.

I guess one other option would be to not use synchronization at all, but just move databases.

This may sound stupid, and it would only work if you were basically the only provider so that no one else was using it. And, probably only if you didn't need to out very much.

But, you COULD copy the six databases to your laptop, go out and make your rounds, then come back and paste them back in. The databases would never get corrupted that way.

Again, just throwing that out there.

Hmmm, came on to figure out how to Synch my laptop. I had entered a bunch of Templates. I had planned on synchronizing to add them to the database. This thread suggests may not be the best idea, so... Any suggestions as to the best way to get them into the database?

J.A. Aurand

J.A.

Can you be more specific? I mean where did you enter the templates? On your desktop AC? I am not quite sure what you are trying to do, but it should be rather easy to accomplish with more details.

Synchronization may be a wonderful, stable feature. It's just that nobody on the message board has spoken up to say that they use it all the time, and it always works right. Nobody wants to be the first human test subject!

(That being said, I may try it after my next day of nursing home rounds. If so, I will update everyone on my experience).

Sharing templates, on the other hand, is easy. You can export them onto a disk, your network, or even post them on this message board (we have a whole forum dedicated to that kind of thing (Helpful Downloads)).

I can tell you that exporting templates is done from the template editing screens. If you are having a particular problem doing that, someone like Bert would be a great person to ask. (I am a relative newbie to the User Board).

(Hmmm... there sure are a lot of parentheses in this post (but parentheses are fun (aren't they?))!)

The templates were entered into laptop at home. I would like them to be able to move them into the Database for use at office ( I see a lot more patients at the office...).

JA Aurand

Open a chart in Amazing Charts. Right-click on the field with the templates you wish to export. Once there, click "set export location", set your export location, and then click "export templates", to save them to a network location, a disk or jump drive.

You can copy the exported files onto any computer running Amazing Charts, and simply import them into that database by opening a file, and then right-clicking in the same field that corresponds to your saved templates. Click "Import Templates", locate your files and voila.

If that is not clear, let me know. Good luck.

Parenthetically speaking, yes.

I tried synchronizing several times after nursing home visits. Not only did it not work, it erased AC from my laptop and I had to re-install it and re-enter all of my practice info. Thank goodness I had backed up my database first! Even tech support, which is outstanding by the way, didn't know what to tell me.

Hmmm... I really want Amazing Charts Synchronization to work as advertised. This desire seems to be overcoming fear. I'm going to have to test it.

Therefore, I will draw upon the spirit of Wile E. Coyote, and carry out the following plan:

1. On the date of my next nursing home rounds, I will make a copy of the "Amazing Six" Amazing Charts database files (Amazing Charts, Amazing Meds, billing, coding, import, schedule) on my server, and paste them into the Amazing Charts folder on my laptop, replacing their present counterparts.

2. I will then have to redirect my copy of Amazing Charts to the database on the laptop, correct?

3. I will create some key changes in the database on the server, for testing purposes.

4. After I complete my outpatient rounds, I will use a flash drive to save a backup of the Amazing Six folders that are on my office server, and a backup of all the new patient data in the Amazing Six folders that are on my laptop.

5. I will harness the lightning that perpetually crashes around my castle, and activate the Amazing Importer. I will then examine the database to make sure all new data has been properly imported, and no old data has been obliterated.

At what point do I redirect my laptop to the server database?

If either of the databases have been corrupted, I can just copy the versions on my flash drive back into their respective folders and everything should be copacetic, oui?, until I can get with Amazing Charts customer support.

If it all goes kerblooey, I guess I will just copy the new notes to notepad, redirect to the server database (obliterating the old notes, correct?), and regenerate the notes on an office PC.

Am I making this too hard? Am I forgetting anything?

Did anyone have the patience to read this tedious post?

Yes


Barely, espcially since your usual biting wit was not present in it usual splendor.

1. So far, so good.


Only if your laptop was on your network with AC pointing to the server database. Otherwise, it will still be pointing to the AC database on C:\Program Files\Amazing Charts. Adding databases or overwriting databases will not change where AC is looking for its data if it had been looking there before. Besides, it is automatic. If AC can't find the database, the window will pop up asking you to browse to it.

3. Cool


Sounds good. But, why the flash drive? Why not on the desktop of each respective computer? Or both to be doubly safe. Or you can run AmazingUtilities, and it will make backups for you in the same folder.


So, it does sound like you usually have your laptop on the LAN. Which means that when you first use AC on your laptop when you disconnect, AC will ask you where you want to connect. But, for this question, yes, you would need to reconnect to the network and the server databases in order to sync with them.


No. I would think you would copy the laptop backups (which have the good server version PLUS all of the new notes) into the laptop AND the server. This way you do not have to worry about how you will get the new notes into the server.


Huh? You lost me on that one. Notepad?

=======
I am still not sure why users (depending on how often they round outside of the office) don't just copy their network database to their laptop, do rounds, come back to the office and copy the database back to the network. Seems a lot simpler to me. Of course, it would only work if you were a solo provider and no one else was using the network computers entering data while you were out.

Brian,
Wasn't the whole idea of the Sync function, was to get rid of a lot of this user do this and that, and sort of take you on and off your network in such a fashion so as to NOT make lots of coruptions in one's database???
This is getting old, but I got a trial copy and an owners manual from the Altapoint folks and they seem to have a fairly robust SYNC function. I faxed the 10 pages or so of detailed instructions to AC well over a year ago because Nancy really wanted to try and use it and I was trying to "guide" them into posting really good detailed instructions of their own. When I first was trying to work thru sync with one of the girls at support, she was less than sure as to how to proceed. This was another reason I sent them the instructions, was to show AC what my frame of reference was as to how sync should happen. I just felt like I had a better handle on it then the tech person who was trying to guide me and work it with me did....

As you are well aware Sync is fraught with peril to one's data and so having it well laid out would be much better for both users and tech support. Less frazzled users equals less trouble and expense to tech support, but what do I know, right??? Be careful and keep us in the loop. Thanks,
Paul

That was funny, Bert.



I guess I was thinking worst case scenario: I turn on the Amazing Synchronizer and both computers explode into motes of superheated plasma. I would have the databases on an external drive, which I could then bury in a coffee can until the experiment was complete.



Okay, so when I reconnect with the server on the network, my laptop database will not be overwritten, until I synchronize.



And then the only thing I lose is any alteration to the server database that has taken place while I'm gone.



I was just saying that:
*IF* I wanted to get the nursing home notes onto the server database, *and*
*IF* I couldn't synchronize, *and*
*IF* I didn't want to lose any alterations to the server database that had taken place while I was gone, *then*
I would have to output the notes on the laptop somehow, and cut and paste them into my office network AC database manually somehow.



Because:
1. I round on 50-60 nursing home patients, at three different nursing homes, on three different days.
2. I don't want to have to call to my staff as I'm leaving: "don't touch the EMR while I'm gone!!!"
3. What's the purpose of having a "Synchronize" function on your EMR, if it's unusable? If it serves no purpose other than corrupt your database and shut down production, why not depict a skull and crossbones on the switch, and call it "The Doomsday Button?"

Well, I am not the best person to answer this since I don't use nor do I know the inner workings of the sync program. However, logically, once you connect back to the server database, the database on your laptop would be safe. However, since that data is supposed to sync, then I don't know exactly how it would work.


I guess this will be the answer to a few questions. I guess I sort of pictured your being out and no one at the office to write things on the EMR. I kind of pictured this after hours or on weekends or something with no other provider in the office.


See private message.

Brian,

See newest post on syncing.

Am I really the only one who still wonders why such a detailed process that is fraught with data saftey concerns does not have a well laid out, detailed set of instructions in the help section?

Paul:

I posted a reply to you yesterday, but it got lost somehow. I've never had a post go missing before. I must have navigated away from the page before I hit "submit".

Basically, my post said that I agreed with you absolutely, 100%. However, there is no way of knowing how long it will be until we are supplied with the kind of detailed documentation we would all like to have.

In the meantime, we Amazing Charts users are a rugged, individualistic group (not to mention intelligent and good looking). So, instead of waiting for someone to provide documentation for us, why don't we get busy beefing up the Amazing Wiki?

We can fill in what we know on any given subject, and when we run out of steam, we can pester Jon, or technical support or whomever. We can then take what we find out, and post it on the wiki. Then, when a new user comes on and asks the same questions that we keep asking, we will have some place to direct them.

This would also address the issue of "Lost Knowledge". I see brilliant answers to common problems getting posted here all the time, and then they slide off the board and are difficult to access later.

I have never participated in a project of this kind, but I'm willing to give it a shot. What say ye?

Brian,
And players that's why we always wear our facemasks and helmets even on the Bench, right???

Yes to some extent I agree with you in theory and I love the idea of the pearls of wisdom shared here not disappearing to be lost for all time. But more than once I have had the "cost" of tech support literally thrown in my face and not too pleasantly either I might add. So when I make a point like this it is as much a statement about corporate policy and planning. This thing with Sync is a perfect example.

Sync is potentially a great feature that we really pushed for so Nancy too could do her housecalls and tighten up charts at home. We spoke to Jon about this when we first signed on almost two years ago now. But if AC doesn't want to deal with tons of corupt databases because assisting with such "cost too much" under their present financial and business model, then by golly, wouldn't it just make good old fashion horse sense to give the people a great set of instructions to keep such expensive and time consuming service issues to a minimum???

Wouldn't you agree that the release of such a potentially destructive feature without a good, detailed set of instructions is just begging for trouble? After our previous encounters over possible database issues we will not put our practice's and our patients' data on the line until such issues of proper instructions as well as a better articulated and laid out policy of database support is positively stated and affirmed.

Actually, I find this core group of users hunting and pecking our way thru like this kind of sad. AC designed this thing, so they know how it was designed to work better than anyone else....So why not lead. For goodness sake, please lead. Why not spend just one or two more nights getting it "down on paper" might we say, so this feature won't just sit there gathering dust because most of us are a bit too scared and concerned to move forward without such guidance and leadership.

To a large extent, thank goodness many people have held off trying it in the vacuum of information. Think of all the stressed out providers and offices, possibly swamping tech support, trying to get their systems back up and running had more people simply moved ahead and tried it. If properly released it could be used with confidence by all and be a wonderful, stand out feature. But instead it just kind of stands out like a sore thumb. It could be a great feather in AC's hat, a real killer feature, that this little engine that could (ya I know, I find the artwork kind of freaky too) beat out most of its competition in designing such a tough feature that probably would attract many a potential customer.

In the end, to me it just seems so silly to have designed such a great feature that so many of us seem to be wanting and needing and not simply finishing the job, by releasing a good detailed set of instructions. They already did so much of the work, simply finish the job off. This way most of us could use it confidently and AC could recieve the recognition for a job well done, that they have "almost" earned. "The job's not done until the paper work is complete." Wouldn't you agree?

Have a great night,
Paul

Paul:

As I said before, I agree wholeheartedly with what you're saying. I'm just trying to approach the situation constructively. I understand where your frustration is coming from, believe me.

Amazing Charts is a good program, and it was begun in an admirable spirit. I actually think it has some attributes of greatness. You can see that if the underlying philosophy of Amazing Charts was carried through to its ultimate conclusion, the program could be a phenomenon, and yet it stops short in a few vital areas.

Of course we understand that AC is in a state of perpetual self-improvement. And that "one of us" built it from scratch. And that the price is exceptional. Still, it is in our hearts to yearn for perfection in this lifetime.

And it is frustrating when you would like to synchronize your charts, and your program has a button marked "Synchronize", and you're not sure how to work it. And it is hard when you decide to have faith and press that button anyway, and little windows pop open containing messages to inspire dread.

However, you know, I am pretty happy overall with my inexpensive, nifty little EMR right now. I'm willing to be patient. I'm just trying to find ways to make things better for now, and hoping that its creator will hold the course and keep making the program more of what it started out to be: a way for doctors to do what they've always done, only easier and better.

Brian,
I for the most part I agree with you. But unfortunately part of my frustration that you so properly pegged is that I feel and others have seen and agree with me here on this is that to some extent AC and its creator have sort have lost their way philosophically speaking. And so this why some of us poke and prod like this now and again about such things as the EULA and how features and problems are or are not supported. Things got a little chilly around this board and the AC community last winter as certain negative issues heated up. The resolution to some of those issues have yet to really reach fruition. The cost of support verses making things easier on themselves, no less the fact that some of us even openly offered to consider paying a reasonable amount more for support so as to not "shoot our goose who was laying the golden eggs" (AC) in exchange for a stronger promise of capable support was brought up, but never really answered.

To this day just what is Guardian Angel Support and just what does it really cover, including database repairs which is a major issue for both users and vendors. Read the newest EULA and you will clearly see that as much as we are being told on the main website that there is top-notch service, really the EULA actually states quite clearly that all support is at AC's choice and that nothing at all is promised. So just what do we have, which of these two completely conflicting statements is the real "Guardian Angel", the real AC?

So when truely risky ideas like SYNC come up it really reminds me of these not so nice things. Before any of us put our data in harms way, just what is our level of support, what can we count on when the chips are down and our data is corupt? Really that is my main point here and has been for quite some time now. This is not my being a bad guy and or my wrongly picking a fight, but my simply stating real fact and asking solid questions that need to be answered and clarified. Patients' and doctors' property rights are at stake here. Who's records are these and what policies and what ethics should guide such policies? Our legal and ethical obligations to our providers and our patients extents far beyond any little business agreement between two parties that any lawyer might dream up to blantantly protect only one party at the expense of the other. In the end when our patient needs their records and their labs it will be us that will have to answer for their where abouts and integrity.

As I said a long time ago, I truely yearn to get AC to back to what I refered to its original "Waterbury VT" place making reference to Ben and Gerry's and the great state of Vermont that I still yearn to return to and live in sometimes. Still have my old Green Plates in the garage that say 72 DART, 72SCAMP and ELSIE (Inside joke for another Dart of Nancy's for Little Car). But I am just one voice and only a few really brave folks stepped up and spoke up when things got weird. We are the passengers on someone else's airline here. All we can do is watch from the sides and try to see if the crew really is properly attending to this plane's care. But in the end the policies that determine that care are not directly in our hands, and so we ask, we poke and prod as we wonder and wait for positive progress that has yet to be produced or shown.

And still I hope to return to Waterbury... I really do want AC to the the phenom that you spoke of. At one point I thought Jon was really on to something and that he really understood just what he had and what he could have someday. I personally used to refer to AC in public as the "QuickBooks of EMR's" Simply, elegant, easy to use and care for, at a reasonable price that any office could afford. All while being run in this Ben and Gerry's community spirit of openess, sharing and mutual support. It was such a wonderful safe haven in this dirty business we find ourselves in, that medicine has become. But as much as there has been a sort of peace here, it is more of an edgy time out where many of the old issues have yet to be properly addressed or resolved. It's still lerking just below the surface.

So the question here is; where is this plane headed as we draw closer to a major upgrade (4.0) that might possibly also have some serious changes in the agreement between us users and our vendor? The dialog sort of started on that EULA thread a while back, and then there was no reply..... It seemed hopeful right after that last big EMR article was run and some AC users posted responses to the editors, and then it just sort of petered out. So what does that say and where does that leave us all??? I don't know either and I am just too pooped to think straight anymore. You are one of those really great members of this board that help keep it vibrant and alive. Thanks for being you.....

In closing if we felt that there would be nice, friendly, knowledgable folks at the other end of the line, who would politely and properly fix our corupted database if all was to go to hell in a hand basket from trying Sync, when we too would have "pushed that button" along time ago, as you so aptly put it. We would have been good beta testers like we used to be and taken that leap of faith. But now we have been burned and we are wiser for the experience. We no longer take things on faith even here, but instead want to see policies that we can have faith in clearly stated in black and white so we can feel secure as to where we stand. And is that asking for so much? Lately it seems that there is wiggling to avoid stepping up, all while still promoting that good old fashioned we are here for you and all that feel good jazz. We find that kind of lacking to say the least, don't you??? What say all of you??? So many watchers and yet so few contributors.....
Have a great night and let's pick up on this again tomorrow.
Paul

SyncToy

Aye, aye, skipper.

OK, since I had never used Sync and figured I should if I were going to stay in the game, I played around with it today. Now, I only have an n of about 10 tries, but it worked seamlessly and flawlessly every time. Are users really having trouble with it?

Well, funny you should mention that! I just used the Amazing Synchronizer to synchronize a bunch of nursing home notes, without a hitch.

I was going to try SyncToy, honest I was, Bert, but I was overtaken by events beyond my control.

I found out last night that today was the day for rounds on all three of the nursing homes I visit. I was scheduled to see about 30 patients. The thought of jotting down notes at the nursing home, and then re-inputting all those notes when I got back was just too much for me. I just decided to go for it.

Before I left, I copied the entire Amazing Charts folder from the server, and pasted it into the Program Files folder on my laptop, replacing the copy that was already there. I then clicked on the Amazing Charts icon on my laptop, and Amazing Charts went through some kind of re-configuration. It finally prompted me about whether I was going to use this copy of Amazing Charts on a network or not, and I said "no", so that the laptop was now working independently of the network and the server.

After making this split, I created some fake patient records on both the laptop and the server, so that I could quickly tell later if the synchronization had been successful.

Rounding at the nursing home went smoothly. All the information from my office was seemingly contained on the laptop.

When I got back, I prepared to Synchronize.

First, I made a backup copy of the Amazing Charts folder on my laptop, with all its fresh and tasty nursing home notes. I then redirected my laptop copy of Amazing Charts to the server.

After that, I went to the server, opened Administrator Options, and pressed the magic button. It directed me to browse to the copy I wanted to synchronize with, and I actually browsed to the backup copy, though I could have browsed to the "original" just as easily, I suppose.

It was a quick and painless process. All the notes from my nursing home visits were now on both computers. The test notes that I created before I left were on both computers.

Now, I may have actually made that more difficult than it needed to be. The next goal will be to convert these steps to their simplest possible form, to make this thing as routine as possible.

We can then post our own detailed instructions on the Amazing Charts wiki.

One word of warning about using the Amazing Synchronizer:

At some point, there will be an option to "show records being updated". If you check this option, the computer will warn you that if you have made more than a few changes, your are about to go through a painfully tedious experience. TRUST WHAT IT SAYS.

Instead of "show records being updated", this button option should be labeled "approve thousands of changes individually". Each record you created that day included numerous micro-changes to the record, and you will have to "allow" or "skip" each one. The "abort" button will not function while this is going on.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

At some point, you just have to trust it. I would recommend:

Going to the nursing home and writing your notes. Come back and make a copy of your "pristine" database. Then synchronize. Now, I say synchronize loosely, because there is a choice which allows you to update the changes only that were made to the remote database (the nursing home database) and not actually SYNC. So, in this way, you do not have to make sure both databases are identical before you leave But, hey, go for it. There may not be a lot of instructions as Paul says, but it is rather self explanatory, and I doubt Jon would leave it there if it were so buggy it would overwrite data or cause everything to be corrupt.

Brian,
Bless you for taking the plunge! You are either a very brave and intelligent man or extremely nieve and stupid; Just kidding lol. Big thanks to both of you for finally working on this for all of us, we are all truely in your debt. And yes please post some good stuff at the WIKI. Thank-you, thank-you, oh and thank-you.

Now out of curiousity as an extra fail-safe kind of thing... shouldn't one make a good back-up of both the traveling laptop and home-based server, just before Syncing back up, just in case something happens to either one or both during the process??? If staff had added stuff while your in the field and obviously you did stuff out in the field, right?

Now I would assume that everytime one goes out into the field with the laptop they will have to copy and paste the home server data files over to the traveling laptop because the server is ever growing and changing as we use it every day? This just seems to make sense as I am understanding the process. Not sure it would be too smart to do, but in theory I gather one could use a week old copy from the laptop, because in the end the program and process will add and combine any and all things that are different, not the same, yes? But obviously why would one want to go out into the field with many of their most recent updates and encounters missing, right?

Brian, you be the man. Keep us all in the loop. I'm getting ichy to finally let James Bond have a long over due "field mission" this weekend.
Be good and thanks again,
Paul

Brian,
I copy the entire AC folder every night as my backup so I'm feeling a bit uneasy here as to what to copy and paste. So what folders in particular are you copying to the laptop??? It was stuck in my head that I should be concerned about 6 folders but now I'm wondering. Here's what I was thinking after looking in my main AC folder on the tower/server.

1) Amazingcharts. mdb
2) Amazingmeds. mdb
3) codes.mdb
4) import.mdb
5) schedule.mdb

Now what about the manilla folder with the imported items themselves??? What if either office or field ran an AC supported test like we have the Midmark ECG that Nancy could travel with. Where are those stored and are they part of Sync? What if theoretically someone did one here in office while the laptop was away. I gather that wouldn't be as messy but you get my point. What if Nancy wanted to look at an ECG while charting at home or reviewing things for whatever reasons?

I went to do it and then I got a bit concerned to do it on a Friday night when there will be no support in the office in RI all weekend long. I sure wish that the feature itself would grab what you needed for you. Kind of like, Sync or Copy main database to laptop button; then a re-sync laptop to main database button for you to use when you return. Take the idiot (me) out of the equation.

But I just thought about this... Perhaps we are looking at this all wrong. If the thing can Sync in one direct doesn't it really Sync in both directions??? Might we really be supposed to be hitting the same button twice??? Think about it, it what it does is a parity check (perhaps wrong term but stick with me) in terms of comparing what is on both machines and then adding to either one what it does not have from it's other, than should we not be using the Sync button to do the first transfer copy to the outgoing laptop to tranfer the main database into it's files??? Then upon return of the laptop to the office, do it again to get them to both have eachothers' data? Do you get where I am going with this???

Again, this is why a decent set of instructions would solve just about anything and everything. Please let me know what you think.

Anyway, wife and kids are waiting for Daddy for family movie night at their school, so let me run.... Have a great weekend all. I've got lots of games. Watch out knees, here comes trouble.
Paul

I need to think about your questions, Paul. I'm going to make a little sheet to hang up in the room for my office manager, so he'll know how to do it next time. When I figure out how to word it, I'll post it here, or on the Wikipedia.

(maybe someone will beat me to it!)

Brian,
I am sort of the prodigal son around here, so this is probably not a place I want to tread but have you tried to call or ping AC tech and see what their input and suggestions were??? Hopefully now that this has been out for a while they could guide you in the proper direction? Anyway, we are all ears and thanks again...
Paul

Somebody beat me to it!

(I wondered how long I'd have to drag my heels!)

Somebody named Eric wrote an Amazing Charts Wikipedia entry for...

Synchronization!

http://www.amazingcharts.com/wiki/index.php?title=Synch_Databases

You can post any comments on the article here.

I invited the author to post on our forum; I have no idea of the author(s) identity.

Brian,
Great link there buddy and many thanks to it's original author. I still have a question about this thing. When one returns to the office and syncs what is on the laptop back up with the main server, does it only "compile this new updated data" on the server or does it also do the same for the laptop? So let's say the laptop was away from the office and so both machines needed to be updated on what the other had been doing in the other's absence can we use the sync utility to update both of them? Kind of like the doc has been gone for a few days, he/she is just going back out into the field again, but wants both machines to have the newest and most complete of what they both have, could he/she quickly drop in and hit sync, let it run and do it's thing, and BAM, now they both have eachother's data combined in a perfect mirror of eachother....Hit the road secure in the knowledge that both the home office and the traveling laptop are now up to date on eachother....

In a real sense is it making a mirrored copy of the new synced database on both machines harddrives??? Now they both know what happened to eachother while they were apart. Server took 5 appointments and scanned 4 docs into 3 patients imported items folders, while the laptop charted 3 encounters in 3 patients charts, get it?

And if such is so, then couldn't we just use the sync button twice as I asked a number of posts ago? Use the botton once to get both machines the most recent copy of the main database before the laptop goes off-site and then use it the second time when the laptop returns home to let eachother know what they did while they were apart. I know what I am asking and I just hope I am typing and writing it well enough to convey my question and concept here. This is what I always envisioned Sync doing. Compiling, Combining and then Mirroring both machines whenever you hit "go" might we say. Does this make sense to everyone?

Vinny, have you brought this up with Jon at all? Could you? I get the feeling that you two guys would understand each other really well and that you would be able to convey it in an understandable way to the rest of us.

Paul,

Yes, they would be synchronized. So if:

Main desktop had 1, 2, and 3

and

Laptop had A, B, C

when you synced them, both would have 1, 2, 3, A, B, and C

You can sync as often as you wish, and when you put the laptop down in the office for awhile while data is being entered into the main desktop, then you can sync the laptop from the desktop so when you leave to go on house calls or nursing home visits, the laptop will be exactly the same as the desktop. Of course, if you didn't care about the laptop being up to date, you could just take it out and then sync it when you get back, insuring that all visits done out of the office would now be on the main desktop and both computers would be "in sync."

Bert,
Well the main reason one syncs before they leave is so if one works on anyone or anything that is already a patient with a chart, Mrs Smith Chart # 123 has all her info from both machines in chart #123, right? Because if the doc in the field was to create a new chart in a virgin database on the laptop for Mrs Smith she would then have two charts, one from the laptop like # 1 or 2 (and who already had that chart number on the main databse no less?) and then when you try to sync both back up now at best Mrs Smith would have two charts instead of one continual sequencial chart. And there is the issue of the main database having charts already with most of the lower numbers already.

So one should always sync or otherwise leave home with the most current copy of the database on their laptop before hitting the road to minimize such issues. Now you simply enter Mrs Smith in her already est'ed chart and chart number. The only time this would not apply completely would be if you were making a new chart for a new patient for the first time while in the field and even still you would want your version of AC to know what the last good chart number was.

Hey this brings up a good question: Let's say the main database at home is up to chart number 500 and while the two machines are apart they both add new patients so let's say the server and the laptop both now have patients with chart numbers, 501 and 502, and even perhaps one of them has a 503 and 504 now too, do we know that the sync function can and will handle this? Can and will it reassign chart numbers to each and every one of these new charts so that all of them have proper chart numbers? Can it handle having two databases trying to sync up with two different charts (different patients) that share a common chart numbers? Do you get what I'm asking here? I would hope that this has been addressed in the design of the thing, but perhaps there should be some limits on how and what we do while the two machines are apart. Thinking this through could drive one mad, and you must tip your hat to those who think of these things and then design with these possiblities in mind. But again some amount of communication of how and why would be most apperciated.

Let's say you sync both computers and provider takes laptop out to see patients with exact duplicate of main computer in office. While gone, the following happens:

Main computer adds:

Patient A 2001
Patient B 2002
Patient C 2003

Laptop remote adds:

Patient D 2001
Patient E 2002
Patient F 2003

The provider then comes back and syncs the data to the main computer. This is what would end up on both computers:

Patient A 2001
Patient B 2002
Patient C 2003
Patient D 2004
Patient E 2005
Patient F 2006

The sync program recognizes that the database of the main computer takes precedence over the remote computer being synced. The program will see that the ID#s assigned to the new patients on the laptop remote are not available on the main database and will assign each patient the next available number in order of how they were entered on the remote database.