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Not sure if this is old news or not. Too tired to check. But, Amazing Charts just lowered the per person connection from $100.00 to $39.00 per month. You can read more about it here.

Not so sure that is exactly what they did. It was $100 for 1, $300 for up to 5 and $500 for 6-10. Now it is $39 per "user connection". So if you need 5 connections like I do, depending on how one defines a user connection, then it has gone from $300/mo to $200/mo. Still seems like an excessive charge for a 1 doctor practice. I am waiting to get clarification on what a "user connection" is. $2400/yr seems like a lot of money to pay just to access my data base. I would not classify it as a "Huge price cut", nor would I agree it is "affordable for every practice".

Dear Bill,

I switched to AC in the Cloud and we have 5 connections. Even $300/m was definitely worth it for our one-doc office. It has reduced my time playing IT-guy in the office by at least 3h/month. My time is worth at least $100/hr. When AC upgrades take place it will save me even more time. The remote access via the cloud is also considerably superior to my old system of using Logmein. AC in the Cloud isn't for everyone, but it works for me. I think it's a particularly good option for someone without a lot of tech savvy who wants to try out AC. There's no need to invest in servers, etc.

John

It's funny, because AC's cost structures always comes back to bite them. In an attempt to keep the price down by having bundles of licenses be cheaper. Which, by the way, is a good strategy and a lot of companies do it. BUT....other companies don't lower their rates so it all makes sense. You may not be able to afford it, but it is fair.

If AC had priced every connection at $100.00, then five connections would have been $500.00. Most users would consider that too high. But, if it came down to $195.00, a lot more users would make the switch.

John,
Thanks for you thoughts.
I am still considering it.
I have yet to hear back from AC clarifying what a "user connection" is.
Do you pay for a certain number of simultaneous connections?
I suppose I could sign off the computer each time I leave an exam room but that seems kind of silly to have to do that to work around their price structure. I am not sure I understand ACs philosophy with this.

Sorry for the bitter truth, but I am afraid that your IT person took advantage of you, and now AC does with this "cloud deal". AC wants steady revenue stream and wants to grab you by the b***s, trusting them with all your data. In house set up neither difficult nor expensive and certainly does not require any significant or costly maintenance.

I'm giving AC in the cloud a try, myself, given the new pricing.

It's not that I'm not up to handling the IT stuff; I majored in computer science at MIT in the 60's (punchcards, mainframes, FORTRAN IV ...) and have reasonable PC/networking ability. I've set up AC on my office network without much problem. There are two reasons I'm doing this:

1. My office network/hardware works, but it's not super robust. If my server (which is my consult room computer) goes down, that's it for me for a while. I like the thought of having everything hosted and handled by the cloud, so I can always get to my data with a laptop, if needed. Upgrades, backups, everything much more robust and easier for me.

2. I find myself doing more from home recently. Logmein works, but it's just a bit too slow, a bit too jerky when dragging windows etc. Fine for occasional use, but becomes very bothersome if I do it for half an hour or an hour at a time.

Am curious to see how well it works, how fast the charts and imported items open up etc. To be continued...

Michael Jacobson, MD
NYC

Why not VPN access?

Just not very fast. I would at least try RDC.

Michael's post is the clearest discussion I have seen in favor of hosted service
. I don't trust it enough to go there...but it is a great post.

Agreed times 10. RDP is awesome.

Although Remote Desktop doesn't answer the first of my two points, I think I'll give it a try. If it's smoother and faster than Logmein, it would be nice to have something better than Logmein if the cloud doesn't turn out to fill the bill.

Will report back...

Michael
NYC

Addendum oops... looks like the server needs to be on a Windows Server machine; my AC database is running on Windows 7. Doesn't look like I can easily set it up.

Michael

Bill,

We have three users but 5 computers connected to AC in the Cloud. We're still operating under the free trial phase. I'm still not sure whether AC considers us to have 3 or 5 connections. You would have to check with them to clarify that issue.

John

Hi John,

I did get clarification. It is the number of computers simultaneously accessing the system. So, if you have computers signed on in 2 exam rooms and one in your office, and your nurse and receptionist are signed on, that is 5 users.

All in all, I find that an inefficient way for many practices. This is based on my understanding of having one license, five license or ten licenses. So, if your office has a

receptionist
checkout person
referral specialist
biller
MA
MD

Since there are six users, it may make sense to purchase only a five-user license. This would be a gamble as it is quite likely at times that all six would want to sign in, therefore leaving someone out.

Now, if it is changed to $39.00 per connection across the board, that would make more sense. You can now pay the extra $39.00 rather than an entire other pack.