Home Forums Discussions Problems Merge two Amazing Charts installation

I have question about merging Amazing Charts installation. My wife has joined a practice, where one of the provider already uses AC. So I installed on her laptop to try it out and see how she likes it(between AC and Medscribbler).

She has added a few patients to AC, and now she likes it well enough. Being in the same office I would like both of them to share the same AC(staff can use for sch and also providers can help each other out).

I am technically pretty savvy, so networking should not be an issue. But is there a feature to import all her patients from the laptop installation into the existing AC installation?

Nephron:

Did you ever figure out the answer to this question?

Somehow I never saw this post until now, and I assume that since you posted you have either discovered the Amazing Synchronizer or got a solution from technical support.

If not, give a shout!

Actually I have a more complex problem. I have two offices and they use semi-independent databases to run AC. One office was using AC 2 years before the other and I cloned the initial database, they diverge from there.

I would like to have 1 uniform database, but I suspect the key number is the record number and Jane Doe who started last year and visited both offices might be pt 2524 in one office and 3122 in the other.

Anyone else with this issue?
For nephron, if it is truly just a few, it may not be worth it. Print to PDF and save as import. Since AC defaults to the 1000s, these unique numbers should already be taken. This probably means a lot of work.

The Amazing Synchronizer has a check box for "merging two distinct databases". Have you ever tried using that feature?

I must admit, I have never tried to sync. I just pulled it up after reading your post. You may keep me up tonoc with this.

I would seriously suggest calling AC central before going forward. And please obviously make lots of high quality back-up pre and post. But that does sound like it might be the key to your problem.

Actually, I have tried it working with copies of both databases. Initially it did not work, but I had not included a functional copy of the import items and asked for them to be synced.
I am trying it again.
I am far from ready to try with a live copy and I would sync them "off line" then compare the current 2 old data bases with the new one randomly, then replace the current data bases.
This would only be if I put a VPN tunnel from one office to the other so we could operate on one database.
It's a nice goal, but I'm happy and simple having 2 independent databases.
That being said, I may still give AC central a call and see if they have any other ideas.

When I tried the sync feature just for fun, it did seem to handle the Patient ID issue with no problem. Just assigned them different ID numbers. But, I should point out I tried this with only six patients.

I was just about to check the reponse to my original post since now we are almost ready to merge two databases. The two associates between them have almost 500 patients, but I shall try this on another computer first, check it out and see how it works.

Slowly I am convoincing them to move towards paperless office. I am the techie(husband of one of the associates) so I should be able to handle most of the technical issues.

I was thinking I shall wait till the MSSQL express version of AC comes out as then I would be more comfortable( I used to work for Microsoft in the SQL Server group)

Nephron:

If you're waiting for SQL, you could be waiting a while.

Well, once it goes SQL, I guess we all know who to ask for help with the database. Thanks Nephron.

Is there any timeline when the sql express version would come out?

Has anyone done any sync of two completely different databases

It would seem to me that as long as you made sure they were each of the same version and, thus, had used the same database tuner, I don't see why it would be any different than going out with your laptop and adding thirty patient encounters. When you synced, you would in effect have two different databases with the exception that you would have some identical patients in each.

Well it was not that easy to merge them. AC support tried, but it would not work, so finally I had to do surgery on AC db and then I understood what the issue was.

They wer two independent practices, so both of them had same patient id's and providerid etc. So it would not merge them and would keep failing.

So finally I had to open both the AC db's in Access, look at the table relations and then slowly append the tables one at a time making sure I keep the relationships. It took me about 4 hours to figure it out, and finally merged the two practices db's.

Now we have a brand new Windows 2008 Server hosting the AC db, and both the physicians and staff are using it.

Now working on trying to import charts and faxes. I am already talking some of the diagnostics labs to see who all will be able to import directly into AC.

My goal to make them go almost paperless in 1 year(and save some trees). I am sure when the SQL version comes it would really do very well. I heard that it is sometime in May.

Goal is to become paperless in 1 year.

Awesome work, Nephron! Highest possible Kudos!

Srini,
Welcome to AC, if I haven't already welcomed you. I am very impressed. That was a daunting project, and I agree w/ Brian...Highest possible kudos.

I am looking forward to the SQL database.