Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Thank you Jon! Welcome John!

Just heard the news about the change of leadership at AC. I thought I'd start a new thread to give everyone an opportunity to thank Jon for his terrific work developing a great EMR and to welcome John Squire to the AC community.

This thread would be a great chance to share your favorite stories/roasts about Jon B.

I'm a relative newcomer, having started with AC 2 yrs ago. I have never had the pleasure of meeting Jon in person, but I remember when I was first investigating AC I watched a little video on the AC website (since apparently removed) in which Jon told the story of how he started AC and included some video of him playing with his kids in his back yard. It was that video that convinced me AC had it's heart in the right place. Thanks Jon for your dedication to putting together a great EMR to help your fellow docs take good care of their patients!

John,

Great idea on the thread. Thanks Jon for all your hard work & dedication. I've had the opportunity to meet with you a couple times and you've helped our office out tremendously. I hope you aren't completely done with your input with AC. Thanks for looking out for us!

I agree, welcome John.

Everyone bring a different skill set to the table. Jon created the best interface and it has morphed from there. I think he stepped back to let others move forward. He is still advising them as best I know.

Lets see how things progress from here. With a more professional software group, lets hope we see needed repairs and long wished for additions.

To those going to Boston, have fun ask a lot of questions and report back.

Agree with all. I have been using AC since I opened my office in 2005. It is one of the simplest and most affordable programs out there. Jon should be proud what he has accomplished.
I just have a feeling of loss and a bit of sickening feeling in my stomach. I hope I am wrong but the trust I had in AC, knowing that Jon (a physician founder)was in command, is not there any more. I will start getting ready for "interesting" things to come. Thank you Jon B!

Jon B,

I am glad you had the insight and ability to create AC, it has transformed "practicing" for me and has afforded me the ability to elevate my game and outplay the big boys and patient satisfaction has never been higher.

John,

Hope you continue the kind capitalism theme and look forward to working with you in the future.

I can't believe that Jon would leave. I am hopeful that AC is going from good to better. And that Jon remains a proud helicopter kind of parent. Welcome to the new John. I just hope this will not be the beginning of the end of me and my practice. AC is what has kept me going.

Are you delusional? It is over.

I don't think doomsday is in order - Jon sold the company some time ago and improvements continue and no bad changes have happened. It is in no one's best interest for AC to dramatically change.

To echo that, Kathleen has been the COO since last year, John is taking over the reigns from her. As Steven said, Jon backed down last year from a management position.

The backdown from V7 was a result of refocus after he stepped down, a thing he himself felt was warranted.

@EasyRider,

Over as JB isn't returning, or over as in Amazing Charts?

Just wondering.

EasyRider has been talking gloom and doom about AC for some time now.

Both. Actually it does not matter. JB is irrelevant. He is sold.

JBS, was I not right? Don't you see where this vector is heading?

No, you were/are wrong.

How? 6.5 is a failure, is it not?

How can JB be irrelevant? He built one of the best EMRs ever. Why is he not allowed to sell it. (If that is what he did).

I don't know about 6.5, but I have been with AC for 10 years and Versions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 have all had their problems. But, they always come through. Just like v7 and v8.

All of this is in past tense.

I have version 6.5.5 and it is not a failure - it has some issues but overall works fairly well and I use it daily for 20-25 patients (and still finish all the charts when I leave the room). I would love to have seen Jon stay here and would have felt better if he had stayed president and CEO but life goes on.

I also want to thank Jon for a great product. We have not always seen eye-to-eye on everything but still, far and away, it is the best out there. I wish you only the best in whatever new adventures wait for you out there.

While we are all in prediction mode here let me add this...did anyone else get the invite to participate in medical education from AC/PriMed I should have looked into it further but wonder if one of the business models of the 'new' AC includes getting diagnosis and treatment info from your patient charts (de-patient ID's or not) then having targeted industry sponsored CME delivered to your AC message board? I think that might happen.

I would not have bought AC in 2009 had JB not lied to me repeatedly, including telephone conversation, about speedy arrival of practice management module. AC is not your favorite stuffed teddy bear from you childhood, you know. There were business decisions made based on his word. You guys are mourning his departure, but he did not even bother to come clean on this board. You are all warm and fuzzy, and AC sends press releases. What a BS!

EasyRider is correct.

It seems the way JB's departure was announced (no personal statement, no new corporate position), he will no longer have any influence on AC.

He built a good product,for an emr and had significant challenges with the PMR. He sold the company. He didn't sell the company. It was his to do with as he wishes. If he made a profit, good for him.

After 17 years of Catholic education (one in a prep seminary), I had to learn that the world was not full of love.

We are physicians first and entrepreneurs second. We will pull ourselves up by our emotional and intellectual bootstraps. If AC evolves into a product that no longer fits into our business model, we will change. If AC continues to grow and adjust, working with the physician base, addressing the needs of the "lone wolf" and small office practices in this volatile environment, we will stay.

Like it or not, it is not about what you did for us yesterday, but what are you doing for us today.

Its not personal. Let's not get mushy.

Now, what will you do for me today Amazing Charts and John Squire?

Jon doesn't owe us a damn thing.

Well said Frank;and agree Bert nothing personal it is just business was Jon's baby.
Ease of use, reasonably priced, data safety are my criteria; could care less about MU---penalties be damned. However where this product we purchased goes is of our concern and our individual decision if we stay with it or go with someone else or back to hand written notes.

I think EasyRider and I should change emoticons. LOL. J/K. All in fun. No FWs.

Is this true? Yes.

Is that the end of the analysis? No.

For myself, at least, the fact that Amazing Charts was started and run by a physician was an enormous attraction. A company run by "one of us" has several advantages. First, the guy at the top knows what it's like to practice medicine, knows what day-to-day practice requires, and can relate to us better.

Second, and perhaps less tangibly, we tend to project will our own qualities onto people like us. How do we practice medicine? What factors make a good one physician? Dedication, determination, resilience, the desire to do what's best for the patient, and (at least for those of us in primary care) the expectation of a long-term relationship. Appropriately or not, I looked for these qualities from Amazing Charts.

Of course, as indicated earlier, this is a business decision. Good for Jon! He has been very successful, and I hope he makes a nice profit. It will be interesting to know whether he goes back to clinical medicine, or stays in IT.

But, for myself, I feel like AC will be much more a business, and much less a family. It will be much more an IT person's endeavor, rather than a physician's endeavor.

Will it be more expensive? Most likely. Will it still be a good value? I hope so. Will I stay with AC? Most likely, but I think looking at options is necessary.

Gene

From the product update email it does sound like Jon will remain involved with product development.

"We are in an exciting R&D Phase for Analytics and Outcomes offerings. Dr Bertman and Dr. Mosier are leading the charge and we are planning to add new clinical tools to AC that will assist you in managing and improving your patients' health. There will be more details published about this initiative in the near future."

That was from a product update from quite a while ago.

Missed that. It was posted last night so I read it(not real good I guess as she said Winter and April) thinking it was new, I wondered as I thought 6.5 was general release.

Probably not a real good sign to post an April update in September.

Gene

We all know that times are tough for small practice docs. One of our many challenges has been to implement an EMR. This is not a trivial process; it has led to a tremendous amount of emotional, intellectual, and financial stress for the medical community. One of my friends actually attributes his MI in large part to his (ultimately unsuccessful) EMR and practice management system implementation. The overwhelming majority of the physicians I know absolutely hate their EMR?s. Many of them paid a fortune for that privilege.
My situation is different. Amazing Charts is far less expensive than other EMR?s, it allows me to get my notes done, run my practice efficiently, and feel like I am doing a better job taking care of my patients. It also led me to connect (both locally and virtually) with a network of friends and like-minded individuals who share my view of how medical practice should be conducted.
I have Jon Bertman to thank for this. He developed the EMR, he decided to market, sell, and support it with his concept of ?kind capitalism?. He ran the company in a unique way. If you question that, look back at this board over the years and ask yourself what other companies would have the CEO asking for input on the EULA or pricing, or personally intervening to resolve issues for customers. Was he perfect? Of course not; he would be the first to admit his errors and faults, but give the man his due; he helped us all tremendously, and I am happy to say so and thank him publicly.
As to his departure: well, I wish he hadn?t sold the company and moved on, but that is obviously his choice and his right. He also would have been within his rights to sell the company to an Epic or Allscripts or Microsoft; he chose not to do so. That would have left us in a far worse situation. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

And how about we give John Squire a chance to make his own decisions and his own mark on the company, rather than making assumptions about what he will do...

Very very well stated Jon. I echo those sentiments.

Gene

I agree.

Very well put.
+1
Greg

Hi Greg!

I agree with Bert. I also agree with JBS. But, I also agree with DoctorMel.....a tremendous amount of the success AC achieved came from the input of its users. How much time and effort did many of us in the "old gang" spend on the phone, at ACUC meetings, on the Boards giving our opinions and advice (many times these were asked for :)). How many features which ended up in AC began as the collective recommendations of the users....ok, so there are still all of those left on the LIST of 81.....but, the users IMHO were instrumental in helping Jon achieve the financial and professional success he rightfully deserves. People like Bert and Brian and Wendell helped make AC what it is....with no compensation, barely even a thank you. For him to be silent now is hurtful. And, if he signed some agreement not to comment then shame on him.

Signing agreements to keep one's mouth shut after selling the farm are pretty common. It's actually par for the course. The new owners want to establish their own relationship with the rank-and-file and work with people to fit in to The New World Order.

Having the old guy, who is on his way out and no longer has any skin in the game, calling out names and putting people on pedestals can, in fact, be detrimental.

JamesNT

Looking forward to Friday get to meet 'the new guard' in Boston. Hopefully have something good to post afterwards other than pithy statements.

Koby (and others who attend the Boston meeting)... please start a thread and report back to us...the more the better.

Everyone please feel free to list some questions, I know they are having an ACUG but I am not planning to attend that only mull around the booth.