Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Charging for Webinars

Anyone attend and pay $50 for Amazing Charts Meaningful Use 2 webinar today? Not sure when they decided to start charging for their webinars.

Saw that and no, I haven't attended one. I was really thrown back by the charge for it.

Hi Everyone, I did address Dr Kauffman's questions privately, but since there is some public concern about this, I thought I would post up here.

I understand the concern with the charge because Amazing Charts has not historically charged for webinars. The webinars we have offered in the past were basic training webinars, and we still have all that content available for you for free in our video tutorial section (including now Meaningful Use 2 how to videos broken down by core and menu items for easier viewing).

The new webinars that we are offering as a paid service are more advanced content that we normally would charge for in a live setting (such as the User Conferences or the Amazing Charts University settings). The first offerings are Attesting for Meaningful Use Stage 1 and Attesting for Meaningful Use Stage 2. These webinars walk users through the steps they need to take to not only attest with CMS, but also what to do to help prepare for an audit. This goes beyond the standard ?generic canned webinars? we have offered in the past. You could hire an outside source to do this for you for thousands of dollars, or you can attend a webinar for $50 and learn to do it yourself.

We are also looking into exploring other advanced topics such as a ?Specialist Workflow Training? webinar which would be hosted by an actual medical doctor and would cover workflow tips and tricks for a specific specialty. It is our belief that these webinars do hold a certain value and we look at pricing them accordingly. Think of these as equivalent to attending a User Conference or classroom style training, but on a smaller scale.

I am always looking for feedback and recommendations to improve this program. What type of content do you expect out of our webinars (that you do not get in video form)? Is the price to high? Are there other topics that you would like to see? If you have any recommendations, please send them my way at mdabeck@amazingcharts.com

Maybe you should have made a more user friendly and intuitive program, and people would not have to pay extra money to figure out how the program they bought works? It is a rip off. Just plain insulting. And you have the nerve to be proud of it.

Dear Mneumonic,

Sounds like you had a rough night.
In my experience AC is more user friendly and intuitive than any emr around. The $50 webinar was actually about MU2 more than AC. It's MU that's not user friendly and not intuitive. My gripe is not with AC but with CMS and their byzanntine MU requirement. It seems to me that the charge for the webinar is completely reasonable--I certainly charge for my time with patients. Why shouldn't AC charge for an added service? And for those who don't want to attend the webinar there are the free videos and tech support.
I was just talking with a colleague yesterday about his emr, McKesson. He upgraded to their latest version, the equivalent of our V7. It's been a nightmare for he and his staff. I recalled that I almost signed up for McKesson's emr back in 2010. Thank God I didn't jump on that bandwagon! I for one am very grateful to have AC.

The major selling point is the readiness for MU 1 and 2. People who are buying AC should know that on the top of their fees they will have to pay for webinars. Today they are charging for MU 2, tomorrow for the letter writer tips. It is a principal question. The price does not matter. 10 cents is too much. It shows their culture and attitude. When I buy IPhone I don't pay to learn how to use iTunes.

So, if AC wants to develop new paid educational webinars, why not COMMUNICATE this intention, and separate them out on the website. As always, communication from AC to users is lacking.

Agreed, Donna. John's points are also well-taken, but we should not have to come here (after the fact) for an explanation of AC's new approach to user education.

I agree about the communication issue.
Speaking of surprise charges and communication lapses check this out from this morning's New York Times.

I disagree with the contention that AC is justified charging for webinars on how to get their EMR to fulfill MU requirements. The AC management has stated several times in open letters on this Board that their software is being upgraded to comply with MU. We pay an annual charge for these upgrades, and for technical assistance. If anything, a webinar helps AC reduce its contractual support costs. For an EMR which promotes itself for "Ease of Use" even for the "computer-phobic clinician" to charge for instruction on how to fulfill one of the core functions is outrageous.
Not to mention that the online resource on the AC website is still largely derived from FAQs by contributors from this board, and that substantial support comes promptly and without cost on this Board (including thorny network issues, software integration questions, Rx printer configuration, and about a dozen other recurrent questions) which are still not dealt with effectively by AC, if posts here are any indication.
I think many of us who remember the past pledge of "capitalism with a kind face" are disappointed. As are newer users who thought "Ranked #1 for Ease of Use and Affordability" was more than ad-speak.

[quote=]there are the free videos and tech support[/quote]
Tech support? Where. AC has already come out and said that Tech Support is overwhelmed due to MU2, etc. Once again, AC has shot itself in the foot. Was it just last week that a user stated he was changing EMRs. On the board! I have never seen that before. Except with one other person who will remain nameless.

Why does AC think it is a good business practice to develop webinars, and then decide based on what they think is more valuable than another charge for it. Either charge for them all or none. It should come with support. God knows support doesn't come with support.

Never thought I would say this, but Mnemonic is right, sleep or no sleep.