Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Why is 8.2.2 slow and how do we fix it?

just checked amazingcharts.net today and see that 8.2.2 is now the latest release available for download.
Will think about doing it over the weekend.
Any early users have anything to say?

I downloaded it a couple days ago. Install went smoothly, but that was from 8.0.2. Had no issues with Win7, Win8.1 or WSE2012R2 installs.

Where can you download it. I logged into the Client Portal and saw nowhere to download 8.2.2

Wayne, our portal says 8.2.2. I have not downloaded yet, but it is there.
Please re-check and report back; if different people are seeing different versions in their portals, we should know that.

oh, gee it was right there. Its like I looked right at it and didn't recognize it for what it was. I think I'm a little sleep deprived or something.

I just installed 8.2.2 on my "gaming" laptop at home. The laptop is from 2010, so its not really a "gamer" anymore.

My config:

Intel I5 (1st Gen, so Dual Core) 2.53 GHZ
4 GB RAM
Windows 7 Home Premium Edition, 64 Bit
NVIDIA Graphics card/chipset of some kind or other.

It basically seems like it runs OK. Maybe slightly slower than 6.6.7 but not enough to bother me. I think the "main" computer at the office is basically the same (without the discrete graphics)except maybe its Windows 7 Pro. Currently, we only use one other computer when we are there. I'm wondering if we'll be OK if I go ahead and upgrade that computer?

I was upgraded from 8.1 to 8.2.2 last night (AC in the Cloud). I had not problems today and noticed no changes in performance.

We're going to start with a brand new install on a new server. It's been a while since we've done this. Besides the AC, are there any other components we need to install - like Updox?

Just updated from 6.7.7.
Easy
No problems at all
I use terminal server so I had to update only server and TS
So far it looks ok. I will let you know Monday how everything goes.

I will be using 8.2.2 tomorrow. Hope it goes well.
Nancy

We upgraded ourselves over the weekend and my first full day went very well. The slowness seems to be primarily with closing the chart. If you try to rush, the second hit on the red X results in closing AC and the need to reopen. Today I go to my second office with older computers. Will see how that goes. We have an appt with AC to do the upgrade for us on Thursday but I guess we will just have them check our work and turn on our controlled substance e prescribe functionality.

I guess we have to live with the slowness and if we get impatient we are punished by having to restart AC? Is it that slow with the closing of all charts or is this an episodic thing? That to me is worrisome.

We're installing 8.2.2 fresh on a new server. We were given links to two Updox related files:

1. Updox Launcher
2. Updox Central

Do both of these get installed on the Server?

painfully slow. Bordering on nonfunctional. 8.2.2

Bill, what are the specs on your AC server?

yeah, Bill does your server meet the minimum specs? Also, how many computers are networked to it?

I am in the cloud with lightning fast DSL. Everything else works beautifully. This is an AC problem. Hopefully they fix it.

well, yeah its not supposed to be slow in the Cloud. Oh dear.

Have Hillary wipe your server..sorry couldn't resist

Full clinic today. No major problems.
Hosted locally
It is a little slower than 6.7.7 used to be
Not much improvement over 6.7.7 from what I can see.
Same old pathetic scheduler, I thought it was going to be improved....
"secure tab" does not work for me
updox not helpful in fixing problem so far
I rate this "upgrade" as a solid 2 out of 5 stars.

Gerardo, I had problems with the Secure button also. I could not link my Updox account and AC. What I had to do was to start the AC Auth Service. (go to Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services to get a list of services).

Once that is started, you should be able to link the accounts. You will need to provide your Amazing Charts client log in (what you use to log into the AC Client Portal). Once linked, you will need to activate the Direct Trust to verify your account.

Wayne

I did not find a service called AC Auth Service. I contacted updox, but their support staff must be overwhelmed because their response is very slow. I have gotten one email per day on this issue and so far they have not solved the problem.

I can't figure out how to paste an image here in windows 7. Xp was so much easier. I wanted to paste a screen capture of what you should see in services or in the Updox web app.

I've learned to avoid the inadvertent shut down from my clicking the red X a second time. If the AC screen is made full size on the computer screen and the patients chart remains the usual size then the red X's don't overlap and trying to close the chart repeatedly does not shut down the program. I have found that the slowness is most noticeable when signing off and closing the patient charts. Hitting that red X is like a reflex especially when signing off my imported items
Nancy

Just finished the upgrade from 8.1.
Hosted locally on 11 PCs all on Windows 7 Pro/Ultimate
It took about an hour

StLawrence, is it necessary to have AC turn on controlled substance eprescribing?

According to the AC Release Notes, they are aware of the delay in opening a patient chart and are working on it for next release.....

Also, for those affected they fixed the error where the wrong patients chart is attached to another patient's chart.

How big of a delay are people experiencing?

We had a couple practices do the upgrade. They say it went from instantly to about 1 second now.

When opening a chart? We've always had a few seconds delay ever since...since back in the early versions at least. It's a little longer to open/close now, but not too much. Maybe and extra 2-5 seconds.

Wayne, I was going to correct myself to state that AC is aware of the delay in Closing a chart, but their release notes indeed say Opening a chart.

Personally I am aware of both delays but the resounding nag here seems to be of the closing delay.
Our experience is also 2-5 seconds to close, but enabling the removal of deleted items at log out shaved about a second for those who were OK with it.
Opening takes about 2-3 seconds.

I hope they are working on a fix for the delay in Closing a chart to resolve the accidental exit of AC.

Have been with 8.2.2 for the last week. No problem at all. Some initial delay in what you are experiencing. Rebooted the server and no problem since. Good luck.
Looking forward to the PM integration scheduled this Friday.

We upgraded to 8.2.2 from 6.6.7, and the staff and doctors are whining about slow speed. I am running the server in a VM, but 8GB and 2 cores. I shall allocate more chores and maybe some more RAM, but dont know how much it will imrove.

Other have any tips to help.

We are now working with several practices that have upgraded with various outcomes.

As I have noted previously, the raw performance of the server is an important factor, but with the later versions, the over-riding factor for perceived performance is the number of concurrent users. It appears to be a log scale, but we don't have enough data to meaningfully graph it yet.

Other factors that are also appearing to have more bearing is the number of interfaces that are connected AC, and the frequency/depth with which they run.

We dont have that many interfaces (two lab interfaces) and that is about it. We maybe have 5-7 users actively using it at any given time.

I am not sure throwing more RAM will help much as I am seeing the server still has not utilized the whole RAM allocation and still have 2GB free.

We are devoting 4 cores of an AMD 8350 and 16GB of RAM in a VM environment. Also using a Samsung 1TB SSD drive.

It's far from fast. We're seeing delays both opening and closing charts - anywhere from 2-5 seconds. Our specs aren't top-notch, but I'd hate to try and run this version on anything less.

I am skeptical that it will get any slower if you use slower disks. I think a lot has to do with the client too. It is pathetically slow and old software that client is written in.

I wont be surprised if your chart open/close will get worse if you used 8GB and 2 cores.

AC is great but I suspect is running on legacy code with a lot of baggage tacked (MU, etc) which slows it down. Sandeep and Indy can probably illuminate further.

No reason a program properly coded on modern computers shouldn't be very responsive. Probably needs a lot of core programming redone but that's like doing a heart transplant in an 80 yo - just asking for trouble. So you muddle along and tweak some meds here and there and hope for the best.

I suspect most EHRs that have been around for more than ~7 years are like this. You can throw faster hardware at it but that's not the core problem. I do like my fast SSD drives on the server and clients - it definitely helps overall.

Is 8.2.2 a beta product?

No, it is the official latest version. It is available on the provider portal (with a new much easier to navigate website once you click on the "click here for latest version of (AC)"

It is ICD10 compliant! It will be MANDATORY to be at this level in October with the onslaught of ICD10, unless you are doing billing completely outside of AC.

Even then, there are a number of things that make it worthwhile. It has functional as you type spell checking and many other features: http://amazingcharts.com/support/product-release-notes/

It appears very stable in my office. It really is not that much slower than earlier versions of 8, slightly slower than V7 and much slower than mid V6.

think you are right kind of like the tax code, guess there is no money in it for Pri-Med to shorten it up unless we start non-renewing and going elsewhere but suspect the grass isn't greener elsewhere

I have been using it for about a week. It is working ok but today I found a bug. I prescribed a new medication and then forwarded chart to myself. I pulled forwarded chart to complete note at the end of the day, the new medication prescribed during the encounter is in the current medication list on the draft/signed note. Meaning it will appear as if pt was taking the new medication before the visit. I spoke with the tech support and he is going to check with developer. This is a major issue even if it may be by design. I seems that if you complete note without forwarding chart (meaning right at the time of visit)then it is fine.

Parag,

Can others on here reproduce that? Can you reproduce that?