Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Version 3.7 Sneak Preview

I have been talking to Jon today and he was kind enough to send me a partial list of updates coming with version 3.7. It's a big list, so I am going to post it in segments.

ADDITIONS

• Added ability to open text boxes larger for easier viewing
• Added resizing ability to Lab Notes and Billing window
• Added Non-Medical Folder to scanner import window
• Added information on next scheduled appointment to the patient info window and message window
• Added User Preferences to allow turning off various pop-up windows
• Added prescription writer lock
• Added Amazing Charts status and announcement window
• Added new lab company interfaces:
  • 4medica (4medica/Greenville Pathology)
  • PathLabs (Pathology Labs/Sonic Health Care)
  • ACLLab (ACL Laboratories/Great Heights Family Medicine)
  • Medstar (Medstar/Dr. Pawlowski)
  • AELLab (American Esoteric Labs/Health First)
  • CMedlab (Carolina Medical/Leesville Internal Medicine)
  • Skagit (Skagit Pathology/Orcas Island Family)

ENHANCEMENTS

• Enhanced setup to automatically select today when setting up the schedule
• Enhanced reminders to improve readability
• Enhanced reminders to allow setting it to applicable patient after review a lab
• Enhanced installation process by reducing screens to click through
• Enhanced practice verification process and included it during the initial setup
• Enhanced Database tuner to add time/date stamp
• Enhanced X-Link to work with 10 digit IDs
• Enhanced Admin Import/Export to enable/disable during export
• Enhanced schedule dates to better reflect exactly period to the day

FIXES

• Fixed issue with resizing the imported items and billing tabs of the chart
• Fixed error when printing all cms1500 from Daily Close window
• Fixed preferences problem not updating until restarting Amazing Charts
• Fixed issue with lab report note not displaying correctly
• Fixed issue with some users being told their is a newer update when there isn't
• Fixed issue with billing window not closing when shutting down
• Fixed lab codes for spectum and skagit
• Fixed lab report to work with spectrum lab
• Fixed issue with practice info line 2 causing null error
• Fixed issue with deleting saved messages and BOF/EOF problem with email
• Fixed issue with duplicating OffSite Backup path causing error in uploading
• Fixed rapid strep cpt code to match new code
• Fixed schedule bug preventing more than a few dozen appointments
• Fixed EZ Claim issue in simple text export to remove commas from guarantor name
• Fixed issue where a different person's bills appear in a patients chart occasionally
• Fixed issue importing multiple appointment Quest patients
• Fixed issue when previewing a prescription from the admin window crashes if there are no patients yet in Amazing Charts
• Fixed EULA to 2008 expiration
• Fixed admin buttons on export to disable all buttons during procedures
• Fixed issues with labs from:
  • BioReference: Add Specimen ID to the lab reports
  • LabCorp: Enable users to send embedded PDF lab
    reports
  • Westcliff: Process new Lab Company ID
  • PAML: Fix overwriting issue

Well, Brian and Jon... Thanks for the update, update.....

Cool Brian, thanks! Any word/hints on dates for this or 4.0?

Version 3.7 is supposed to come out this month, I believe. As always, it will be here when it gets here. As you all know, I don't work for Amazing Charts. It just so happens that I have been talking to Jon in the course of planning for the Users Conference.

My understanding is that Jon originally planned these upgrades for version 4.0, but he has decided to go ahead and release them now.

He has said that the major features we have all been anticipating for version 4.0 (SQL server, Practice Management features, Health Maintenance features) are still in the works, and are actually going to be a major topic of discussion at the User's Conference in Branson this June.

As you may recall, the promotional materials for the Users' Conference explicitly states that Jon will be looking for our input into the features of Version 4.0. So, we can be sure that 4.0 won't come out for some time after that.

I think it is reasonable to believe that we may see a 3.8 or 3.9 before that time.

Nice list!

Thanks Brian!

I guess I must just be a fuddy duddy but I see nothing there I cannot live without. Where is the improved medication database? (I downloaded Brian's so even that is not as big an issue as it was). When can we open more than one chart at a time? Where are the impovements in the letter writer? Where is the ability to declare where we want the database to backup? Where is the ability to choose a default printer and printer preferences for each type of print project? When is the "Allergy" section going to allow adequate space for multiple allergies? And when will newly added allergies be apparent on the current encounter note? When will the SpellChecker allow me to scroll down to find out what word it is actually wanting to change? These are just a few of the basic requests for which I and others on this user board have consistently pleaded. I do not mean to be unappreciateive of Jon and his programers but I still maintain it would be nice to fix some of the current issues before adding new "Enhancements". I hope I have not offended anyone.

Leslie

"Fixed EULA to 2008 expiration"

What happens after it expires?

POOF!!

(For gawd's sake, do NOT take this knee jerk comment seriously)

There is a line in our present EULA that says it expires December 31, 2007. I imagine Jon just changed that last digit. Not a very sexy update, but Jon gave me this raw list of changes and I posted it unredacted.

Roy, when the 2008 EULA expires, the program blows up.
Just joking.

Thanks Brian for the nice list of updates, these are exciting.
These demonstrate the excellent ongoing works of Jon and the AC staff. These updates are much needed. I can't wait.

BUT, I especially can't wait for SQL. I'm tired of the little lags in the system when accessing the current Access database.

POOF!!


Was afraid of that.

L.Strouse I agree on the allergy box, too small and won't hold enough info. But as for me I would NOT want to be able to open more than one chart at a time. That dramatically raises the likelihood that I will chart in the wrong chart. I don't need any help making errors.

It is here: Wait till office closes to do your updates. See patients first.

http://www.amazingcharts.com/beta/

I'd love to hear what a few brave souls have to say... And what about the EULA????

EULA.....SHMOOLA.....who cares? Bottom line: if we pay for the product, we get to use it. I still maintain that $500/yr is WAY better than $10,000/yr for Logician.

Good question.... Had anybody spoken to Jon about this one? Where do all of us stand in terms of our rights and obligations here???

Adam,
It's all about the contract man. We were are told this is what we pay free and clear, or don't you remember reading the website. As I've said for going on 3 years now, I have no problem paying Jon and AC $500 a year for updates and support as laid out on the website, with many improvements and new features they have earned every dollar of it... But these are two totally different legal and contratual concepts and the website and the original EULA said one thing and the newer versions of the EULA say another thing. That is just not right nor does it or should it exude confidence or comfort to those of us who thought we knew what we were buying and getting into.

Does this not bother anyone else besides us and Roy??? Come on folks, get off the fence here already....

Paul,
I'm going to disagree, but I hope you can respcet the differences I express rather than take offense. My intension is not to offend.

I'm really not on the fence about the EULA.
I have no problem with the EULA.

Having read EULA's from Microsoft which are often much less clear and far more reaching, I think Jon's EULA is perfectly appropriate and customary.

IF he wants to charge a yearly lease fee, he has the right. Virtually every other EMR has a yearly lease fee. I am grateful the annual support fee is as LOW as it is.

I really think we have a bargain here. I really believe that complaining about the EULA will not change anything, in fact it just has the potential to disrupt the good working relationship that the staff at A.C. has with its users(customers).

I personally hope people can stop complaining about this tired old subject (as you stated, 3 years you've been talking about this) and perhaps focus on more productive goals.

I'm sorry if I sound harsh or less than sympathetic, as I've stated it's really not my goal to offend or create any ill will between us. I like you Paul. However, I've experienced a loss in my life recently that has given me perspective on certain things. My 38 year old wife passed away and is with God now. I think we all have better and more important things to be worrying about than a EULA that won't change. There are many people in this world that need to worry about getting right with God, (please understand that I'm not suggesting you are not right w/ God).

I hope people can let the EULA issue go, it's become a very tired subject. However, we live in America so people can say what they want, therefore the EULA issue can live on if people wish to keep it alive. But my opinion is.....let it go.

What is the EULA issue exactly, I see alot about it and it sounds like it is an annual fee?

I have put up with your "BLOGS OF A NEWBIE" and your opinions. I have not made fun of your opinions. I did not talk about my personal tragedies as a plea to get someone else to stop expressing their opinion.

I think Paul has a very valid point about his concern about the "bait and switch" to a subscription services. I value Paul's opinion and I take offense at your request to him to "shut up."

Your poking fun at my concerns about the EULA was unwelcomed as well.

I would suspect that people who are not NEWBIES in the practice of medicine will find "leasing" their own medical record disturbing. That's why I did not subscribe to an ASP. That is why I never made a BAD business decision to purchase Logician.

The EULA does not state that the userboard is for the exclusive posting of slavish praises by sycophants. As for myself, I will continue defend my right to my medical records and my access to those records. I will gladly pay a membership fee... but not if it means that by my payment I acknowledge that my medical records is only accessible through yearly payments that is subject to change at anytime. I do not intend to volunteer myself as a hostage.

Adam,
First off, I am sorry to hear of your recent large loss truely I am. But I can barely see the connection here other than the idea that you feel that this topic is of little use or value in the grand scheme of things and life.

Unfortunately, you have missed many of the important points brought up here way before you ever joined AC or this board. Even before Nancy and I personally experienced what we all now refer to as the "Nuclear Option" Roy, myself and others such as Bert and some of the gang you have recently met; were already talking about the difference between the outright purchase of one's software for permenant, protected use and ownership verses the never secure leasing of the software that one creates and builds their medical records in, or any other data for that matter.

I use another database program as a good simple example. We have purchased QuickBooks to build and track the financial data of the other side of our business, the financial and tax side, right. There are many things that if I didn't have QuickBooks that I would certainly need to keep a paper record of, and even still, much like many of us still keep paper for what we recieve from other offices, I keep all my reciepts, paper logs generated by Paychex and the like.

Now he beauty of QB's is that it is mine and I get to keep it no matter what. As long as I own a properly running machine with the good copy of the OS that the program runs in I can use it practically forever. And this is nothing to sneeze at. What is created in this program, the financial record of our business, Nancy's practice is "OUR" intellectual property that nobody should ever have the right or the ability to threaten or actually take away our access to it!!! Now do you finally get it! When Mr. Sharp Pencil from the f'ing IRS comes into my office in three years from now (God Forbid) it is Me, it is Nancy whose butt is on the line and must be able to access that data, that record of your financial history to prove our case or simply use our historic data to make properly informed business choices. And nobody, and I mean nobody or their personal, petty financial interests should be able to keep us from this extremely important data, OUR DATA!

Imagine is Staples or OfficeMax could take back your pens, inks, paper and folders because they owned the "rights", they simply leased you your use of the supplies that you use to create a paper record of anything, no less medical records. Sorry we don't like you anymore (at their discression, much like buried in the AC EULA) we're going to take back our paper and folders, and even the filing cabinets. This is what any EULA for a software agreement means if it has the right to terminate a users rights to use the program be it based on the concept of a lease or any other grounds.

Another great example; there are programs that artists use to create various forms of art, music, graphic arts and a number of others... Tell me Mr, who owns what and who should have the right to control which party's access to what??? The software vendor or the artist?

Now let's talk specifically about medical records my friend.... Tell me now, who the hell owns or should be able to limit or control whose access to what? As Roy has so wonderfully stated many times before, there are laws, real laws with big teeth in them, with big penalties over each and ever provider of healthcare's head, that state that even years after a patient leaves a practice or a provider leaves the practice of medicine, all providers must still be able to produce for the government, the patient and the insurance carriers the record of any and all patients medical records. No less the fact, that being able to do such easily and correctly is the proper and ethical thing to do, and is the one of the big reasons many of us chose to go EMR in the first place. The ability to copy and save, preserve for us and our patients, in multiple places this most important item, the record of our patients medical history and their encounters with our offices and providers.

Tell me now since you just got in here recently, and so you missied out on many of our conversations that have lead us to the point we are at today; whose record is any given patient's chart? Whose property is it really especially if one believes in the ideals and concepts behing HIPAA and the like? Who ownes it?Is it the doctor's, is it the patient's, do you think it is the software vendors??? It is our contention that any given medical record, is really the joint intellectual property of both the patient whose chart it is, (we do call it the patient's chart now don't we?) as well as the provider who charted it, who had the actual encounter with that patient. I mean isn't this obvious. The patient has the right to a copy of what is in their chart, it is their chart. Yet it is kept and protected (hopefully) at the doctor's office and it is our legal and ethical obligations to properly protect it, both for ourselves as well as for our patients.

This is why MANY of us and I do mean many of us picked AC verses many other products and concepts, because we were lead to believe that we were purchasing a license to have and to hold, in the proper quantities stated and paid for (how many providers, right?) for as long as we would ever need. There are many softwares that can be leased or used over the net, ASP based programs, but with these one is forever stuck on the vendor's taximeter just to be able to access your own medical records! I'm sorry but that is just insane. These ASP vendors can easily claim a very high retention rate of customers, and that is simply because where the hell are these folks going to go, now that they don't own the program that they created their data in, in the first place. How are they ever going to continue to access their own medical records if they ever try to leave their vendor??? Come on now, would you use Word or Excel if you couldn't trust that it would be there for you. You buy, you use it and so years later you can still open up any given Word document or Excel file if and when you ever need to.

As a perfect example we purchased a license to another EMR product, Chartware before we used AC. Now we didn't like it, it was a bear to live with, it was hard to maintain and their staff had this aweful self rightous attitude, but we own it, free and clear, much like things are laid out on the AC website when one is reading about $995, that's all there is to "BUY". The $500 is to tech support, "Guardian Angel" the best in the business. And as long as we own good copies of XP to run it on we can continue to use it for as long as we want. It is our achival filing cabinet of Nancy's first year and a half in practice and we are obligated by law and medical ethics to maintain this archive for many, many years to come. And no individual or capitalistic entity has the right to inappropriately interfere with or restrain us from these duties. Now we have chosen to "fly without a net" and we no longer contract with Chartware for their updates and support, but the program is still ours and so is each and ever last letter typed, each and every idea and chart. These are our charts and our patients charts and nobody has the "right" to interfer with providers access their charts, would you not agree???

Now as you have probably missed out on, I and others have clearly stated that we want this program and its company to survive and actually thrive and flurish, I mean this is why we chose this program, we like it and we have grown quite attached to it, it is a part of our daily lives in running our practice just as it is in all of the others here who use it. We really do love our AC. And as someone who has created intellictual property of both the creative as well as the academic kind, I strong support folks like Jon to properly protect and to prosper from their intellictual propery, it is after all theirs.

We have no problem with Jon laying out legal terms in his contract that protects his interests in these types of matters, nor do I have a problem with him using copy right type laws to protect his interests. His protection is all of our protection. But there really needs to be a coming together, a rise to a higher plane here, that understands that their are at least three parties and their rights involved in each and every chart that is created in an EMR. There are the rights of the EMR vendor to license and control his rights of intellectual property, the program itself, and then their is the rights of the patient and the provider.

We as a society, we as a nation of laws, we as our own little community right here in ACville, need to strike a better balance between and have a positive conversation about properly defining and protecting each and every one of these three parties rights and "Obligations" too, that are involved in these matters. But if you think for a moment that pure capitalism, and one sided, I've got the power and so I will type behavior should rule the day here then you have a very sad perspective on such things. Imagine if I simply could take your computers, your charts, your data from you. I think it is very interesting that you beleive in such anal protection and multiple site back-up of your charts and data, but it seems you are willing to give it all away and see no need to protect those same charts, that same data from another form of theft or loss, the loss of your access to these charts and your data because of a very one sided business contract.

As I said before we have been knocking this around for quite some time now, and you are not the first person to walk in, mid-sentence and come down on me. Many of those folks are now my friends or at least respect me for my views in these matters whether or not we always see eye to eye. We all love our little AC'ville community that we have here, as a matter of fact this is one of my big reasons for being so vocal; because I want to see things be better here, I want to protect and better my Ben & Jerry's, Waterbury VT little community here. And so I would like to see the vendor themselves act better and in a more community minded fashion that is in keeping with the stated philosophies on their website.

Anyway, it is getting very late and I am losing my trend of thought here pretty badly, so I'm going to stop here while I'm ahead, but please don't pooh, pooh this for it is very real... As much as I may be a bit put off by your blowing my valid concerns off, I wish you well and I hope you find the strengh you need to continue on in light of recent events in your life. You shall certainly be in all our thoughts..... Be well.

Hey, guys, this is a legitimate topic of discussion, but we have gotten WAY off topic.

I created this thread to discuss the upcoming alpha version of Amazing Charts 3.7. We now have Amazing Charts 3.77 in a beta version, that has a lot of neat features and bug fixes and seems very stable, here:

http://www.amazingcharts.com/beta/

I have started a new thread on the EULA controversy, for your convenience, here:

http://amazingcharts.com/ub/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=6751&page=0#Post6751

I cannot sit by and watch my friend treated like that. First, of all, he clearly stated he was joking when he stated it would blow up. Also, it was my idea to do the blog of a newbie. This pertained to setting up AC and NOT to being a newbie of a doctor. I would put Adam up against anyone as a doctor.

As far as his talking about his personal issues, while I agree it may not be completely apropos to the discussion, to even comment on it is in poor taste. It was a great personal loss and possibly that was his way of coping with it. If you think it was not germane to the discussion, then just let it go.

Now, I wouldn't step on any toes except Paul invited me to pick a side of the fence. I am not sure exactly where I stood before, but at this point in time, the EULA just doesn't bother me. With the caveat that maybe I am missing something between the lines (and I have read several EULAs), I think that what Jon promised in the past must apply to any versions at that time. I do think that any owner/CEO or whatever of a company has a right to change their way of doing business. Since bringing in other companies seems to be popular here, then Microsoft seems to be a good example. If you recall, Microsoft Windows 2000 was the last OS that could be installed to multiple computers. After this, all OSs had to be activated so that it could only be used once (twice if you had a laptop). I really don't want to go back and look at their 20 page EULAs, but did it say that they had the right to change to an activation system?

I think the bottom line here is everyone has a choice. Jon has the choice of changing his business model to a subcription service and the users have the choice of not upgrading to the latest version. And, I suppose there is a second option, but I won't list it here.

Certainly, anyone has a right to continue talking about the EULA or any other topic here. My intention is not to change this thread into something similar to EMRUpdate, but I just wonder how much good this EULA discussion is going to do in the end.

Bet and Adam,
I hope nobody thought that I was making light of Adam's truely painful loss. Goodness knows I would be a useless pile of mush should some sort of similar fate became of my beautiful wife. You and yours are in my thoughts Adam, Truely they are. But that being said it was Adam that threw it out there as though it had some profound impact or reason to be considered. It is sort of one of those damned if you do or don't, just even touching it is just seen as being so wrong, so perhaps all sides would be better served to move on from this one, Peace OK?

All I can say, is nobody like Jon clings so tight to a negative concept such as this without cause or reason seeing that it is obviously making for some interesting press and ink here.

Furthermore, sure it all seems far off and kind of like a bad itch you just can't scratch, some fly you just want to swat away until it happens to you, your practice, your provider, your dear wife because you advocated heavily in a pro-consumer, squeaky wheel gets the grease kind of way, the way I was raised and taught by my dear dad, rest his soul. I was probably the only 10 year old who knew who was the NYS AG and what his role was in our government back in 1969. Just you wait and see... If and when it darkens your front door, then suddenly it is not so academic, so far off, so unimportant, so easy to blow off or sweep under a rug. Some of you my dear friends should know this best of all (and you know who you are) because it was your council, your friendship, your support, your ear, that gave me some comfort in those weird dark days.

Do you remember my attempt at optimism when it seemed that we where all attempting to reach a good positive resolution to this thorny issue based on some of the concepts that I first proposed, the protection of all parties involved intellectual property rights. The vendor, the provider and the patient. It is short sighted, self-serving policies like these that are clung to, too tightly by vendors and other stake holders that are going to lead to the wrathe of CCHIT being forced upon us all, because part of what CCHIT claims to seek to do is to standardise all the data for easy swapping between platforms and programs. If we can't take the lead here, and prove that there is a more positive way of working together here to protect all parties, then we get what we deserve and we and Al have already lost the fight... Then we are digging our own graves here folks, truely we are.

Seriously folks, think about that without just viserally reacting to it out of hand. It is this type of petty in fighting among ourselves that will seal our fate here and assist our foes in locking us into their servitude. I just don't understand how most of you can defend what to us and Roy seems so totally indefensable, the holding hostage of ones intellectual material and data, for personal gain or reasons. Why is the protections that the vendors all seek so understandable and defensable, but the protections of both the provider, folks like you and my wife, doctors all, and the interests of your patients seem so un-important and so trivial, that Paul, Nancy and Roy are but irritants to be asked to quiet down or shut up???

Awhile ago Al, posted some really good links to articles that were written about the concepts of some form of a more mutual protection of all the parties involved. So we are not the only ethically concerned people on this subject. Why a company that claims to be the most moral and ethical one in this business doesn't see this as a great opportunity to continue to differenciate themselves from their more eithically challenged competitors is simply beyond Me and Nancy. So

Can't we all be better than this? Why does the continued conversation here about all this seem to bother so many of you so much? Is this our problem? Whose problem is it really? I wonder why the protection of this feel good thing even in light of some very troubling policies that we now know have the real possiblity of becoming reality for any one of us, is so valuable to all of you to protect, even at the possible expense of the security of your own practices and therefore your own legal liabilities as well as your ethical and medical obligations to your patients. Even as a former student of human psych some behaviors still amaze me...

Bert, what happened to your feelings about folks like you, me and Roy being some of the few who stuck our necks out for the great whole? I can understand your basic response to come to the aid and defense of a friend such as Adam. That I can certainly understand and truely value and admire in you. If I haven't said it enough, Thanks, you have surely shown it to us, to me many times in the past, so I have no issue with that. Don't ever stop being that person, I try to be that same person. It reminds me of the relationship between Senser and Hawk in the old Robert Parker series of "Spenser for Hire". "He does what he says he'll do." But were is your defense and concern about this very important issue of the defense of providers' and patients' rights of intellectual property? I know it was once there and that it was real, just as your friendship is very real and in one's face. I really do admire that in you....

It is these types of divisions among ourselves that have allowed the selfish interests of folks like the insurance carriers to take control and walk all over all of us. Perhaps we'll just crawl back under the rock that Nancy and I were chased under back during the nuclear holocast. I guess we could just call OfficeMax tomorrow and order up a whole bunch of paper and folders so nobody can ever threaten us with access to our own charts again... This way we can just duck and hide, so we don't get our own heads cut off. I'm sorry (not!) that we were looking out not just for ourselves but for everyone, all citizens, all providers and all patients, the entire country in this brave new world. Be it CCHIT with back door portals and centralized servers with everyones healthrecords on it, or issues such as this, is there really any difference???

Just don't say we didn't warn ya.... As it was put so well back in an old Pogo comic strip so long ago; "we have met the enemy and he is us".

Good Night and Good Luck.....