Home Forums Discussions Problems Amazing Charts freezes/crashes when looking at imported items

Hi All... I am brand new to this forum so if I'm using it incorrectly I apologize. We updated to the version 8.2.4 on 7/31/14 and have had serious issues ever since. Our physicians are using laptops and wi-fi and, several times a day, their AC will freeze up while trying to view imported items. Adobe 9 is installed on their computers (message pops up recommending version 8 or 9.) We can't continue to function this way, swapping out laptops in the middle of an exam, etc. There has been no change in the way AC is being used, we've just had a major loss in functionality since the upgrade. Multiple calls to AC have left us completely frustrated with the lack of support and the problems remain unresolved. I have a difficult time believing we are the only office to have this problems since the upgrade. Has anyone else experienced these problems and, if so, have you been able to resolve them?
We are at the end of our rope right now with Amazing Charts and seriously considering other options.
Thanks in advance for your help...
Brandy

Hi Brandy,

Do you have this problem with wired PC's? There's been quite a few posts regarding 8.2.4 on wireless causing problems.

http://amazingcharts.com/ub/ubbthreads.php/topics/66311/8.2.4_Disaster_-_Warning_-_Ran#Post66311

One of the physicians has told me that it happens even when she has her laptop plugged directly into the internet cable. The other physician has reported fewer problems and she works from both a desktop and wireless laptop. I will check with her to see if she has had the problem while using her desktop as well.

Aren't many AC users working from wireless laptops? Or do others typically have computers in the exam rooms that are plugged into the internet?

I'm not sure what everyone else is doing as far as wired vs wireless. Have you tried reaching support via the "Help me now" on their website?

http://amazingcharts.com/support/help-me-now/ Click on "Chat with us". I usually get a hold of them faster this way than calling.

I had the same issues with AC 8.2.4 to point that we could not function with AC because of constant crashes and failure to connect. The solution is to go to AC 8.2.5 which is more stable and quicker- Still slow though. For some reason support is not providing this to us. I had to find it on my own. I assume it is because they are so overwhelmed themselves trying to "patch things". I finally received a call from support today after putting in a request last Weds. I had already resolved the problem on Friday with the update. I would be glad to send you the e-mail link if they do not provide it for you as long as you are comfortable installing it. You may want to install it on a laptop separate from your server initially to see how it runs.

BrandyVDK,
I sent you a PM. (Check your "My Stuff" tab at the top of the page)
Dave
FP

I had to get rid of my wireless ASUS Slate tablet that I was using after the version 8.2.x update. It was too slow switching windows and opening Imported Items to be useful. I am now using an iPad Air which links to my desktop by RDP, so I am virtually on my desktop while in the exam room. Fast enough for now.

John,
I've been using an iPad in RDP for years with good results. Expanding text for my visually challenged patients and accessing the internet for "images" to confirm to patients I really do know what I'm talking about sometimes. I highly recommend the relatively-cheap apps from 3D4Medical like Muscle System Pro III, Skeletal System Pro III, Heart Pro III, etc for demonstrating anatomy and disease processes to patients. They're made in conjunction with Stanford U. School of Medicine and are very high quality.

I'll be looking at the iPad Pro and keyboard case when they're available in a couple of months. More toys, more toys...

Dave
FP

Thanks Dave. Like most I spend a lot of time taking care of my gadgets.

Our office has always had problems with accessing imported items when using wireless connection. It does seem to be worse with the 8.2.4 version. I contacted AC recently to see if they had any suggestions on how to archive our imported items to see if we could improve the performance but they said
"To answer your other question. Unfortunately, there is no way to compress your imported items. Collapsing the folders in the imported items has been known to help with the performance."

I am currently working with my IT person to figure out a way to move older imported items to another file outside of AC to see if this helps.

I am thinking we may have outgrown AC. We have over 5,000 patients and some of the records go back to the 1990's. We started using AC in October 2011. Our providers all use laptops. Some bring in the exam room which are not hardwired. We always have a better connection when "hardwired" or using a PC rather than laptop. It definitely is a problem that needs a solution as it effects patient flow which in turn effects revenue.

Get to 8.2.5 ASAP. My file has over 10,000 patients and a total 33gb is the size of the usual backup. I too had this problem, but have yet to see it on this new version. I feel your pain. Fast equipment with proper network cards and fast switches help.

Todd,

I will get the 8.2.5 upgrade. I didn't know it existed. Thought we had the latest version. You would think somebody would inform a person. Thanks for your help. I will let you know if it helps at all.

Todd,
Question. How many users do you have accessing AC at a time? I am just wondering if that might be part of our issue. We have anywhere from 13-15 at a time.

Thanks.

The client portal has 8.2.4 as the latest version. Where is the link to 8.2.5?

you have to ask support for it send them an email

Many of us have had problems with the 8.2.4 upgrade. I bought a new server with dual Quad core Xeon CPUs. It helped so that the program is "Usable", but still slow, esp prescription writer. My staff has been begging to move to another program which I will look into before my next yearly renewal.

Maybe this is a ploy for everyone to change over to Amazing Charts in the Cloud ....

Just did the same thing new server Xeon E3-1241 V3 @3.5 GHz 32 GB ram, ssd raid 1 for OS, Raid 10 for AC and only thing on server is the OS and AC all gigabyte switches 5e or cat 6 cable I'm the only user and while some improvement now takes 5-6 secs to open a chart previously took 8 secs hardly the price of admission ;/

My western office has at least that many people 13 that access at a time as there may be 4-5 docs working along with support staff...they are on 8.2.4 and have not crashed very much, but occasionally the services/permissions need to be restarted...todd

AC has some really serious problems that are a continual annoyance, and with all the ads for other EMR's now, seriously make me consider moving on. I am running 6.3.3 (getting ready to upgrade) and I get these lock ups routinely. One of many issues they have been unable to fix.

Boondoc -- which of those many EMR's that are advertised would you pick.
Everything I have seen or heard about is worse than AC.
I think the whole enterprise is fatally flawed -- it is trying to serve too many masters.
You can't serve the government and the patients and the insurance companies at the same time.
Not and get home for dinner.

In the past, I found that one of the main problems in viewing imported items was using newer versions of Adobe acrobat reader. For that reason, I started using Foxit reader, which I think works great. This can be downloaded for free. There are some user modifications that have to be selected. You must go to the file section and click on file associations. Then, go to the section that says make Foxit reader the default PDF viewer. Click on advanced and check all the boxes. Then click make default PDF viewer. I recommend that you give it a try. I was very happy with version 6.3.3, but it had problems with viewing imported items with any version of Adobe acrobat reader above version 9. I was upgraded to version 8.2.5, several weeks ago. Viewing imported items is great. I am having problems with slowness opening charts, closing charts and printing invoices. I have been in contact with Sandeep and he advises that this all relates to how the data is run through your CPU processor. I recommend that everyone visit his web page. I do not think that individual practices and small groups are going to find a better EMR then Amazing Charts, for the money. As noted above, it does have problems with handling large amounts of imported items. I gave up on my idea of scanning in all of the old patient records, and have kept them in different database. I have imported various reports, over time, as needed for each particular patient. Otherwise, I have tried to record a thorough old past medical history, decreasing the need to go back to the old charts.

We updated to version 8.2.5 last week as suggested and it seemed to work great at first but seems to be back to opening and closing charts slow and switching between tabs in chart is slower as well. I am now looking to upgrade our network switch to see if that helps.

We don't believe there is going to be another EMR out there that will be any better than what we have for the cost we pay for AC.

If anyone has any other advise or suggestions I am open to hearing them.

Thanks

http://www.nuemd.com/demo-physicians

My billing company uses NueMD and has encouraged me to check it out.

Boondoc, unless you actually know some people using the EMR, you might want to check the Black Book or KLAS ratings for NueMD. Or maybe softwareinsider.com. Look at the bright side... if you had used NueMD to attest in 2014, you would have been the 30th person to do so that year.

Jon: I'm not going to be the traitor on the board, but I sure wish AC could get some simple things right, like a professional looking scheduler, nice iOS/Android apps, and seamless PM like this program:
http://www.softwareadvice.com/medical/nuesoft-nuemd-complete-profile/