Home Forums Discussions General Discussion 2 weeks into the 9.1 upgrade, thoughts

DManuele,
Just shy of two weeks into the 9.1 upgrade and very pleased. I have been using AC in the Cloud for a year and this has been the best upgrade IMHO since I started AC at the end of 2011.
The only minor complaint with the upgrade is when I document the Pneumococcal Conjugate vaccine, Wyeth is not a choice so I have to use the dropdown and enter the lot # and expiration date every time. This is a bit painful, but hopefully will be corrected in the future.

However the positives significantly outweigh the negative. The positives are as follows.

Reconciling orders

# of days on scripts ie. antibiotics

correcting the bug so charts no longer intermix when a new chart is opened up & order given on two different patients

Running cursor over meds to see history & pharmacy, in the script writer

Right clicking on diagnosis codes in summary section for patient handouts

If I think of anymore will let you know, but I would do the upgrade in a heartbeat, but again only been using the 9.1 for just two weeks.
Thanks DManuele

Thanks for the update, sounds encouraging. Not using cloud service here, but will download to trial machine when generally available.

You bet Don. Thank you.

We just upgraded from ver 8.2.4 to 9.1 on our local server. It is noticeably faster. Self serve installer including database tuner and download times took less than 1/2 hour.
I'll add comments as time permits.

prescribing runs slower

The med list hesitates just a bit when loading the script writer, but I have found it to be quite fast..and definitely faster than in version 8. I just wish they would speed up the reminder section as that lags terribly.

Just upgraded myself to 9.1 without incident. For those doing the same, some comments:
-- Installer ran smoothly on main computer until last step, progress bar almost all done, when I had an (uncomfortable) 10 minute hang at the "Setting File Permissions" step. Just wait, it will eventually reach the "Installation Complete" box.
-- I don't (as yet) notice a real speed increase or decrease. Possibly, if I had uninstalled ver 8 and done a clean install of ver 9.1, I would have seen a speed up since ONLY new installs (not upgrades) install SQL Express 2012 x64. And why is this ?!!
-- My LabCorp & Quest, NewCrop and Updox interfaces were all reset to "inactive", and I received error messages. Can be activated in View>Administator Option>Interfaces
-- In the Sign Off window, when a message/reminder is sent, the subject line still duplicates the patient name & birthdate (see below). This bug Has NOT been addressed for over a year, when ver 8.xx was introduced. Very disappointing.

The error box (saying the file could not be found) that appeared in earlier versions when attempting to print a prior encounter from the Imported Items window is fixed in 9.1.

Because this requires either a full uninstall, including SQL, or someone manually doing the SQL uninstall, reinstall.

The slowest part of the install is when it looks for upgrades/patches - that can take 1-90 minutes right there.

Hi folks,
Couple of problems I am having with ver 9.1:
--the "set user permission" where you set if someone can open and edit a chart in someone else's inbox is not "taking". I've set the preferences for doctors and nurses to be able to view and edit charts in the other's inbox but it keeps turning off.
---same thing for the setting which allows entry of pediatric weights in lb and oz. I enable it and it gets disabled after a period of time. Does not have anything to do with signing out of AC or restarting of computer or which user is signed on....weird.

Any help will be appreciated.
Overall, pretty happy, scripts and opeing II much faster-- thank goodness!

Something else which is just slightly annoying: I have always had the "snap to" feature enabled for my mouse which makes the mouse pointer 'snap to' the default option for any window that opens. Now, even though I have that enabled in the control panel, 'snap to' does not work in AC.

RE: 9.1 Backup Restore problem

I have been using 9.1 since early May 2016 and for the most part has been a positive experience.

However, on May 20, 2016 my main computer hard drive began to fail. I was upgrading the memory and as part of the upgrade a Dell Diagnostic was run in which the hard drive failed the SMART test (said death was imminent). To my amazement the Dell, on its deathbed, ordered it's own hard drive replacement under the extended warranty I bought (2.9 year old machine).

Due to the wisdom of you guys on the board, I did have a backup of my *.enc file and all the imported items on a external hard drive.

I brought in the replacement computer, and installed Amazing Charts 9.1 to run as the main computer. This was a clean install. As part of the enhanced security, amazing charts requires you to enter the ID and password from your Amazing charts portal on the amazing charts website. My ID and password did not work. It did work on the amazing charts website however. This was a Friday evening so I knew I would need to get AC tech support on the line Saturday morning. They promptly got on the case. I learned that there was a new procedure for restoring in 9.1. There is some *.enc conversion program. Tech support installed this but then ran into further roadblocks and could not get my file to restore. It was then determined we might need developer help on Monday.

But, there was a last hope, if I could find a certain file on my DYING hard drive we might could extract the ID we needed to coax the restore to work. So I put the dying computer on the morphine drip and it coughed up the file minutes before another blue screen of death appeared. (note that I think I had the complete AC folder backed up too on the cloud, but we didn't have to go that far).

I did get running again Saturday afternoon and thank AC tech for the help.

The experience was a little unnerving. Just thought I'd share...

We just upgraded over the weekend to 9.1 from 8.3. Still figuring it all out but noticing when opening labs (interfaced) they are slow to open or close.

Does anyone else know if using the cloud helps when opening imported items? That is one of our biggest issues is AC slow to open imported items. I know they added the date range but that hasn't seemed to help us.

Robynne,
With a chart open it takes less than a second to open up an imported item. (I use AC in the Cloud).

Jimmie,

Do you have any issues with using AC in the cloud? We are currently considering getting a second server because of the slowness we have with using AC. My biggest complaint is from providers using laptops and wireless connection that they can see a patient in 5-10 minutes but it takes 15-20 minutes to document the encounter waiting for various windows to open prescription writer, imported items, etc. It is effecting our bottom line. I may have to find out what it would take to switch us over.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. (From anyone)

Thanks.

Robynne,

I should explain our office is a conglomerate of 8 docs, and we transitioned to a faster internet service about a year ago with a licensed microwave of 30/30. I had one partner try the AC in the cloud, didn't like it and now back on local server.

In my little pod I only have two computers, my nurse & I, hooked directly via hardwire. Both still on Windows 7.

I also use a chromebook at point of care with VNC viewer Enterprise Version, to access my office computer, a dual monitor set up, so the chromebook is like a virtual desktop, plugged into wall mounted large screen TVs with HDMI cords to share the EHR visually as educational tool.

So my hardware is simple only two computers, and a dummy proof chromebook.

I do not like to futz around with all the computer stuff, so upgrades, backups all done with minimal work on my end.

For me, I do not notice any difference in speed when using local AC service, other than when my nurse has to print imported items from updox or scanned item, can take up to 45 seconds. So if she has to do any significant printing, often does on slow time, such as Fridays when not seeing patients or just fits it in, but this has not disrupted my workflow.

I have done three upgrades since moving to cloud, and very painless. I just have to make sure my nurse and I are logged off with the upgrades, easier than before going to cloud IMHO.

Also, I use updox and works well with AC in cloud and can use a laptop from home with RDP to cloud & Updox, can do everything I do in office with my laptop from home.

I do like AC in the cloud and do not see going back to using local AC in the future.

Thanks Jimmie, for the information. I don't want to high-jack this thread with my AC issues. I will take all into consideration.

Robynne

Robynne,

You bet ! No worries.

Any caveats on full uninstall, including SQL Server, then reinstall to get SQL Server Express 2012 x64? Moving from 8. to 9. version.

Specifically, which files need to be backed up, then reinstalled (thinking custom dictionaries, preferences, templates, other?)?

When to run the database tuner that updates the SQL server files?

Other considerations/concerns?

Thanks for any thoughts, inputs, cautions.

just did the upgrade on our server and terminals. by far the easiest upgrade I've ever done with AC. Thanks Guys!!!