Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Using AC without support

Question to fellow AC users.

I am going to switch to a different EMR. I do not plan on upgrading to Version 11 of A/C, since we will be on our new EMR before the prescribing issue with AC becomes an issue... I have paid for support through March 2022. Does AC require and active support contract to use it? Does it require an active internet connection to log on? We want to keep AC running in the background as the new EMR is fine tuned, mainly as a database and patient information resource.

Thanks for any input.

Ed Davison

Hi Dr Davison,
You do not need an active support license to access the program (as long as you are not on the cloud. If that is the case we would need to migrate you off the cloud first and install AC on a local computer for you). Without support, you would not be able to ePrescribe, send/receive information to the patient portal, or get software updates (such as Meds/Codes DB updates along with general software updates). Otherwise, you have complete access to your charts for as long as you have the software installed.

If you need assistance getting your data, or have any questions, feel free to reach out.

Good luck with your new EHR.

Joined the AC board in 2008... leaving AC in 2021. And apparently one of many.

Sad to see you go, Jon.
I just upgraded to V11.1.2 with only minor glitches.
So far it seems to work pretty well -- no major gripes.
Looking at the universe of possible replacements I keep wondering which one could possibly replace AC?
Everything is expensive and clunky -- so what did you find that is worth the effort and expense to change to?
You have been a major contributor to the success of this board -- which in turn has been a key resource in making AC reasonably functional.

Interestingly - the user board is still listed in the AC Help dropdown as a resource, but thie link goes nowhere.

Not going, Tom! At least, not yet. Sorry if my post was misleading. Thanks very much for the kind words about me (and about the board). Some of us recognize the added value it can provide to the AC product, even if there is little recognition of this at Harris.

No, I am not moving on yet. My comment referred to Ed and some other long time users who are moving on. There have been "crisis points" in the history of our little EMR, and we seem to be at a major one.

Your final observation is a metaphor for Harris/AC... there is some underlying sense of what will benefit users, but a failure to reliably deliver what is needed.

I have switched to version 11 and been on it for about 2 months. I do not see any significant differences other than a few issues with prescribing. I think the overall use of AC is just as fast as it was before. I have only had a few times where the system will glitch and log out or get stuck, but had these before version 11. I do have one OLD machine that drops out frequently. I will likely replace it soon due to the dropping issue but this machine is well over 5 years old and was cheap when I bought it. I have read that there are problems with support but other than just some short delays they have been able to get to me fairly quickly and get things fixed. I had a billing issue that was the worst problem but thankfully that is behind us (due to another provide moving out of the office). We have onsite AC and not in the cloud. I will post the prescribing issues in another post where I said I would reply.

Hi Mark@AC,

I am with AC for 11 years. Just upgraded to V11.1.2 yesterday. I tried yesterday and a few times today. The support/online chat is always not there. What is going on? They will not be available from now on?

Thanks in advance for the answer,

Hi Cindy.

Sorry no one has gotten back to you. Support is extremely busy trying to get all the upgrades done on top of the usual issue we see, so turn around times will be a little longer. Send me a message, either on here or directly at mdabeck@harriscomputer.com and I can look and see if there is anything I can do to help. Not guaranteeing anything, but I can try.

Thank you, Mark. That makes me feel better. I do not have issues now. I just upgraded to the V11, and in the email, support said to inform them the time so they can update my profile to match the change?

What is the difference between using AC with support and without support? Besides the ~$1500. This is to the users.

@MarkAC

Thanks for being on the forum.

Hi Cindy.

Yes, send them a message to techSupport@amazingcharts.com and let them know you upgraded.

@Bert: Without support, you cannot e-Prescribe, use the patient portal or any interfaces, receive updates (including the meds updates that are pushed out behind the scenes), or tech support. You would still have access to the program and to your charts. You could even document in it and sign notes, just all the "transmit" and interface stuff gets shut off.

Thanks for having me on here. I may not be able to answer everyone's questions or problems, but I will do what I can to help and contribute.

Thanks for clarifying, Jon -- and thanks to Mark for staying the course.
This forum is a lifeline for many of us.
I hope new users can find their way to it.
Why doesn't the link in the AC "help" dropdown point to this forum? Currently it goes nowhere. That seems like a major benefit that Harris is overlooking.

The disconnect from the board was done back when PriMed owned us (I think.. its been a few years). They made a decision that the board was not something they were going to host anymore. It would have just gone away, but Bert stepped up to save it.

As far as connecting it back, I personally would love to, but that is not my call. That is a decision for Chris Conrad.