Home Forums Discussions General Discussion In Defense of Amazing Charts

Hello Everyone,

Over the many years I have been involved in this forum, and the previous one, going all the way back to when Jon Bertman owned Amazing Charts and would see my posts, raise an eyebrow, and wonder who was this smarty pants spelunking through his database, I have seen the occasional thread from someone entertaining the idea of jumping ship to another EMR.

I get it. AC has had some issues over the years. From strange bugs that make no sense to usability issues to tech-support being slow to respond. Furthermore, AC has been bought and sold two times over the past 10 years. Bertman sold out to one company and now Harris runs the show - and AC isn't the only EMR Harris sells. For many of you, the day Bertman jumped ship was the end of an era. And it was. AC just doesn't feel like AC anymore. All the tech-support people, sales reps, and so on you got to know are all gone and you're talking to all these strangers now. Again, I get it.

But before you start plunking down serious coin to move to another EMR, I recommend stopping for a moment and taking a deep breath. I've worked with a lot of EMRs over the years and have learned a lot from all of them. So before you give some salesperson your credit card number, consider the following:

-- All EMR systems have bugs. This is a fact of existence. If you leave AC because you're just tired of a few bugs here and there, within 2 years you'll feel the same way about your new EMR. As long as companies that develop software embrace Agile development and keep their backs turned on older, more refined paradigms like Waterfall, you can count on every software out there having bugs that will make you scratch your head and wonder aloud if anyone tested the thing before deploying it.

-- All EMR systems are expensive. Ask yourself just how much money you've spent on AC since you bought it. Is spending all that money and switching to another EMR worth the anger you felt at that one negative tech-support call experience? I got news for you, all EMR systems have so-so tech-support. And every tech-support engineer was once a beginner.

--Ask yourself how many of your problems are caused by you. This one will be tough for many of you. I am well aware of the legions of "do-it-yourself" networks that are out there. I'm also well aware that many doctors and their office managers need to stay away, far away, from the network server closet. I can't count over the years the number of offices that have seen many of their problems just melt away when they hired someone like me to clean up their mess and get their network running smoothly.

-- Beware the online guys. Moving to an online EMR sounds like the bees knees. No more server. No more expensive IT guy to manage it all. Sounds like a dream come true. Not so much. Many offices still need to retain that server for file shares and other stuff and that IT guy is still there. Then, one day, you decide you want your stuff back. Good luck. I just did a conversion from Kareo and the only export they have is the database export. They do not export scanned items. Imagine having to explain that to a doctor who scans everything and that's were most of the patient data is. Imagine having an online EMR telling you they don't support your browser or that you have to have this XYZ printer to see the HCFA correctly. And the online guys pump out new versions whether you are ready or not. And woe unto thee whose online EMR gets infected with a crypto-virus for thy pain and thy suffering are truly to be great.

This is just a partial list of things to consider. Jumping to another EMR may be the right thing for some of you. I'm not saying it isn't. What I am saying is make sure this is an informed decision. Don't fall into the romanticism on the forum of the one or two that did and it worked out for them. You are not them. You are you. And this is one of those decisions where it pays to take your time.

Mark@AC is here with us. We should continue to hold his feet to the fire whenever there is an issue - but at the same time make him feel welcome here so our concerns make it to the dev team. I can tell you now you won't get that kind of access with another EMR.

In conclusion the reason I wrote this is because AC, for all its flaws, is still one of the better EMRs out there from a "bang-for-your-buck" standpoint. It's also fairly easy to support and their database design isn't overly horrible (eClincialWorks get the award for most terrible database with MicroMD and NextGen as runners up). AC is also the easiest EMR to fix from a network and server standpoint, hands down. Again, not saying you shouldn't look around. But I am saying don't let one bad thing run your decision making process.

James

Hi James,

Thanks for the thoughtful and reasoned comments.

I would not have been as eloquent, but your analysis is why I am still using Amazing Charts.

Thanks

Gene

Just don't hold my feet TOO close to the fire. I prefer them lightly toasted.

Thanks for making me feel welcome. I will be here is anyone ever needs me. I will always help when I can. While I am not dev or tech support, I can express your concerns and issues to those department. If anyone needs to get a hold of me directly, my email is mdabeck@harriscomputer.com

We are thrilled to have you!

Thanks

Gene

Did the self upgrade to 11.1.2. No trouble. 1 day running no crashes or issues!

setup:
server 2012 r2 virtual machine (will try 2016 in a month)
workstations - windows 10 fairly clean with minimal extra software 8yr old and newer at least 4 gb memory

Looked at Athena - expensive and demo has online lag
Looked at Praxis- love the idea but Dr. Low one man shop did not inspire confidence - a lot of "best" "done it a billion times" and demo crashed while adding a rule. await new 64 bit codebase - major undertaking to do well.
Looked at Charm - looks nice. not a fan of chat box in ehr prefer traditional message system ala AC.

Hi James,

Nicely put--your cautions about changing from any EMR make lots of sense.

I used to point out that most of my clients were unhappy in one way or another with their EMR, but that divorcing their current EMR in hopes of finding perfection overlooked how painful and expensive the transition usually is and how often the same problems reappear during the new honeymoon.

The grass always looks greener on the other side.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

James, very well said
I too have looked at other options.
My hospital system has made Epic so that it is in the cost range of AC when you consider ACPM and interfaces. But I don't want to learn another systems and I am quite comfortable with the system I have. I have been using it for almost 18 years. It has it's issues but then again it does the job.

Thanks James, Very well put, I enjoyed working with you recently and appreciate your honesty and knowledge. I am currently on 11.1.1 and do not have many problems (no more than before). I voiced some issues and Mark has responded which is nice. That kind of service reminds me of the days when Jon was at the helm, now to just get the changes made or explain why they can't be made. Feedback is important for us. Even though others have said they have a hard time with Guardian Angel, I usually have had good response. I seem to get Ryan as a tech more often than others and he is quick to fix my issues. I do get frustrated when I try to "get help now" and they are not available but just keep checking back. I am not planning on moving but I do know that this forum is a resource I would not want to lose if Bert were to change EMR. Wendell has been around since I started with AC and got to meet him in Rhode Island at the conference so appreciate his input. Carl thanks for the words, I feel the same way, the grass just looks greener.

Thanks for the insight, James. I had the same thought, any EMR would have one headache or another. Like Dr. Gene said, you put it way more eloquently.

I just can't agree. My decision is going to be made on when I change to 11 and the script writer gets back to normal again, and then the crashes start. There just shouldn't be so many bugs. Just want something that has updates and upgrades you can download by clicking a button and being done with it. I could go on, but I won't. AC was worth hanging around when Jon was here. PrimeEd maybe. But Harris Healthcare. Where are they? Where is Trish?

Don't worry, I don't plan on giving up the board.

Hi Bert,

I mentioned that the grass is always greener on the other side.

But your argument makes sense, too.

As a rule of thumb, the older the program, the more bugs and complaints, the more difficulties with updating, and so on.

AC is now old enough to vote.

The absence of your mysterious Trish may be the straw that's broken the camel's back.

(I'm not venerable enough to catch the reference. but perhaps she retired?)

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

x

Thanks to JamesNT for your post (and for so many over the years that have been so helpful.)
And to Mark@AC for working so hard to bridge the gap between the the corporate culture and the medical culture.

I too have had my concerns about AC -- but in reality, it holds to its original goal of being simple, easy to use, flexible as a tool for recording medical encounters and relatively inexpensive -- as well as very reliable. I haven't seen any option that come close.

Now on Ver 11.1.2 (we self-upgraded a week ago) and so far there have been no issues at all. It feels about the same; a little faster in some ways, a little slower in others, but most importantly for me, no long waits for the Rxwriter to open up -- obviating the long, somewhat embarrassing pauses at the end of a visit.

It continues to allow multiple styles of record-keeping (necessary in our office of independent-minded practitioners who won't be herded into a corporate mold). It doesn't stray into areas that seem terribly unproductive like the abominable pseudo-AI features of the hospital's Cerner EMR, which "assists" in "decision making" by producing long lists of differential diagnoses which are much more distracting than helpful. It doesn't compose pseudo-English "paragraphs" from a bunch of point-and-click drop-down options.

I can't imagine any single EMR that could satisfy all the varied needs of all the different practices there are out there -- so I will stick with what for me is tried and true.

Thank you all for the kind words.

JamesNT

JUST SOME INFO.......

Recently jumped to Praxis and my ONLY regret is that I didn't do it SOONER.

STILL AVAILABLE AND WILLING to talk this out with anyone.
518-526-9996

http://www.americanehr.com/ratings/ehr_ratings/ehr-top-10-ratings.aspx

I have said it before and I will say it again.....

If you don't take a LONG HARD LOOK at Praxis now, you will kick yourself later!!!

Once they finish converting Praxis to C#, there will be nothing to prevent Dr. Low from completing his legacy to Medicine..........

Praxis will be the EHR we have all been promised for decades.

Hi Mark@AC,

Since I upgraded to V11, my controlled substance prescription goes down a lot, I tried to contact support, left voice message with them but no one reaches back to me. Can you help me on this? IS NEWS Crop having a lot of issues recently? or is this my account?

Thank you,

Hi Cindy (and everyone else).

We are currently experiencing issues with NewCrop, related to an outage that occurred late Monday night into Tuesday. This effects not only refills but EPCS as well. We have been in contact with the NewCrop Management team to get a resolution for this issue. We will keep everyone updated as we work on this.