Just downloaded the update to my test machine
All health maintenance makes it crash
Crashed with alter date
Crashed with decision support
Crashed when I clicked on an immunization in the summary section
"disappeared" when I clicked on demographics and later when I clicked on past encounters (I had entered info on a page, cliked on past encounters and the note disappeared, it was not in the AC task bar (WIn7) it was not under the main AC screen. When I clicked on the name again, it was back with the info I selected.
I will continue to look for bugs but...
I don't think I will go live with this version
Test system Win7 pro 3 G memory

Wow...thanks for the heads up!

MAJOR CORRECTION TO THE PREVIOUS POST !!!!!

One of the first rules of computing is to restart the computer when you have problems. When I did, all of the above problems went away.

I did reinstall and redo the database tuner, this did not correct the above issues, I submitted bug reports about 5-6 times but then I finally restarted. Voila, this cleared up all of the problems.

Previously I had already remotely logged in and downloaded to my office. When I ran into these problems I immediately put them on hold.

I felt it was my duty to the AC community to warn you, but I freely admit that I jumped the gun. Mea Maxima Culpa

I should have known that AC would not have released anything anywhere near that buggy, but I panicked.

Again, my regrets.

I deserve any lashings with wet noodles for the stress I have created.

I personally am grateful to Wendell, Bert and the other knowledgeable folks in this community who are willing to put the effort into test driving our next update. I would love to, but simply lack the computer skills, and so I must wait a bit, then call our IT guy to come and do the install, then keep my hands off it! I am anxious to move on to version 5, (and even more anxious for version 6) but will be patient and wait my turn. Thanks guys!!

Wendell

Thanks for the information,
What is the link for the update?

www.amazingcharts.com/beta

It was much easier to install than the last version (did not have to delete the prior version)

I did have to disconnect the databases from the main computer.

Seemed to work well so far.

Hey guys....sorry for the naive questions here but not much time to read everything stem to stern. My AC programs keeps telling me I've got the most up to date version yet my office staff tells me they had a conversation with IT people @ AC who told them that Version 5 was being released Jan. 1 this year.

However, every time I go to check for updated versions from my version 4.x it tells me I've got the most up-to-date version. Now, I see posts about 5.x but I notice people with bugs.

Is this a beta version still being worked out? Do I truly have the most up to date, 4.x version available for general use in the public domain right now?

Regards,
Dariush Saghafi, MD
Parma Neurology
Parma, OH

I believe 4.073 is the most current public release version.

5.024 is the most current (2/8/10) beta release and is open to anyone who pays support and wants to use a beta version. It does have a few bugs and is the 2nd or 3rd minor update version. It is not bug free and can require a little more IT knowledge to get it up and running.

Dariush, Version 5 is currently in Beta Testing. It is not yet released, but as Steven said, those who have paid their support fees and have the nerve are allowed to assist with Beta Testing of the new version.

I was told if 5.24 does not have any bugs that will become the official version soon!

I am running 5.023 and I am still in the free demo version downloaded from the site.

Beta is just that. It can be very buggy, it can be very stable. As a new user you should probably have played more with V4, although Jon's betas tend to be very stable. Wait, Lowell, why are you still in demo if you have been a member since 2007?

Of course you want to see what the latest and greatest is going to be, but it can be frustrating when things go wrong and there is no support, despite the board.

I put probably 10-15 hours on the beta before I went live and then only in 1 of 2 offices. I remained prepared to strip it all down and downgrade to V4 if need be. I put each new beta to test before I install it live (as you saw my folly in starting this post.)

I have been using AC since 2002. I am very comfortable with both it, Windows and networks.

I installed 5.0.24 in the office that was down today, so I can't comment, but it was easy to install (esp compared to 5.0.23, which was a bear.) Once I overcame my mishap, I saw that it appears to be very stable. I did find a few minor things which I reported, but nothing like the nightmare that will haunt me for some time. Overall, this was a much easier transition than from V3 to V4. I await V6, I need a PM system.

I have always been pretty brave and loaded betas as soon as they came out (usually on the weekend) and just took the plunge. I did play with version 5 on a laptop for a little bit just to try it, but I took the plunge very early.

I think if you use Windows you essentially use beta software - you just don't have to download all the updates - windows is constantly downloading updates and fixes.....Jon just can't make it happen in the background.

That being said I would not recommend all users jump on the bandwagon too quickly as new releases can be problematic. On the other hand I see this like my pharmacology professor said - "Don't be the first person to use a new drug or the last to use an old drug".....

I joined here in 2007 but was using eCW. I moved my office this past September and abandoned eCW. So, now I am looking at AC again.

did databased tuner have to be run on the mane computer after upgrading from 5.023-5.024?

I did on mine.

I believe so, I did it automatically as it stated it would be necessary.

I did find that a computer that had 0.23 would connect and function on the 0.24 database

Hi Lowell, I just sat through a very painful two months of meetings where our IPA was pushing a bunch of Doctors to adopt an EMR and they wanted them to pick eClinical. (Amazing Charts was not in the running because it doesn't have the billing yet, even though my group and one other private Dr. that I have converted all use it already!) It was for me, a very pathetic mess. I did come to see however that for some Doctors it might be OK and I also began to suspect that Amazing Charts might not be perfect for everyone. If a Doctor uses a lot of check lists, both for the patient to report the history and for the Dr. to chart the exam then AC might not have much to offer. I would be interested to hear how eClinical was for you, and are you a "check list" kinda person or did eClinical encourage you to be. What was it like to live with that software.

Checklists make me think of the old "T-sheets".
Misys had a lot of those-very time consuming and frustrating
because you couldn't personalize
I found them too limiting.

Please don't leave us Martin, really appreciate your view of the doctoring world!!

Wow, go check out ECW, lots of clicks and time-consuming. Just do a demo and you will quickly understand. I never used it but they did not impress me. I am an unbiased opinion of course! Don't let "tracking" and checklists make you feel better spending YOUR hard earned money!

Also, IPA works for physicians! They are going to force you to buy a ridiculously expensive system? Is this really beneficial to your bottom dollar?? Be careful not to be fooled by "you will get your money back" and "we have to get on board asap." You will come to regret your decisions quickly! Just a word of caution, alrady hard enough to stay afloat in medicine wthout EHR costs spiraling to 50-150K.

Leave us? I'm afraid not. I may leave the IPA if necessary but I have no intention of leaving AC or this forum. Your stuck with me. My understanding of the subject is broadening some, and I can see how AC might not be for everybody, but it certainly suits my style of practice.
That said I have a list of things I want to see by the time we get to Version 10!!
And I am more convinced than ever of three things: 1- There will be NO clear winner in the EMR wars. One size will NEVER fit all, and that concept will forever doom the VA and Kaiser and other big systems. They will never remain on the cutting edge. 2- The big systems are absolutely ridiculous in both price and concept. 3- Jonathan has the fundamental concept that will triumph, an open framework that you can install your own options, IE, Dragon, Instant Medical History, a billing system, UpDocs etc. Once I bought an iPhone and saw how effortless the APP store works, so cheap, so innovative and moving ahead at WARP speed, I understood the future. I believe a strong and honest (fair) senior partner like Amazing Charts will encourage others to develop little pieces that can be shared for a small price, because the marketing costs will be so low. It will function like the iPhone APPS store, (and maybe it will BE done on the APPS store) where you can buy the software outright, install it without a hassle, and constantly refine and improve your practice. The proof of this theory is the current state of Amazing Charts which has improved SO much in just the past two years, and has added so many features that are outside of AC, (like the instant history or UpDocs).
My 4 cents anyway.

Yeah!!
I couldn't tell by your previous post if joining the ipa meant you had to leave ac. Can't wait till the wireless world gets faster in SE Missouri so I can try another smart phone. A few years ago tried the palm and the windows treo and hated almost every minute. I have been waiting for speed and hardware to catch up.
I have days around here where the internet goes down (along with m voip phones) several times a day. I had threatened to go with dsl till I was counseled otherwise.

Anyway, glad you are here in AC land!!

I found eCW to be too much of a task master. Too many clicks. Too many steps. Too many designers. Too much hype. Overpromised and underwhelmed. Otherwise it was ok.

At this point I am focused on having an EMR that will make my office run better. That's my number 1 priority. If not, then attempting to improve outcomes with an EMR makes no sense. First step has to be office efficiencies.

I am not interested in ARRA. Not interested in HITECH. Just want to be able to do some of the PCMH type things but not at the expense of why I went into medicine; taking care of patients.

Frankly, I could do a pretty good job for people using a shoe box and index cards. I am not defined by technology. I am happy to use it when it makes life easier.

I think I kinda digressed here.

Actually, I think you hit the point head on.

An EMR should work for and with you, not force your round peg through an octaganal hole.

It should be intuitive, quick and be useful for retrieving information (ever try to make heads or tails out of many of the ER charting programs?)

Sure every one is interested in trying to get "something for nothing" or better through the stimulus, but if it costs you time, that is a step backwards.

Index cards do indeed work, I have used them in the past.

I like technology and have been using AC for over 7 years. It works, it makes my life easy. I have the best charting I ever had and do not leave charts to finish very often. I can pull patient's charts on a moments notice for any catagory I think of.

What more can you ask for? (OK, I'll take any stimulus money you care to throw my way) But if none comes this way, life goes on.

This may help someone when upgrading from Beta 5.0.23 to 5.0.24. Most of the installs went fine on my XP pro network, but 4 of the 9 computers didn't want to run AC or run the Data Tuner on the main computer until I first removed the Amazing Charts Beta 5, and only then could I do a clean install of the 5.0.24. This happened also when I did the 5.0.24 install from the previous Beta 5 version. Hope this helps.

I had I very pleasant upgrade 23 to 24. One netbook would not update, but my office manager simply uninstalled 23 and it was fine. The database tuner came up as a link when it was needed, the .23 version told me .24 was available, I am searching hard for true bugs. My PA who could not e-prescribe on a vista machine magically could. I wish it all loaded a bit faster. Maybe if code is condensed at the end?

This is a follow up on my last note. I have failed to install Beta 5.0.24 on a new machine that I just bought to replace my current Main Computer. The SQL service installed from AC is not working, although it has worked on other computers that I have. Don't yet know the reason for the problem, but a call to tech support today may have been too late for them to call back.
One of my workstations that could be used as a "main computer" for off site work also had trouble loading the Beta 5.0.24, still had a problem after the load seemed to be O.K. I had problems even removing the Beta 5.0.23 from it.
I am able to use the new Beta 5.0.24 on my old "Main Computer", so the rest of the workstations seem to be fine, and I am still able to do my work.

Did you install beta 5.024 from scratch on this new machine and install "for main" ? I have not had one fail as yet on any version, but did have to fiddle. Also specs for new machine?

So this is what has happened so far. My old Main Computer on the XP network took the Beta 5.0.24 just fine. I did a ghost of that hard drive that had 5.0.23 before the upgrade, and the new machine would not get past the SQL service server for the 5.0.24. Working with Tech support yesterday couldn't fix it, so I am going to take the old hard drive, remove AC and SQL for AC from it, ghost it to a newly formatted hard drive for the new machine, then do a clean new install of Beta 5.0.24. That won't happen though until I get back home tomorrow night. I'll let you know what happens. Until that happens, the clinic is still working fine with the old main computer.

Unfortunately, It still has plenty of bugs. I submitted some suggestions. Look for another maint update In the mean time.

What I have learned so far. My XP pro main computer would not ghost over the hard drive to a new main computer and run the Beta 5.0.24, even after removing AC and SQL server 2005 from the old drive before ghosting. So, I had to take a newly formatted hard drive, load the XP pro, and then it took Beta 5.0.24 just fine. That means I have had to clean install the Medisoft, and Monday X-Link will call back to connect Medisoft to Amazing Charts again (for a charge of course). That's when hopefully I can put the new main computer on line and remove the old main computer.

Another problem I have run into with 5.0.24 is that you cannot specify units for prescription amounts. It will allow you to go to the prescription send page but then will give error about units not being acceptable.

I have subsequently received calls from the pharmacy asking what units I meant.

I did not have this problem with 0.23. I hope it is not on the newscripts side.

Upgraded to .24 and still having old problems - PLUS some new ones
- still get run time errors when creating an order
- still get getting multiple copies of the health maint. and orders showing up in the plan
- still defaults to "print all prescriptions on one page" and there is no place to change this.

NEW problems - There is only a defined number of character spaces in the order screen. It cuts off what you type in for the order (for example - what time the test is scheduled for etc...) AND (this is very bad) Anything we had typed into that space prior to the update is GONE! We cant tell pts what time their test is scheduled for.
Another new problem is that when clicking on templates to place into the chart, it doesnt put the templates in the order you click on them, it puts them in alphabetically. That is NOT good! It makes the note confusing to read.

It did fix the reminders. I cant see how it fixed the immunizations. They still seem out of whack.

So, overall, it works, but the order bug is bad. There isnt a way to document within the order that the test is being scheduled etc... we have generate a new message for this.

No problems with 5.024.
Love being able to send the orders and track data-especially the graphs. It's nice being able to print out the tracked data page. It makes ordering labs a lot quicker.