New round of discussion needed for EMR, EHR and practice management software

[ilanh]

There have been many postings on this subject but the field changes quickly. As we all know, the federal government is practically mandating EHR adoption for those practices that bill Medicare. At this point, it is almost foolhardy to think that there is any long-term escaping this requirement. Incentives of $44,000+ are going to be whittled to significant penalties by 2015 for those who ignore this. Therefore, I am interested to know what "meaningful use" CERTIFIED software are people using? Your impressions would be greatly appreciated.

[scriptfiller]

We currently use OfficeMate and will be upgrading to version 10 in Q1 2012

[ilanh]

We currently use OfficeMate and will be upgrading to version 10 in Q1 2012

It would be helpful on this thread if people elaborated a little bit on what they liked or disliked about the software that they are using. Officemate is one of the most intriguing because comments on this forum have ranged from sheer hatred to love of this software. Obviously since it's the most widely used package this is not surprising simply because there are more comments about OM than any other softwear. However, one distinct complaint that seems to come the most is that customer service and tech support is not optimal. To me, the major upside of OM is that there is almost zero risk of it going away and stranding their customers.

[fjpod]

I don't know that there is any clearcut winner in this ballgame. One man's medicine is another's poison.

We tried OM/EW for a short time. It is soooo elaborate and multi-faceted that you could spend your life setting up systems and entering data. No time to see patients...only time to enter data. They were not as cooperative about transferring any more than just basic patient demographic data, and "demanded" major server/software changes that were unnecessary. Everything was "extra".

We dropped it and have gone with Crystal Practice Management. It's more "manageable"...if an EMR can be called that. It went right onto our Windows SBS Server, and they have been more than gracious converting our old data, including old billing detail, Rx's, vendors, etc.

But...buyer beware. Do your homework. You may hate what I like.

[ilanh]

Just to chime in on my own post: I did a review of all posts on Optiboard relating to users of various EMRs (I did several searches with several search terms). I found 80 specific posts in which an opinion or a review was given. Here is the breakdown:

-Officemate 26 users 9 hate it, the rest either like or tolerate it.
-Myvisionexpress 15 users, 2 hate it, the rest seem to like it very much.
-Crystal Practice 3 users (all like it)
-Maximeyes 6 users, 2 hate it, the rest like it very much
-Others included compulink, advancedMD and various others.

[scriptfiller]

O.K.

OfficeMate presented quite the learning curve for our office. The computer system we had, mind you this was only 2.5yrs. ago, was..... DOS..... based and we used paper charts both in the dispensary and in the Dr's. office. We cannot see ourselves going back to anything even remotely resembling they way we did things in the past. Our staff has adapted to fully utilizing it practice-wide. Our OD can still see pat's at 15min. intervals without missing a beat. It helps to have a staff that is well trained, OfficeMate being the only comprehensive EMR/EHR/ paperless system our practice and staff has used we have learned to use it to it's fullest potential.

Folks had better be thinking about an IT asset refresh in the next 2-3 years. Windows XP will no longer be supported after April 2014 and Windows Server 2003 will not be supported past 2015. This means no updates or security fixes. Next yr. we will be converting over to a Win. 7 Server 2008 64bit enviroment.

The biggest beef I have with OM right now is we are on an MS Access database, but the new version will be SQL and will solve our database hiccups.

[Johns]

Just to chime in on my own post: I did a review of all posts on Optiboard relating to users of various EMRs (I did several searches with several search terms). I found 80 specific posts in which an opinion or a review was given. Here is the breakdown:

-Officemate 26 users 9 hate it, the rest either like or tolerate it.
-Myvisionexpress 15 users, 2 hate it, the rest seem to like it very much.
-Crystal Practice 3 users (all like it)
-Maximeyes 6 users, 2 hate it, the rest like it very much
-Others included compulink, advancedMD and various others.

FWIW:

Many users of these systems are aware that these companies ALL monitor Optiboard. Often, a user is locked into a service contract and by giving a "real" assessment of the program, they are jeopardizing their ability to get service in the future. It sound "conspiratorial" but I know of one company on the list that is VERY active here, that was involved w/such antics w/other posters here. I'm not naming names, in any case, but PMs I have made were very enlightening.

My point: There are probably more haters than will admit to some of these systems. I am not a user of any of these systems, but have been privy to conversations of some of my employers that have been/are.

fjpod's got the right idea also. One man's trash...

[Jubilee]

With most emr/ehr software there will be a lot of behind the scenes work that has to go into the product to make it function. Inventory, fee schedules, pricing, and so forth are so individualized by location/practice that you need someone to spend hours getting your specific set up in place. If you have done the electronic route before, it is easier than coming in fresh and trying to make heads or tails out of it. The success of the conversion often depends on making it through that implementation process.

As fjpod also stated, people's taste can vary. I know the doc I used to work for hated the never ending series of popup windows coming from Exam Writer.. while I know other doctors who liked it. I like a wide array of tools to track things from here to there, where as my sister in her business just wants the basics so she can look at a glance.. For this reason I suggest getting the samples of theses different products. Ask them if they have clients in your area that you can go to and see what it is really like in practice. Seeing it for yourself.. the ability to play with it yourself.. is the only way to guarantee you will get the solution that works for you.

As far as companies that monitor Optiboard. There are several companies, not just software ones, that monitor what goes on here. There aren't a lot of places to get the insight/feedback that is posted here. I have personally received retribution for what I have stated here, some of which I made public.. some of which I did not. I will say this though. While at one point one such company and I had words due to the frustration I had with their product and service.. it also opened up a dialog that grew to a partnership level. At one point, I was invited to work for that company, and as recent as 6 weeks ago, was told the door was still open. The debate encouraged me to dive in and really get to know the areas that gave me issue, and gave me a foundation to stand on. Being able to articulate and voice the issues, working with people at the company to solve them, and then using my experience to help others.. made that relationship happen. I would encourage anyone to be honest with their reviews, and if they do receive retribution, bring it to the attention of the highest levels of that company.

[David_Garza]

[QUOTE=ilanh;391516]-Crystal Practice 3 users (all like it)
QUOTE]

It's the best in terms of cost and customer service....I don't rate these things because I looked into them all and visited practices that had different EMRs prior to purchasing. I ended up choosing Crystal b/c no one had anything bad/negative to say about. Been a user since 01/2009 and have no complaints.

[EEG]

I am really happy w/ my EHR: RevolutionEHR. It received it's meaningful use certification last week and we plan on implementing it in July. The great thing about RevolutionEHR is that it is WEB-BASED. I didn't have to purchase an entire network. My office uses only Mac computers and is wireless with the Apple Airport (which I networked in 30 min). RevolutionEHR backs up nightly so I don't have to worry about saving data. I can log on at home and study patient charts, enter inventory, add procedure codes, print reports, etc..... Now that it received certification, the IT at RevolutionEHR will integrate it with the current edition, no need for me to download or upgrade.

[scriptfiller]

EEG, how many users do you have using Revolution at one time in your office? What type of bandwidth do you have at your office? One of our sister companies is looking at Revolution right now, I would greatly appreciate your insight(s).

Welcome to Optiboard!

[EEG]

Our practice just opened, it's myself and three others. All of us can have the same patient chart open at the same time. The software saves every second and there is a nightly back-up of data. On occasion I've had to close a patient chart to give the system time to save, but I never have to log out of Revolution. Again, we run everything on Apple Mac computers and have Time Warner Business Class highspeed internet. The minimum speed requirements are 4Mb/s of download speed and 512Kb/s of upload. I just tested my speed and I'm at 6.81Mbps download and 0.71Mbps upload. I think this would be a great system if you have multiple offices. You can log in from anywhere. I intended to have one iPad per staff member instead of one computer per station, but Apple's iPad does not support Flash Player.

[scriptfiller]

I would love a system that would be efficiently executed via a tablet/slate. The new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 looks very interesting.

[sharpstick777]

Just to chime in on my own post: I did a review of all posts on Optiboard relating to users of various EMRs (I did several searches with several search terms). I found 80 specific posts in which an opinion or a review was given. Here is the breakdown:

-Officemate 26 users 9 hate it, the rest either like or tolerate it.
-Myvisionexpress 15 users, 2 hate it, the rest seem to like it very much.
-Crystal Practice 3 users (all like it)
-Maximeyes 6 users, 2 hate it, the rest like it very much
-Others included compulink, advancedMD and various others.

Didn't there used to be an entire forum devoted to Practice Management Software? I hate Officemate, the two I hear the least complaints about are My Vision Express and Compulink.

[skt]

? are the practices using Revolution and Crystal Practice medical based or routine? Thanks.

[ilanh]

I am really happy w/ my EHR: RevolutionEHR. It received it's meaningful use certification last week and we plan on implementing it in July. The great thing about RevolutionEHR is that it is WEB-BASED. I didn't have to purchase an entire network. My office uses only Mac computers and is wireless with the Apple Airport (which I networked in 30 min). RevolutionEHR backs up nightly so I don't have to worry about saving data. I can log on at home and study patient charts, enter inventory, add procedure codes, print reports, etc..... Now that it received certification, the IT at RevolutionEHR will integrate it with the current edition, no need for me to download or upgrade.

One of the concerns that I have with web based systems is, naturally, the dependence of a reliable Internet connection and the possibility of delays once their user base grows, virus attacks etc. However, even if we accept that this is not a deal breaker it should be noted that if ever the company goes bust, all you'll get back is your data. Whereas if you have a server/client arrangement, then even if the company goes away you will still have the software available for as long as you can make do. For example, I once had a version of Quicken which "sunsetted" while I was using it; yet, I was still able to use it for several more years even though there were no updates etc. This may be less of an issue for larger vendors but it is not a pure hypothetical for many others.

[EEG]

My biggest concern is the Internet reliability. I spoke to a few IT people who said I could have a back-up internet provider that runs on radio-waves (which is really cheap but also not fast) or I could use 3G (is it 4G now?). AT+T has a USB with 3G access for $60/mo. It's an expensive backup and will add up if you purchase one per station/staff. As far as the company dissolving, web-based everything seems to be the newest thing. OfficeMate bought out a web-based company last summer and from what I've read they are working on some way of integrating with it. I'd like to think that RevolutionEHR won't dissolve, but if anything it will be bought out and integrated into another system. Again, any updates needed are done while you sleep, so upgrades or changes to the system should be seamless. I'll find out how seamless in July, when the system is updated to meet "meaningful use.
"

[EEG]

Oh, my practice is both medical and routine with an optical.

[skt]

thanks eeg!this was the question from my front desk

[shanbaum]

You wouldn't need one connection per station - I have a 3G wireless router from AT&T that allows 5 connections for that $60/month.

[sharpstick777]

Many of today's 4G cel phones have the option to work as a router for multiple devices, its usually a $25 dollar a month add on to a cel account. Great backup internet option IMHO.

[sharpstick777]

For reference I have started a list of the most common Optical EHR programs. If there are any I have neglected I will update the list. We used to have a forum dedicated to this, but it disappeared? Steve?

Compulink
Eye Care OS
Eyecom3
Filopto
MaximEyes
My Vision Express
MacPractice
OD Link
Opto
Office Ally/ Practicemate
Officemate
Practice Director
Practice Maximus
RevolutionsEHR

[EEG]

That last one should be RevolutionEHR (and not Revolution EMS)

[sharpstick777]

That last one should be RevolutionEHR (and not Revolution EMS)

Updated.

[sharpstick777]

It should be taken into account that although Web/Cloud based EMR offers some advantages, if the company goes kaput so does your data. As witnessed by Amazon's recent cloud disaster even cloud data is not always backed-up as it should be. There is no way for the end user to verify the data backups.

If you go Cloud/Web based software, you should get/makeyour own back up copy at least once a week in some universal format (Excel maybe). If the company goes under and their database is obscure or customized you may have trouble recovering even backed up data without hiring an expert.