What are Allscripts Practice Management users saying about the software?

I Wish the PM Was More Seamless With the Clinical Module

Overall, it works because i have spent countless hours learning the complexities of the system. There are several things i wish they would do to integrate it more with the other software that Allscripts offers.

Pros

Works good. Easy to schedule patients. once you learn the complex system, you have a lot of control over the fine details.

Cons

I hate that it is so different from the EHR. The PM seems like it hasn't changed in 15 years, whereas the EHR has been updated, leaving the PM behind. It does have the stereotypical crashing issues that all Allscripts products do. Very complex setup. You need to be well versed in IT or have a professional IT person to setup the Scheduling templates.

Veradigm - Allscripts Eprescribe Stand-alone Program - Great program for a small practice.

Overall, Allscripts eprescribe is a great program for a small medical practice like ours. It gets the job done. Once in a while there are outages, but they are usually resolved fairly quickly. I wish the phone app was more user friendly especially when on vacation so I don't have to wait until I'm at a computer to send a prescription.

Pros

I like that we can see which medications the patients have been prescribed and when. It allows us to pre-populate the prescriptions for refills so we don't have to type everything in again.

Cons

The phone app is basically useless. I have to go into a browser on my phone and go directly to the website to be able to see the patient prescription history and send a prescription. Only use it in case of emergencies when I don't have access to a computer.

Usable, but very inefficient and non-intuitive

It works but not well. Adds significant time to my documentation and patient care

Pros

Information exists and can be read, can place orders, and perform duties

Cons

Redundant mouse clicks, frequent crashes, difficult to navigate interface (difficult filters, visual layout cumbersome, non-intuitive customization)

Worked great for us!

Overall, there were many things I would "update" or "upgrade", but it worked for us consistently with little to no bugs or errors.

Pros

This software was easy to use, somewhat easy to manipulate for our practice. Worked well with multiple providers in multiple departments with several locations.

Cons

It's not aesthetically very attractive. Scheduling could improve with clicking and dragging as well as keeping record of which user altered or cancelled appointments. Only shows who scheduled and the last user to edit. No POS system for us so we used a separate outside POS system. Integrated would have been much easier.

Decent, but difficult

Good. Many things could be improved but I would say for what it is, it works well.

Pros

Lots of organization, appears professional, and many features in same window (scheduling, charting, etc.)

Cons

Not able to have charting document open and also toggle back to the scheduling page within the same window (have to open many separate windows to do this).

WORST.EHR/EMR.EVER!!!!

It is so ancient. Not sure how they can say they are one of the best or leading in EHR?? Complete lie! Has any of the faculty or developers of this company ever seen any other EHR?? I'm guessing not. Maybe they should see some other EHRs or have experienced providers help them! You also get nickel and dimed on everything even when you pay majors dollars to have the program and have to continue to pay for services, monthly fees, and for every upgrade and added the feature. Their customer support is horrible because half the people don't know what they are doing.

Pros

Nothing. Well I guess I'm supposed to pretend that I like something to move forward, but I honestly cannot!

Cons

Everything from the layout, templates, workflow, e-scribing, how only one person can be in the note and you have to steal it or take it over in order to do your part. I can't even create a note on someone I saw last week because another provider had two charts open on this patient that needed to be finished. AND...I can't even view any of these open notes either even when I am following up on this patient and need to see some things. You have to enter each prescription and send separately. The search buttons for diagnosis, procedures, test, education is horrible. You need to be able to find one thing with multiple names medical and layman, most commonly used. The nurses should be able to put in their vitals and go into medication, history, social, family, etc.....at the same time I getting into the HPI, exam, diagnoses and plan. I should be able to see the entire note, every section, on one page so I don't have to do a tone of clicking to try and see everything. I want to see the entire note. I should also be able to see problem list, medications, and other things off to one side. If someone is trying to open a section I am in it just needs to let them know by saying "so and so is in this section right now do you really need to take it over as it wouldn't save anything." This was helpful with the last EMR I had at my last job as I could even ask the person it said was on if they could get out of the section if I needed them too. When you have a template, you should be able to select something, but still alter it. For eg. if you choose one of the already made master list options you can't even put anything before or after or in between the sentence. Even when entering days or weeks to some of these sections you should be able to free text and even put 2-3 weeks or whatever you need to put in there. It should be very easy to make templates and edit things. Have any of these developers ever went into a medical office to even see how busy and complicated it is. It needs so much work. It is SOO old school!! I seriously am so frustrated, I can't even understand how this business is still successful?? I'm honestly going to spread the word on this program as it is the worst investment ever. Also when running reports it doesn't capture everything. Also isn't very helpful for meaningful use.

Allscripts is absolutely the worst EMR that I have worked with

Absolutely horrible, and impedes patient care.

Pros

It does not auto populate information for exams that I haven't done such as a cranial nerve exam. But, then again, it doesn't really auto populate anything.

Cons

I have used a number of EMR's. Epic, Cerner, Sunrise, EMA, Office Ally. I frequently use many of these due to working at different hospitals. This EMR was not friendly to use when I started to use it, approximately 1.5 years ago. A recent upgrade to the '184' version has made use absolutely atrocious. I am a surgeon. I yesterday did a case and it took over 30 minutes to sign a consent - this is AFTER talking to the patient and relates ONLY to getting the computer to cooperate. Instead of being able to sign the consent when I talk to the patient, I must talk to the patient, the patient and nurse must sign it in person / on the computer, it must be then sent to my computer inbox, then I must go find a computer that allows privileges for me to log on as not all of the computers seem to allow my profile to be loaded correctly, and THEN the consent must load correctly. The patient had to sign the consent FOUR times for it to load correctly, delaying the case by 30 minutes. While we have Dragon, I am unable to directly dictate into the system and must do time consuming copy and paste. The system seems to be designed around the computer: maximizing the number of clicks that must be performed in order to perform a simple task. I am now also unable to enter any orders from off site. While I can to log in securely log in, the system has been 'upgraded' such that there is NO option for a screen resolution that will allow me to see the complete order button. This EMR belongs in 1995.

Allscripts PM review

Pros

The one thing I liked about Allscripts PM was the the speed. I could go right in and get to where I needed to be. If I needed to unlock someones account or change someone's password, it was quick and easy.

Cons

I hate how outdated it is. We are in a world where we are spoiled with technology, but Allscripts PM still looks like is stuck on Windows 98.

Great for Large Hospitals!

Ultimately, Allscripts Practice Management is a great software to implement in large hospitals. It allows for physicians to have better time management and performance due to scheduling efficiencies and access to patient records.

Pros

This software allows each provider to access to patient records from all different providers. This feature makes it easy to view all of the patient's medical information from one software without having to call other doctors. This software also allows for easy edits of patient data in case of alterations or needs of update. There are also great scheduling features included with this software that updates scheduling and registration for the physician to see.

Cons

It can be difficult to learn to use to due to its many features. There is also a lack of timely responses when requests are submitted to customer service.

Great product!

Pros

This software is very user friendly. It’s very easy to navigate between the different features.

Cons

It seems to have frequent issues with freezing or running slow.

Cloud Servers down once again

The main problem has been the instability of their servers. Once again today, the Allscripts Cloud Server is not working. I have lost, in total, weeks of time not being able to access my EMR over the past several years. All lost revenue, not recoverable, not to mention the stress on the patients, doctors, and staff. Eventually, one has to consider the time, cost, and extreme hassle of switching to another system, which, by the way, carries a very high financial cost for Allscripts to help with the migration.

Pros

Features at point of sale were impressive. Delivery of function extremely challenged.

Cons

Every additional function eg MIPPS, Patient portal, EPCS, etc, laden with multiple extra charges. Very expensive once all functionality is added. Allscripts billing is extremely complicated and has been frequently wrong. It typically has taken months to sort out each billing problem that has occurred.

Expensive and not flexible

Pros

Easy lay out and easy to use. it has all the aspects of EHR like eRx, faxing, internal communications.

Cons

If you want support for your equipment, you have to purchase all hardware and software through them at 3 times the cost. We were trying to upgrade and their estimate included "education and training" for 3 years. When I asked to have it either removed or brought down to 1 year since we won't need it, they refused because it's what they think is best for us. Their monthly maintenance fees are very high and any updates I can't do myself, I have to pay extra to them. We were looking to switch to cloud based version but their fee is so high which didn't work for us either. In other words, once they got you and you are stuck with them, anything you want to do will cost you a fortune.

Questionable business practices, go a different direction!

Overall, we have been with this company over 18 years and look forward to making a change soon. Company does not feel reputable. They lock you into maintenance contracts and require you to pay for items that have been taken out of service. We simply do not recommend this company.

Pros

Software has decent reporting capabilities. Scheduling module is flexible and can be set up in any number of ways.

Cons

Service is slow and horrible. Reports, while easy to run, frequently do not reconcile because of not setting various parameters that the average use has no clue about. Billing errors on their invoices that take months to resolve and require large amounts of time from management to "prove" the errors.

Not up with the current times

We have been unhappy, but our Liason Sally Borel came to the rescue and set up meetings to answer our concerns and has kept in close contact with me. She is a big, big improvement over the Allscript liaison that we had before, Maureen. she never returned any phone calls or emails.

Pros

Careplan charting Support Team Sally Borel our Liason Fact that a clinician does not need to be hooked to WiFi to use Med profile more user friendly, still needs tweaking to be able to give to a patient

Cons

Not cloud based Need to sync in order to see documentation Need a server You charge by the license and not by the census Can not use the software on any device HHA care plan not user friendly

Home Health Review

Pros

Quick response time for IT help. The IT staff are very friendly, just difficult to understand sometimes. I like how the EMR looks when it is printed out.

Cons

It is difficult to understand the language or accent of some of the IT help. Also my staff can not sych from home sometimes and we have been told recently that Allscripts does not work with VPN or remote access. This is and important feature that is needed for a home health company. I also wish that entering medications and ending them were easier. If we have a patient that gets admitted to the hospital for a few days, we have to end each med and then add them back in when they come back home. The way Allscripts medication feature is set up is not worker friendly. Nurses would love to give you input on how to make this feature much easier.

Lack of customer service and a multitude of issues including connectivity and third party vendors make this very difficult to recommend

The turnover within the company makes it difficult to establish a relationship with anyone if there is an issue. Routine failures in connectivity and lack of timely support create severe difficulty with work flow and patient care.

Pros

I have been using it for 7 years so familiarity is about the only saving grace at this point. It is a certified ehr vendor.

Cons

see review title. Follow My health portal was unusable. Third party vendors for additional add ons available for additional fees. I have been told that I will need to pay them for access to my patient records should I desire to switch to another vendor or retire.

Allscripts PM is functional and without fuss.

It's straightforward and not time-consuming during the clinic day. It's utilized by office staff and by the billing company without issue.

Pros

The day to day appointment management functions are straightforward and the set up is intuitive. Setting up appointments, moving appointments, looking up patient demos and changing registration is all very simple.

Cons

Reporting functions aren't straightforward. It's best if users have billing experience and the appropriate software to export reports to. My office does not have Excel which would be helpful in reporting.

Allscripts is Always Good

Good experience

Pros

Very reliable and easy to use system which will suffice most practices needs

Cons

A little difficult to diagram skin lesions

Easy To Use, Slow, Bad Design

Look elsewhere, there are open source options I would choose before this.

Pros

It was easy to use and to find what you needed, it is a fairly simple software. The ability to send electronic prescriptions is also a plus.

Cons

Very slow and takes forever to load! Integrations with other systems is also nearly impossible. The software UI is very poorly designed and the coding is obviously messy. Downtime seemed to be a given each week as the system would go down randomly and seemingly every week.

Review of Allscripts EMR

Pros

Like the fact that it auto generates orders, requires a complete chart before it can be submitted. Like that I can see patients from all offices.

Cons

Cannot flip around in the chart (assessments to care plan) without completing the previous section. Do not like that it does not calculate travel time correctly. Do not like that fact that the branch cannot be selected on the visit. Do not like the fact that some of the sections contain assessments that are not specific to hospice.

We use the Enterprise version (11.) in a large multispecilty practice. We used paper charts before this. This EHR is a Jack of all trades, but master of none.The user interface is antiquainted (the Pro version appears more develped in this regard) and oftentimes requires multiple clicks to get to basic information. It is hardly intuitive to someone like me who is very computer literate. The med list is hard to read and contains way too many details on the summary page. The note tools accept all forms of input, which is a postive, but the editing tools particularly for structured notes is absimal because of many bugs. Editing becomes a real chore and source of dissatisfaction. Input of laboratory data is not flexible in the sense that one cannot make manual entries or make custom feilds without significant tech support, which is lacking. Some of the order entry tools do not work correctly (standing orders to be specific), a known bug for a long time, but still no resolution. Problem oriented documentation is incomplete as there is poor connectivity between problem lists and an assessment of it (although, it does connect the dots for coding and for linking meds and labs to problems, just not easy to get too). Our in-house support staff are experiencing significant lags in updates and fixs for this product. To the extent that we can send scripts electronically and document changes in medication dosing, that part works well and should since that is where Allscripts excels. Its too bad that the rest of the product is so buggy and neglected. In short, I would not recommend the Enterprise version of this product. The ratings page for this site should probabaly make a distinction between the 3 products offered by Allscripts since they are not all the same.

Please use another product

The support I have received on technical issues is by far the worst I have ever experienced. Our issues are possibly stretched out over days to weeks. I submit our cases for support and most of the time I do not hear anything back that someone is looking at our case for days - sometimes I hear back the next day. We ask for guidance on server refreshes and they send us an out of date manual if we hear back. I have expressed our deep concerns when we experience down times due to lack of direction from the vendor. We had a down test environment for over 4 weeks and we had to reach out to another contact to get the issues resolved. I begged for documentation on what the fix was, and I have never heard back. We need to perform another refresh and are guaranteed to run into the same issues again. This is unacceptable as a company to offer this level of support to a paying customer. The company also only connects to your environment through SecureLink, a gateway that is usually non conforming to any sized organization's IT Security policies and preferences. They will not work with you on this issue either. I have not had a good experience with this company at the last 2 organizations I have worked that used Allscripts. This is my single point of contention in my job duties.

Pros

The product offers an ease of use for our end users.

Cons

Everything. The customer support is horrendous. The company's connectivity.

Nurse at mid-sized hospital using EHR

Pros

I can't think of a single thing I like "best" about this EHR.

Cons

The AllScripts EHR we are using is terrible to say the least. Nothing populates to anything else in a meaningful way. If I give insulin, it should populate to the diabetic flowsheet. But I have to double chart everything. It isn't capable of connecting to our telemetry, so again, another entry. The physical assessment is ridiculously laborious to chart. It takes nearly 20-30 minutes just to open my patients chart. As I move from room to room to chart at the bedside (per directive), the log in and out time is very long. Once charting, there are far too many descriptors that mean nearly the same thing. The list of possible findings is so long that it takes forever to look through and it's not in any particular order that I can see (such as alphabetical descriptors so it's easier to find what I'm looking for). It forces you through some things line by line, while completely skipping others so I have to manually go back. For example - on the skin assessment, I am line by line forced through everything each time. But on the cardiac section, it skips right over the telemetry parameter if the patient's assessment was WDL. If I've added a tele parameter I probably want to use it. There are so many columns across the page it's mind numbing to look at and often leads to people inserting data in the wrong column. If a parameter is accidentally clicked but is quickly realized not to be the one I meant to click, there is no way to delete it, this leading to yet another grayed out but space taking place. If there has been no data entered in a parameter, we should be able to delete or have an undo action option. In short, we are health care providers, not IT professionals. I should never be spending more time charting about the care I am providing than actually providing care. And the worst part is that with all the endless clicking of boxes, I chart less meaningful things than I did paper charting! I have yet to find one person who likes our system.

Wish we had better experiences

Wish we had a new EHR

Pros

Practice manager is user friendly.

Cons

Get dropped from service daily. 3rd new url in the past 6 months we have had to update all computers. Sign in is difficult - 3 sign ins. Cloud, pm, clinical. Very expensive. We signed up in 2013. Trained for a week. That’s it.

Unable to Fix Problems in a timely manner.

Not happy with the Allscripts System. Have been with company 16 years, started with Tiger then Allscripts Myway, now Allscripts Pro. Unable to get problems resolved in a timely manner. Problems understanding the customer service, overall language barrow. Ask when to call in (Have you check the Allscripts Port for the answer first before call customer service) We are a busy 4 physicians office and don't have time to search for the answer to our problems) We need an answer so we can continue on with our daily duties.

Pros

Displays nicely, user friendly for the most part, easy to navigate, Doctors like having the dragon.

Cons

Problems with e-Prescribe, allowing the physician to free text diagnosis, doesn't show social security numbers (which would be very helpful for the referral clerks), If correction needs to be made in PM the corrections do not cross over to EHR, so you have to go in and do an addendum