Allscripts Sunsetting PeakPractice EMR

It’s now official. Allscripts will be shutting down their PeakPractice EMR solution. In an FAQ for PeakPractice clients Allscripts gave more details. I’ve put a copy of the info below for reference. Honestly, this wasn’t much of a surprise for me. Allscripts had far too many EMR software in one company. It seems that Allscripts has chosen to go with: MyWay, Professional and MedFlow as their EMR packages going forward.

I do find it interesting that Allscripts plans to support PeakPractice through the first stage of meaningful use. I think the time frames were just too small to do otherwise. If there was a bit more time it would have made sense for Allscripts to use the stimulus money to motivate people to move off of PeakPractice and on to one of the other Allscripts EMR.

I’m honestly interested to hear how well the conversion goes between PeakPractice and other Allscripts EMR solutions. I think there’s going to be a lot of misinformation about what the can and can’t convert. Especially since it seems like what they’ll be able to convert will depend on which Allscripts EMR software you choose to convert to. Yeah, this has mess written all over it.

I’ll be watching for the next round of companies that take care of EMR conversions from PeakPractice. I remember the round when all the Misys users were ready to convert from Misys to something other than Allscripts. I expect we’ll see similar movement by PeakPractice EMR users. So much for going with a large company to ensure the stability of your EMR software.

Here’s the letter from Allscripts to PeakPractice Users:

Dear Valued PeakPractice Client,

When we brought together Allscripts and Eclipsys, we committed to you that we would share critical decisions as soon as they were complete.

After careful deliberation and review, we are making a change to our future plans for PeakPractice. In making this decision, our goal was to ensure that we could effectively meet your needs both now and in the future by providing you with systems that are stable, easy to support, and flexible enough to allow us to quickly respond to the rapidly changing market and regulatory requirements.

After careful analysis, we have decided to make the following changes.

We will continue development of the current version (5.5) of PeakPractice and ensure that it achieves ARRA Certification as a Complete EHR. We will be submitting this version for certification later in October. This will allow you, as a current PeakPractice client, to use the certified version to demonstrate Stage 1 Meaningful Use and claim your 2011 Stimulus incentives. With this version, you will be eligible for the first two years of incentives for Stimulus, totaling $30,000 under the Medicare program ($18,000 in year 1 and $12,000 in year 2).

We will continue development to ensure PeakPractice’s compliance with ANSI 5010, which will be released as PeakPractice version 5.6.

We will continue to provide support and hot fixes as needed for PeakPractice for the foreseeable future.
Relative to future versions, we will not develop net new features for PeakPractice once ARRA certification and ANSI 5010 compliance are achieved.

We will offer an upgrade path that includes both a FREE like-for-like, license-for-license swap and a FREE data conversion (see below) for current PeakPractice clients who want to upgrade to another Allscripts solution. We expect that many of our clients will choose to wait to upgrade until after you demonstrate Meaningful Use in 2011 with PeakPractice and receive your Stimulus incentives.

We have set up a PeakPractice Hotline at 877-611-1377 to both answer questions and arrange an assessment as to which Allscripts EHR/PM platform will be best for your organization.

We will work with you to determine the product and timeline that is designed to be most effective for you and have the least impact on your operations. We would encourage you to consider scheduling an upgrade to your EHR/PM solution at a time that is best for you, again, most likely after you have demonstrated Meaningful Use in 2011.

In terms of the upgrade we are making available, we will provide the following.

A FREE like-for-like, license-for-license swap between PeakPractice and a corresponding Allscripts EHR and/or PM solution (MyWay, Professional or MedFlow, depending upon your needs). We recognize there are many complexities surrounding the combinations of Practice Management and EHR products, but our program addresses each of these in detail.

We will convert data from your PeakPractice system to the selected Allscripts solution for FREE. Again, the scope of what will be converted varies depending on the systems from which and to which you are migrating.

Please note that while templates are not included in this conversion, we can recommend resources that can assist with template conversions, if you wish to pursue them. Likewise, other services (such as ASP fees, support, set-up, hosting, and EDI, such as through Payerpath) are available for the Allscripts products, but are not part of the free upgrade. We will be happy to discuss how to arrange for those services with you. This free upgrade is available through December 31, 2012. This should give everyone ample time to decide which route they wish to pursue.

We do not make this change lightly, as we recognize and appreciate the investment that you have made in this solution.
You will likely have many questions about this process, and we hope this link to our Frequently Asked Questions document addresses many of them. If you have further questions, please call the PeakPractice hotline (877-611-1377) or your Allscripts representative.

We intend to provide you with a pathway that allows you to achieve all stages of Meaningful Use and protects the investment you have made. We are committed to working with you as partners during and after this transition.