Stephen, I would tell prospective clients that if they want software that has shiny installers like Windows provides, and that can be supported by programmer chosen out of a phone book, then they can spend 10x more for a commercial package--and then be locked into that package. But if they are willing to put a little effort into it, the package will pay off well. The VA has millions of man-hours in investment put into the development of the package, and likely millions more hours of live use.
We purchased a billing software package, only to find that it still has bugs in it. They tell us to do X,Y, and Z to send our claims to Medicare. We do it and it doesn't work. "Not our fault" they say. Then they install a "patch" a few days later and it starts working. Hmmm. And want an added feature? Get out your check book. I'm just a physician with no formal computer training. And yet I have sucessfully installed VistA for my office (with the help of this list) and have nearly a year of use now with zero down time. Imagine what a real programmer could do if they applied themselves to learning the system? They say not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Well if you look closely at this open source EMR package you will find undesirable parts. But its hard to argue with the fact that it just plain runs. I like to gripe about programming in M/Mumps. But its kind of like a mechanic complaining about having to work on engines in cars that are put insideways etc. They may be a hassle, but that doesn't mean that the car still won't operate just fine. So maybe this list isn't the best place to send potential clients anymore than you would send people on the sales floor of an auto dealership out into the repair shop. After all, the name of this list calls for a "hardhat." :-) Kevin On 1/15/06, Stephen Hay <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi, > > I came to this forum with the bright idea that VistA could > be localised, would be ideal for implementation in > developing countries, could be adapted to the New Zealand > scenario and a whole lot of other things... > > One of the questions I keep coming up against is "MUMPS, > what's that?" Which then leads on to something like, "how > can you assure me that if I adopt your open-source, > mission-critical application, you can provide me with the > programming support to make the changes..." > > So far, from what I've seen in these forums, I need some > reassurance... > > How can I point a prospective "client" to the only forums > that I know of on VistA and calm his concerns? > > Reading these forums with the eyes of a rank-outsider, it's > making the "sale" a lot harder. Can anyone help? Please? > > And if I've completely missed the point, would someone be > gracious enough to put me out of my misery... > > Thanks, > Stephen > ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Do you grep through log files for problems? Stop! Download the new AJAX search engine that makes searching your log files as easy as surfing the web. DOWNLOAD SPLUNK! http://ads.osdn.com/?ad_idv37&alloc_id865&op=click _______________________________________________ Hardhats-members mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
