Newsletter March 2010


March Newsletter

In This Issue:
Our Plans for 2010
Backing Up myPractice
myPractice Support
Massage Therapist Module Released

   

Our Plans for 2010
What are we up to?
We have been particularly quiet of the last 3 months and felt it was time to bring everyone up to speed on what we have been doing and where we are heading.   We have been undertaking a complete review of our business in conjunction with some external assistance and formulating our plans for the next 6-12 months and also our long-term future (5 years +).   For strategic business reasons we’re not prepared to divulge our long term strategies and plans, but we can give you an update as to what is happening now and what will occur over the next 6-12 months in regards to the current myPractice application.

Updates:
We now plan to release 2 major updates per year.  In the past we have released up to 8 updates per year and the feedback we have received shows that our customers want this reduced.  The major reason is ‘time’.  The time it takes for the updates to be put in place and the time it takes for staff to accustom themselves with changes.  From our side of the fence there is also the ‘Support’ element of rolling out a new version.  As our business grows, we want to keep our costs in check so we can keep our Software Assurance prices low.  Rolling out new updates is a time consuming activity from a Support point of view.   Another reason we want to reduce the number of updates per year is so that we can have an extended beta period with selected (or volunteer) customers.  This extended period would involve a Practice receiving the next update around 2-3 months prior to its Public release, and working with it and us to iron out any ‘creases’ before Public release.

Our schedule for this year is to roll out a major update in June (version 3.0) and another in November.  That is our plan, however it is subject to change depending on the feedback we receive from our pre-release beta sites.

The plan is for the June update to include:

  • support for Secure Messaging (via Argus, ReferralNet and/or Medical-Objects)
  • a new iteration of the Letter Editor with some major improvements
  • a new User Interface introducing the ‘ribbon’ style of navigation that is common to all Microsoft Office applications (2007 and 2010)
  • Medicare Online (subject to certification)
  • new synchronisation process (faster and more robust)
  • a myriad of other minor enhancements and bug fixes

The pre-release version will be available to our selected and volunteer customers within the next couple of weeks and includes everything except the Medicare Online module and some of the enhancements and fixes which are yet to be completed.

The November release will likely include integration with MYOB. We’re expecting a new release of their products later this year and plan on integrating directly with MYOB to support the very latest available versions.  Further details on the November release will be made available once the June release is out.

Should you like to trial the pre-release version, please contact us at support@mypractice.net.au and let us know whether you are using a) the Solo or Network edition and b) if you are using Network, how many users you have and whether you are all in the one office or use the sync process.

Backing Up myPractice
We would like to ensure that all of our customers have a backup procedure in place and are regularly performing full backups of myPractice. Having a current and full backup of myPractice can mean the difference between an easy fix and disaster. Please take the time to review the following steps and ensure that you are backing up myPractice correctly, or if you have yet to begin backing up myPractice we encourage to do so.

Solo Edition Users - It is advisable to always backup myPractice to an external device other than the computer you use to run myPractice. This device could be a USB Stick, External Harddrive, DVD/CD or another computer you have access to.

Please note that the myPractice backup proceedure is not automated and must be initiated by the user.

1. Open Options

2. Select myPractice Backup

3. Navigate to the location you wish to save your myPractice Backups to by clicking the ... button.

4. To perform a full backup of myPractice including the Database, all Templates and Settings as well as any documents attached to client record please ensure all three option are ticked.

5. Click Backup

6. You will receive a message upon the completion of the backup.

Network Edition Users - There are a couple of different options for backing up myPractice when using the Network Edition.

1. Those using a direct connection to the database (i.e. not syncing) can perform the steps outlined above.  See for "Solo Edition Users".  Ensure that this backup is performed on the computer hosting the myPractice database.  This will back up the Network Database and compress it to the backup location selected.

2. Those using a non direct connection (i.e. synching) can perform the steps outlined above.  See for "Solo Edition Users". This will back up your local copy of the database.  Your Network Database must be backed up by logging on to the computer hosting the Network Database and running the backup from there.

Please note: myPractice Live customers your main database is backed up on our servers on an hourly basis.

If you have a standalone computer acting as a database server that does not have the myPractice Client application installed and does not have a regular backup schedule in place via other software, please contact us and we will advise you of your options.  Or, if you are concerned that your database isn't being backed up correctly please contact us.

myPractice Support
All myPractice Support channels are available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm AEST.(Excluding Public Holidays)

1 - Email Support - Email is our preferred method of Support for anything that is not urgent in nature. We ask everyone to email non-urgent issues so that we can keep both the phone and Remote Support channels free for those that may have urgent issues. If you have an urgent issue, please use those other channels to contact us, as your email may not be attended to immediately if we have other tasks going. All emails should be sent to support@mypractice.net.au

We attempt to get back to those that email ASAP and in general it's only a few hours turnaround, and we definitely reply within 24hours of receiving an email during standard business hours.

2 - Remote Support via the LogMeInRescue Remote Support Client. This should be used when there is an urgent issue that needs immediate attention.

3 - Phone Support - Our Support line should only be used for urgent issues and only if you are unable to connect via the Remote Support Client. If we are on other calls or on a Remote Support session it is likely you will be directed to voicemail. Please leave us your name and number and we will phone you back as soon as we can, usually within a few minutes.

We ask our Customers to respect these Support options for the good of all other users and to assist us in providing the best service we can.

In addition to these support channels, we are working to improve our Help files and also our Online Knowledgebase at http://support.mypractice.net.au

Massage Therapist Module Released
We are excited to announce the release of our latest module for myPractice - myPractice for Massage Therapists. This new module includes all the standard features of myPractice as well as Consultation Notes designed specifically for Massage Therapists and includes SOAP Notes, McGill Pain Questionnaire, Muscle Strength Test and Physical Assessments.  For more info please click here.

That's all from us for now, stay tuned for our next newsletter with more updates.

The myPractice Team