Are ECLIPSE & ECLIPSE EHR Cloud® the same? ECLIPSE EHR Cloud (EEC) is a complete reimagining of ECLIPSE from the ground up using current state-of-the art components that you can access via any browser (e.g. Safari, Chrome, Edge) on any device (e.g. tablet, laptop, desktop) using any OS (e.g. Android, Apple, Windows). If you’ve used ECLIPSE before, you should be able to navigate with minimal help. Key concepts (e.g. patient cases & data filters) remain the same — though they are implemented in new ways. Review this short demo video for examples of similarities & differences. Then, consider reviewing this 30 minute video webinar for more information as it takes you through various aspects of the user interface..
Why should I consider switching from ECLIPSE to ECLIPSE EHR Cloud? Each product provides unique features. However, here are a few points to ponder as discussed in this 5 minute video:
- Connectivity. ECLIPSE EHR Cloud helps you leverage the internet to streamline your patient interactions!
- Sending & receiving email & text messages is fully integrated at both the patient & system levels & is no different from working with a patient’s ledger, appointments or documents. It’s all right there!
- Patients can use simple click-&-pay options to pay balances.
- Easily log in from anywhere in a more secure & HIPAA compliant manner than is possible using 3rd party products to access your Windows data.
- Efficiency. ECLIPSE EHR Cloud can help you automate some of your data entry chores!
- Send a quick email to a new patient. They can fill out an online intake form on their phone, a tablet, or their computer. And most information auto-populates (with your approval) into a new patient folder – which reduces your workload.
- As part of the same process, provide documents for patient signature which are automatically added to the new patient’s folder as well!
- When you use features such as click-&-pay statements, patient payments are automatically added to the patient’s ledger!
- Background processing. ECLIPSE EHR Cloud can improve your efficiency!
- Set & forget features like appointment reminders.
- Billing & other reports run in the background. You simply get notifications when they’re complete. No waiting!
Basically, our cloud software excels when you want to specifically leverage interconnectivity with your patients.Since any connection from our cloud servers to data residing within your on-premises computer system will be comparatively very slow, we don’t offer similar features in the Windows version of ECLIPSE.
Will you continue to support ECLIPSE? Absolutely! Each project is supported by different development teams with different areas of expertise. Each has advantages & disadvantages. For example, if you’re in a rural area with poor and/or intermittent internet, cloud software is not for you!
Note that our new cloud software is not an “upgrade.” It’s a new version for a different platform (Windows vs. Cloud). To some extent, each has features that are platform dependent. The two versions are not identical.
Can you convert my existing ECLIPSE data to the cloud? Absolutely! That’s actually one of the first things we did in order to test EEC functionality. Note that this is a one-time, one-way conversion. Your data cannot be converted back & forth between the two versions!
If you have maintained a current subscription for at least 12 months prior to converting your ECLIPSE data, there are no additional fees to convert your data prior to January 1st 2025, though we will have you sign a waiver to the effect that any discrepancies must be brought to our attention within 3 business days of the conversion. Otherwise:
- We will not convert data from ECLIPSE revisions prior to 2015.
- Converting data from ECLIPSE revisions after 2015 can easily take our staff 7 – 30 hours of time & include multiple personnel. There is a $995 fee to convert your patient data & an optional $495 fee to transfer & convert your documents. Additional directories (if you have them) will be converted for $795 each. Alternatively, we can convert demographics only for $400.
- If you are converting data from other systems, call us with regard to both the process & pricing.
Please click here to review our Knowledge Base article for more information and to join the queue for a data conversion. As of January 1, 2025, the fees noted immediately above apply to everyone.
What about HIPAA? Is my data safe? Absolutely! Your data is secured in government approved & accepted encrypted formats in motion & at rest. Where is your data? On secure servers hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, & MongoDB.
What about training? Live training is available at any time – by appointment – over your internet connection & via professionally created vidoes on our website. There are no additional fees for training.
Does ECLIPSE EHR Cloud have the same features as ECLIPSE? Some features (e.g. Encounters) are virtually identical. Others (e.g. a patient’s History tab) are vastly different. Please review this Knowledge Base article for more information about features.
ECLIPSE supports legacy features for clients who continue to use them. EEC neither implements nor supports ECLIPSE legacy features (e.g. patient’s Notes & SOAP tabs). Additionally, some features are no longer relevant for one reason or another. For example, communications in recent years are primarily electronic – not paper based.
Since EEC is native to the cloud, it can better interact with cloud based systems (e.g. concepts such as a patient portal & interactive patient scheduling).
Here are just a few examples of differences among product features:
- No more Guarantors tab. EEC folds guarantors into the patient’s Condition & allows you to assign guarantors within the new concept of a “family” — which makes the entire process easier.
- Each patient & that patient’s personal details are now available from a dropdown ribbon bar which always sits at the top of the page. The patient’s name, DOB, photo & other key items are always displayed there – regardless of a patient’s current tab.
- EEC has separate patient views that differentiate between viewing vs. editing data. This helps to avoid accidental edits.
- EEC features built-in bi-directional (i.e. you can send & receive) email provided by us via Microsoft Office 365. Your office can create its own email address at our domain (patientmsg.com) for patient communications.
- EEC provides direct SMS for bi-directional text messaging. Given changes in federal law & actions taken by various carriers (e.g. AT&T, Verizon), EEC does not support using patient email addresses to deliver SMS text messages.
- Backups are automatically handled in the background. You don’t need to worry about whether or not your data is backed up.
- Integrations with other cloud based software can be much tighter. Thus, our patient portal, for example, can be much more robust — because it doesn’t need to exchange data with the computer system in your office over a slower internet connection.
- The scheduler displays appointments differently & provides more contemporary grid layouts. For instance, suppose you have 6 appointments @ 10am on Tuesday? In EEC, all appointments for a specific day/time are managed in a single cell — which can be expanded to show more detail in a popup grid. As compared with ECLIPSE, the trade-off becomes a potential extra click vs. additional scrolling — which makes drag & drop operations more difficult!
- EEC allows alerts to be assigned individually to any # of users in the office.
- You cannot choose any clearinghouse for your electronic claims. You must use one of the options provided. At the beginning, this may be restricted to a single clearinghouse.
- ECLIPSE & EEC do not have the same interfaces with 3rd party products. Of course, in general, 3rd party interfaces are & will be more secure with EEC. And eventually, choices will be greater (e.g. how many clearinghhouses are available).
When ECLIPSE EHR Cloud is released, will it be finished?
We began a phased release of ECLIPSE EHR Cloud in early 2023 & are currently managing about two data conversions weekly for existing ECLIPSE clients. What does “phased release” mean? It means it won’t be available for everyone, everywhere, all at once. Why? We are still adding features from our Windows product. For example, integrated prescription functionality is still not part of the released product. Nor is the ability to instantly switch among multiple databases (tenants) for different physical locations.
What about pricing?
There are no upfront costs. EEC is entirely subscription based. The average subscription price paid by ECLIPSE Windows users is currently ~ $97/month. Base pricing for ECLIPSE EHR Cloud is currently $99/month, which includes 2 users, automated backups and a dedicated Microsoft 365 account (with an email address for the office at our domain: patientmsg.com).
Your CC is billed monthly. You can stop using EEC at any time and will have a fixed period (90 days as per the EEC Terms of Service) during which you can download your data. Some costs that you bear now have been folded into basic pricing (e.g. backups, email, training). Other costs that can grow very fast based on usage (e.g. document storage) will be priced accordingly.
In ECLIPSE EHR Cloud (all prices are subject to change), additional users are currently $2.99/month; document management (scanning/ image import) starts @ $14.95/month for each 10GB of storage; bi-directional text messaging is $59.95/month; additional tenants (directories/FACs) start at $44.95/month. (Document management & text messaging can be separately added to any or all tenants for the aforementioned fees.)
For comparison purposes, in the Windows version, each of the above features must first be purchased (e.g. an additional user is $85; an additional directory is $599) & are then associated with subscription costs as follows: additional users are $1.10/month; text messaging is $53.95/month; additional directories/FAC’s are $11/month. Thus, if you’re using an additional directory/tenant for example, it would take years for the monthly cloud rate to even out with the purchase cost in the Windows version. And each user — when you include the upfront $85 fee — would take years to even out with the more expensive Windows version! And that’s before you take into consideration the base purchase prices of $1995 (standard) to $3995 (Advanced). Everyone in the cloud is using the “Advanced” version of ECLIPSE.
Note that we’re renting space & time on Amazon & Microsoft servers. Every time you create, access or store cloud data, we incur fees. Now… we have a demonstrated history of limiting or absorbing price increases. For example, we were the sole EHR vendor in the USA to intentionally avoid price increases when ECLIPSE was certified for Meaningful Use in July 2011. And many of you have paid the same monthly/annual fee for decades. Nonetheless, our cloud prices are based on painstakingly made projections, often with the help of fee calculators from Microsoft, Amazon and other companies (to forecast charges relevant to storing & accessing your data). Please recognize that we may need to raise our fees if forecasts don’t coincide with reality.
Note that we may offer free trials to new users (along with paid data conversions). Free trials do not apply to existing ECLIPSE users.
Suppose I change my mind after I begin using ECLIPSE EHR Cloud?
We will reinstate your existing ECLIPSE license & monthly subscription within 30 days of your ECLIPSE EHR Cloud cancellation. (Past that time period, you can opt for a monthly license as per our Terms Of Service.) It will be up to you to manually transfer (i.e. re-enter) any data you entered during the interim between the two systems.
For up-to-date details regarding what ECLIPSE features are in ECLIPSE EHR Cloud, moving your data, and training, click here.
Dispelling Myth…
Do you know what a mainframe computer is? Back in the 1950’s, everyone was “in the cloud” when these computers (e.g. the IBM 7090 in 1958) were introduced. So, “the cloud” is simply a new term for a very old way to use computing power! In 1982, IBM introduced its first “PC” – or Personal Computer,” using the Intel 8088 processor – which changed a hobbyist category into the dominant type of computing across the globe for decades. And then… we began to veer back towards the 1950’s.
Bottom line: “Cloud” technology is neither newer nor superior to using Windows. It’s just different. Each approach has distinct advantages & disadvantages across a wide variety of categories (e.g. availability, convenience, performance, security).