Should I upgrade from 4.1.2 to 5.0.1

I am busy customising openEMR 4.1.2 - mainly to make use of some external data, trying to minimise changes to oEMR.

Someone else, gone now, installed v4.1.2 - I am just wondering if there is a compelling reason to upgrade to 5.0.1? Or perhaps even install 5.0.1 and reapply the changes to it?

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@ognik,
Bug fixes and functionality enhancements are updated in each release. You can either upgrade OpenEMR to the latest release and make code changes or preferably you can download the latest version and reapply your code changes

Thanks,
ViSolve

If 4.x meets your functional needs, there would be no compelling reason. However under the hood, v5 opens up lot more possibilities for local changes through use of namespaces.

Would definitely recommend a git merge which will produce conflicts. When it does, use that opportunity to make your local changes more modular.

There is a significant improvement to the interface and the use of tabs enhances the user experience in the 5.x versions. There are several bugs that 4.1.x has that were fixed in versions 4.2, even more in 5.0.

If you have customization, there are improvements that make handing Javascript libraries easier to manage. From a developer’s point of view there are numerous reasons to switch, especially if you plan on adding more custom code.

Also, I have done custom upgrades from 4.x to 5.0 and 5.1 for 8 or 9 customers. Never have I heard once that they wished they could go back. For people who are resistant to change, they can keep the old 4.X frames UI. For those who like the tabs view, they can choose to personalize their experience using tabs and it doesn’t affect anyone else.

If you need assistance with bringing in your custom changes to 5.0 or 5.1, I’d be happy to consult.

Something else to consider, is the size of your practice & database.
OpenEMR versions > 5.0.0 are extremely busy, requiring extensive tuning of the database and significant bug fixing to keep up in a multi-provider setting with large amounts of patient data.
Depending on the hardware, it may not be able to keep up at all. With significant local customizations, the change from MyISAM to InnoDB may be a factor as well.

all of the new features and security enhancements are compelling reasons to upgrade to the most recent version (5.0.1.7) plus tracking your local changes to facilitate the next upgrade (5.0.2 in ~6 weeks)

All good info thanks, still in decision mode though. Although using v 5.x makes sense technically, the site owner has grown used to testing in 4.1.2 - and doesn’t really like the look of 5.0.1

So I was wondering about v4.2.2 - I see the old demos are all closed, but is there somewhere I/we could see a demo or screenshots of 4.2.2?

the look of 4.1.2, frames, is still possible in 5.0.1
you’d have to setup your own 4.2.2 from this site

Thanks Stephen,

  1. Is it straightforward to make 5.0.1 look like 4.1.2? Can you give me a high level indication of what I’d need to do?

  2. Could you point me at a link that explains how to disable some of the functionality (that the owner doesn’t want to use and would prefer not to see, or have greyed out)? For example insurance…

Ta

hi @ognik, yes, you can change to frames for every user under Admin->Globals->Appearance->Layout or per user by clicking on Miscellaneous->Preferences->Layout

disabling some features can vary like Insurance would be under Admin->Globals->Appearance->Use simplified demographics

Thanks @stephenwaite , the owner has agreed to use 5.0.1 :slight_smile:

Checking server requirements, I have centos 6 which I cannot change - is that OK?
UPDATE: Installation was successful, so centos 6 appears to NOT be an issue.

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