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Frequently Asked QuestionsQ: I have heard you are going to come out with a new version written in python around 2015. Is that true?A: yes and no. There will not be a 'new version' one day written in python. That is not going to happen. We are very happy with the current version. It does the job and is very easy to maintain. Right now a very significant part of our program is written in asp, but there was never a day when we announced it. We don't see it as a 'big deal'. We simply use the best tool we can find for the job. We bet you can't tell where the asp part begins and ends. Mainly because there is no beginning and ending. It is fully integrated. The scheduler is written in 'C', we bet you can't tell where it begins and ends. The reason for all the talk about python is that Google uses it and we think Google is about the best run company we have seen in a long time. Our present language: VFP SP2 will not run on Linux or Mac (yes, we know there is a way to do it and we know we now have clients using it, but we can't support it). When Linux and/or Mac increases the market share so that we get a lot of requests, that will be the time to make more changes. Until then, we will begin replacing parts of the program, for example, the user interface in python. So the change, if and when it happens, will be gradual over time. Q: Does Stratford plan to have the NPI (National Provider Identifier) integrated into the software?A: Yes it already is - as of late 2004. If you look on the provider screen now you will see a text box for entering the NPI. We already have our CMS paper claim and electronic formats coded for the NPI and we have activated those sections of code as of 01/03/2006. Note that we can activate different payers at different times since it is unlikely (based on our past experience) that all Medicare contractors, Medicaid and all private payers will activate it at the same time. We believe that several (or many) updates will be required in the next 18-24 months as various payers require different claim data. For example, some payers will continue to require legacy IDs. NHIC, the Medicare contractor for New England and, previously, California, has approved our code for NPI in the EDI - electronic format. We have received notice from most other payers that either now accept the NPI or will soon. All our versions beginning with v3567 are ready with all NPI code activated. Q: Will you support the new 1500 form?A: yes, we do now. Click here for more information. Q: I have Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Win7/2003/2008 Server 32/64. Will your software work with it?A: Yes. Stratford is a Microsoft "Universal" software developer. This is the highest level available at this time. Stratford software works with all current Microsoft operating systems: Citrix, MS Terminal Server and possibly other multi-user/networking operating systems work well on the hardware configurations that we have tested. Stratford software is not supported on Macintosh or Unix/Linux at this time. Although the Stratford program will run fine on Vista, you should remember that Vista may require a very large amount of memory in order to have acceptable performance. We suggest a minimum of 2gb - more if possible. If you have Vista on a server with more than 5 workstations, you may not be happy with the performance. As of January, 2007, you may wish to consider staying with Win2000 or WinXP until Microsoft releases at least one service pack for Vista. Win2000 is probably the best 'supported' operating system for PC's at this time. Q: I am concerned about meeting HIPAA requirements for security of my patient information. What does Stratford recommend?A: Click here. Also, see
the questions: "Do you encrypt your files" and "I would like to put my data
files on a USB2 flash Q: Do you encrypt your files?A: No, that is not a function of an application program like Stratford. If you wish to encrypt your data files, there are several solutions that we have tested and we believe they will meet the HIPAA requirements. There is no way we can guarantee this, of course, because encryption is not a Stratford product. It depends on your hardware/operating system and how it is installed and maintained. You should remember that you are responsible for keeping your hardware secure. The best encryption in existence is worthless if a criminal is allowed access to your hardware and/or your passwords. One 'public' program we have tried is True Crypt. You can 'google' it and check it out. Click here for more information Q2: Second (related) question: Stratford has a login ID and password. That indicates to me that you have security. Why should I not assume that no one can get access to my data unless they have my ID and password? A2. There can be many reasons for having an ID and password. An ID and password does not guarantee or indicate security, encryption or anything else. The Stratford ID and password is the way that you tell the software who you are (who is using the software). The software will use that ID and password to keep track of what you do and the way you like to use the software. You don't know it, but the software also keeps track of what computer (workstation) you are using on a network as well as a lot of other things. The software will remember the last ID that you use (in fact, it remembers the last 10). You can change colors of various objects in the program. If you have non-programmer, non-technical people around and they do not know your password, then you can limit the functions that are available to different users. The reason you don't know what all the Stratford program is doing in the 'background' (and have no reason to know) is that the operating system gives information to the Stratford program without your knowledge. The operating system controls everything that happens (or is prevented from happening) on your computer. The application programs (like Stratford, word processing, graphics, etc) have no, or limited, control. Never assume security, encryption or anything else. Remember that your data is absolutely secure if the only people around have no knowledge of it and no access to it. At the same time, your data is absolutely INsecure around someone who knows how to program even if they have no idea how to use the Stratford program. Think of Stratford's ID & password like the lock on your front door. It will keep honest people honest and make it somewhat difficult to do dishonest things. But like the lock on your front door, if someone wants in badly enough, you will need more than the lock to keep them out. Q: I would like to put my data files on a USB2 flash memory device like the 'cruzer' or an external hard drive. Is this possible?A: Yes. We have tested several devices. Click here for more information. Q: I would like to put my data files on a NAS (Network-Attached Storage) device. Is this possible?A: Yes. It is somewhat like the USB2 flash memory question above. Here is where it is (possibly very) different. These devices do not connect to a computer. They connect directly to your network router/switch either by Ethernet or wireless typically. That means you cannot right click and disable the caching. But it goes much farther than that. With a device connected to your computer, you usually have knowledge of the type of file system. In fact you know a lot. With the NAS, you know nothing of the technical specs other than what the manufacturer publishes. Why is that important? If you only copy files to and from the device, then it may not be important. If you are using a word processing program like Open Office Writer (which we recommend), you don't care. You are only using the NAS for storage. You read the file, edit/print it and write it back to the device. If you are using the Stratford program with more than one user, the game is much different with different rules and many potential pitfalls. What if Workstation A writes a patient record to the NAS with an updated patient address. At the same or near same time, Workstation B reads that same patient record, what version of the record will 'B' get? the version before the update or after? Does the NAS know that the record has been updated? After all, all of the users are accessing the same file when they lookup patient records. It is very difficult to explain how important that is to someone who does not understand how computers store and allow access to the files. How intelligent is the device? This is a very simple example. We could make this discussion almost incomprehensible by bringing up details like the fact that a single record can overlap 3 sectors in a file system in the middle of a file. You might have several or many users updating a single file (data table) at the same time. Does the NAS allow for record locking like the Windows operating system? The Stratford program uses the Windows API for record locking. This is absolutely critical to prevent your data from being scrambled/destroyed. Until we are able to be certain how these devices work, we recommend that you do not use them for anything other than file storage. We do not recommend them for backup. At this time, we only recommend CD-R or DVD-R for backup. Q: Do you have an "electronics claims module"?A: Our software handles EDI (electronic claims) without add-on modules. We have been transmitting to Medicare since the early 1980's. It is just another part of our program. We believe that a software package that doesn't do electronic claims without add-ons is not a serious healthcare billing package. Electronic claims is what we do better than any other software. Q: Do you have an Electronic Healthcare Record? Also known as EHR/EMR/EPR/HMR (and others)A: Yes. Here is more information. Q: Do you have electronic prescriptions?A: Yes. Here is more information. Q: How much do you charge for the multi-user version of your software?A: We only have one version and it is multi-user. Stratford has never created single-user (rinky-dink) software. The first version of our software was for a "Unix" like multi-user computer in the late 1970's. Most of our customers eventually have more than one workstation even if they start out with a single-user system. We do not charge extra for more users. In fact, you don't even need to tell us and you don't need anything additional from us. The Stratford program will work perfectly with as many users as your computer hardware/operating system will support. The manual has a tutorial with pictures to help you set up your network. Q: Do you have a "managed care module"?A: Our software handles managed care without add-on modules. It is just another part of our program. We started business in California. Managed care began there. HMO's have been here since the beginning. Stratford wrote a software package for an IPA in the mid 1980's. Virtually all of our users accept managed care plans. We have had to cover all of these payer variations since they began. No, we don't have a "managed care" module (whatever that is), we just have a software package that works. There is nothing special about managed care to us. It is just another billing requirement that we handle very well. Our philosophy is to put everything out in the open. Notice that our address and phone number (of a real physical address) and the prices are on the main web site page. How many other software vendors do that? We have nothing to hide from you. We don't have any secret things to add on (no gotchas). The prices are here and easy to find. Q: If your software is so good, why don't you charge as much as the other companies?A: We believe we charge a fair price. We have thousands of licensed users. Our basic research and development costs have been paid for many years. We have no debt. Our software is easy for us to support. We don't spend a lot of money advertising. We don't spend much on four-color brochures. We won't bury you with self-serving propaganda. Our product is the best you will find. It will sell itself. Q: Can I get a list of your users to call?A: Absolutely! We have listed 400-500 of our users on this web site with their name, city and state. If you know any of them, they may not mind it if you call. Please do not tell them we told you to call. Please, if you are going to call one of our users, ask yourself, "would I like to have my staff answering calls like this?" You should have a list of questions ready so you can let them get back to work quickly. We have well over 6,000 licensed users as of August 2008. That probably represents more than 25,000 providers. We have been in business since 1977. We have almost all of the customers from the first five years. We are a Medicare "Select" certified vendor. Check to see if our competitor is. ("Select" certified is completely different from "Certified") If we didn't meet the highest standards of quality, we would not qualify. No company can pay to be a "Select" certified vendor like being listed in a catalog or other advertisement. Q: Do you have users in my state?A: Probably. We have users in most states, if not all. Our EDI (electronic claims) program has been approved by most Medicare contractors. Our software includes the formats that CMS requires every Medicare contractor to accept. This is true for every state and US possession. Your state does not have any billing requirements that are significantly different from other states. Q: I have a billing service. Can your software handle more than one doctor/group on one computer?A: Yes. You may have as many as your hardware/operating system will support. The software has no limit. Q: What is the time period for your "money back guarantee?"A: We DO NOT have a money back guarantee. Due to the low cost of this product and the high cost of labor we have a no refund policy on all products and services. In return we give you the lowest cost on the product and on the support. This is why we encourage you to get the free trial version first if you are not certain that you want the software. Remember that if you buy the full version within 90 days, you will get credit for the amount you pay Stratford (if any) for the trial version (less shipping, taxes and other out-of-pocket expenses, of course). The trial version is fully functional and is not "crippled" in any way other than having a database that is limited to 25 patients. There is a page on this web site that will allow you to download the software and/or the manual and other supporting documents at no charge. The manual is in html format, so it works in the browser that you are using to view this web site right now. There is also a 'PDF' version that you can have printed at Kinko's or almost any print shop. You can even print it on your own printer. On another page of this web site there is a form to order the trial version with a manual on CD at a nominal price if you do not want to download it. We can print the manual for you: Click here Q: Do you have all the AMA CPT procedure codes included with your software?A: We DO NOT include the AMA CPT codes with our software. These codes must be obtained from the AMA directly. We do have the HCPCS codes that can be downloaded from the CMS web site. They are available to all providers, free, anytime, from CMS. If you want to use a code that is not in the table, it is very easy to add that code. It is very easy for you to add and delete codes so you can maintain your own files at no cost. The AMA also has the codes for sale on diskette. If you purchase the codes from the AMA, we may be able to help you load them into the lookup tables. Q: Do you have all the ICD diagnosis codes included with your software?A: We include the ICD codes that can be downloaded from the CMS web site. They are available to all providers, free, anytime, from CMS. If you want to use a code that is not in the table, it is very easy to add that code. It is very easy for you to add and delete codes so you can maintain your own files at no cost. The AMA also has the codes for sale on diskette. If you purchase the codes from the AMA, we may be able to help you load them into the lookup tables. Q: I represent a very large group of healthcare providers. We have 80 workstations. Do you have an SQL version?A: We may offer an optional SQL version in the future but there is no definite date or guarantee that it will ever happen. An SQL version would be an extra cost upgrade option - much more expensive. It will not offer any significant advantages for installations with fewer than 20 workstations. It will have the same basic design (same code base). The only difference will be related to the "backend database". The current version will handle 100 or more workstations depending on the hardware and number of concurrent users. Q: In case my computer crashes, how long does it take for you to restore my data?A: We DO NOT have a copy of your data. We cannot restore it. When you purchase the Stratford program, you install it on your computer - a computer that you selected, a computer that you purchased, a computer that belongs to you. Stratford has no way to access your computer. Stratford does not have a copy of your data. You and only you are responsible for making a backup copy of your data. You must keep that backup copy secure. No one can help you restore your data unless you have a backup copy of that data. We may be able to help you restore your backup copy, but that is not our business so you cannot depend on us. You need someone who is 'computer literate' and knows about your specific hardware to help you. If it has been 1 week since you made your last backup copy, you will need to reenter all the data that was entered during that week. If it has been 1 month since you made your last backup copy, you will need to reenter all the data that was entered during that month. If it has been 1 year since you made your last backup copy, you will need to reenter all the data that was entered during that year. You get the idea. How much would it cost for you to pay someone to reenter all that data? How much money would you lose because you do not have a copy of the data? Anytime data is reentered, you can bet there will be data entry errors. How will the data be reentered? Do you have backup paper copies of everything? Don't get yourself into a nightmare situation. A CD-R cost about 25 cents or less. That would be about $1.25 per week for a permanent backup copy. 100 CD-R disks cost about $32 or less at Costco. That is about $81 for 252 (a one year supply - assume 21 working days per month) How much labor can you purchase for $81/year? It is possible that for support purposes, you may send a copy of your data to Stratford for testing. We purposely destroy data that we receive as soon as we finish the testing. This is mandated by the HIPAA federal law for privacy reasons. Under no circumstances can you ever rely on Stratford to have a copy of your data. Q: The guy at the computer store recommended that I backup on a memory stick. What do you think?A: The easy answer is that any backup is better than no backup. However, that may not be true. That statement should be changed to any GOOD backup is better than no backup. There is a difference. You would not believe how many times we have had a client call for support, corrupt data, computer crash, etc. etc. The first question we ask is when was your last backup. Incredibly, many people say they don't have a backup. Well, no backup means no data. We hope you have a good paper backup so you can re-enter everything. You have lots of work ahead of you. Incredibly, we have people who say, 'oh yes, we have a backup from last night'. To that, we say: great. The only thing you will have to enter is the data entry that occurred since that backup. Then we learn that they backup onto re-recordable CDs or DVDs. This generally is ok, however, after a few times of write/re-write, the media can fail and your backup program may not know it because of something called 'cache'. Your backup program thinks the data is good on the CD/DVD but it is really reading data from your memory 'cache'. That is pretty technical and difficult to explain. If you question whether your backup is any good, you should install it on a spare computer or into a 'dummy' directory and check it out. Stratford can check your backup for you if you want, on a pre-scheduled basis. Back to your question about the memory stick. That probably is acceptable if you are willing to insure that the data is good. You should never backup onto a single memory stick or re-writable CD/DVD. If something happens in the middle of a backup, you have nothing. The bottom line is that a bad backup is worse than no backup because you have a false sense of security. If you have no backup, then you know that you are on dangerous grounds so when your computer fails (and it definitely will), then you know you are in for a lot of trouble. Q: I am thinking about using one of those online services to backup my data. What do you think?A: The easy answer is that we do not think that is a good idea. Your data has PHI (HIPAA is a federal law that states you must protect your patient data). If you send it off to an online service, you are putting a lot of trust into an organization that you probably do not know anything about. Even if they are well funded today, what about next year? Chances are you will backup for months or years without having to restore. As time passes, companies go out of business or have financial problems, etc. You may not know about this. That company will probably have employees come and go over time. Who knows who they may hire? What if one of their employees compromises your data for profit? There are too many unknowns. You are probably safer if you make a CD/DVD backup every night and then take that CD/DVD home with you every day. It is a pain, maybe, but it is your data and you are responsible. At most, that will probably cost you 15-30 cents per day, 20 days per month or $6/month. That is only about $36-72 dollars per year for almost 100% security. That is cheap compared to the cost and business disruption of having to re-enter everything. Chances are that if you lose one patient visit of any kind, it would cost you much more than 1 year of data backup. Also, the cost does not compare with the ability to sleep at night. Q: Do you support Family billing?A: Yes (with reservations). This is a 'feature' (very outdated in our opinion) which is still supported by Stratford. The only reason is that we have many customers who demand it. We believe it is, on its face, a violation of the intent of the HIPAA regulations. If we could find any reference to this in the law or other FAQ on government sites, we would disable the 'feature'. If you are aware of any reference, please advise us now The simplest example that we can cite is the patient that does not want the spouse to know about his/her diagnosis. Family billing is an obvious (in our opinion) potential violation of this 'privacy issue'. We are well aware of the proponents that say both spouses must be aware of the provider's 'family billing' methods/policy and so they agree to it when they agree to see the provider and submit themselves to the billing practices of the provider. We believe all of our customers should re-examine this issue if they insist on 'family-billing'. The only advantage to this type of billing is that it possibly could save some stamps. Just one lawsuit or federal investigation will cost you more than all the stamps a practice could save in 100 years. We look forward to eliminating this 'feature' from our software. What about the child that reaches age 18? That child now has 'rights'. Who will separate this child from the 'family'? What about divorced parents? What about changes in custody? What about irate patient phone calls, forgetting about the potential liabilities? We think these issues carry potential penalties that cannot be handled by most billing offices and/or 'front offices'. The answer is obvious and is best supported by Stratford software: one patient has one account. The guarantor can change, the insurance subscriber/coverage can change, but that patient is a real person and that person has rights under the law. If the patient becomes 18 years of age, the privacy issues are confined to that one person's account. Stratford's software allows the patient/address, guarantor/address and insurance subscriber/address for any number of insurances to be different. We do not believe you can come up with a real-life situation that we cannot handle. Try us. We might give you a prize if you can describe a reasonable situation that the software cannot handle without 'tricks'. Q: Is your software Y2K ready?A: Yes. (The version that we sold in 1988 for dos was Y2K ready.) Q: I know it may be old-fashioned, but I want a nice, printed manual for my windows version like you had for the dos version.A: The manual is available electronically by pressing F1 anywhere in the program. To print, you can select from the main menu: #7, #2. This brings the manual up in 'PDF' format. This is a standard format that you can print on your printer, or you can take it to any professional print store. The latest version of the manual is also located here: C:\Stratford\ssiwin\2\Help\stratfordmanual.pdf If you don't have Adobe Acrobat on your computer, get it free here: http://www.adobe.com An easy way to get a professionally printed manual at less than 1/2 the cost of getting it from Stratford like we did for the dos version is this: Go to http://www.kinkos.com Select 'online printing'. Then select 'file, print FedEx Kinko's'. There are 3 simple steps. Download a 'print driver' for your computer. Print the manual as above. Then select the format, binding, etc that you want. You can pick up the manual at the nearest kinko's store, sometimes the same day, or you can have it shipped via FedEx. Very nice. If you need 2 or 3 copies, this can't be beat. Also, you can try Alpha graphics and any other print store. If you need help, we can transmit the PDF file to Kinko's for you - but you must be a long-term support subscriber. For reading the manual, we recommend putting two displays on your computer. A video card with two connectors costs less than $50. Many of the newer computers are already set up for 2 displays. You can put the manual on one display and leave the program running on the primary display. This will allow you to go through the tutorials easily. A second display is great for many things. You can put a browser, your email and other things on the secondary display while you do your usual work on the primary display. Think how proud you will be when you 'save a tree' and you become a 'good citizen of the earth'. We can print the manual for you: Click here Q: You say you are compliant with this and that. Do you guarantee that I can transmit to any payer and never get a rejected claim.A: No. You are responsible for creating a claim that is acceptable to the payer. Stratford plays a supporting role and nothing else. We want you to be successful with our software so you will recommend it to your friends. We don't claim to know how to do healthcare billing. That is what you do and you are responsible for that. If you have a claim that is rejected and you can't figure out why we will try to help you if you have prepaid support. That is the only guarantee you get from Stratford. You must have prepaid support in order to get help from Stratford. If you have not paid Stratford for support, you will be required to pay in advance before you will get any help from Stratford. We do not refund any payments that we receive for support. Support is labor and we are required by law to pay our employees. Also, our employees refuse to work unless they are paid. We only have smart employees. You probably have the same requirement where you work. If you don't, you probably should. If you are having so much fun that you don't need to be paid then you probably don't need help from Stratford. US law requires payers to accept an EDI format approved by HIPAA. If your payer will accept an approved format, then we should be able to help you (no promises though as we have no control over your payer). The only guarantee that you get is that we will try. In other words, if you do not know how to do healthcare billing then you need to first learn that before calling Stratford for help. The first question we will ask is something like "What is the problem?" Q: The questions and answers above tell me that you are not willing to promise me everything I want. Is that true?A: Yes, that is true. We have most of our clients since 1977. That tells you something about how we deliver. Almost all of our new clients come from referrals. We have plenty of clients. We are having fun doing what we like to do. For empty promises, you will need to go elsewhere. There are many other vendors who will do that. Q: What are your hours?A: We are open 8am to 5pm PST. Our office in Orlando, FL opens between 5am and 6am PST and may be available for email support. Our holidays are: 1. New Years Day We are usually not available on the Friday after Thanksgiving (an exception might be for certain email support requests). If there are no support calls sometime on the day before (and/or after) Christmas and New Years we will take off early. We encourage you to use email for support requests. That ensures your place in the queue.
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