Quick Start

After Installing the program from the CD ...

Making a Backup

ALL COMPUTERS MUST HAVE A FREQUENT BACKUP. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS. WHEN YOUR COMPUTER FAILS, AND IT WILL SOMEDAY, YOU MUST HAVE A BACKUP OR YOU WILL BE FORCED TO TYPE ALL OF YOUR INFORMATION AGAIN.

Daily backup

Complete (System) backup

Saving Your Work

As you enter data into the program, whether it is a new patient, an office visit, or a payment, SSI® saves your data. You do not have to do a separate save command like you do in word processing and other programs. In order for this to take place, the computer opens and closes many files on your hard disk while you enter data. Therefore it is absolutely critical that you DO NOT reset your computer while you are running the SSI® program. This means do not press [Ctrl+Alt+Delete], do not press the Reset button, and do not turn off your computer while the program is running. Doing so will damage your data files and may require you to restore from a backup! In addition it can cause a failure of your hard drive format and cause you to re-install all your programs. If you want to reset or shutdown your computer for any reason you should first quit all programs and then press the Start button and then click 'Shut down' (this is Windows 2003 server - your operating system may be different).

Many of our support calls relate to resetting the computer while in the middle of the Stratford program. More than half of our long calls (greater than 10 minutes) are for this problem. Our software support does not cover this type of problem since it has nothing to do with our software. We may try to help once but when the same client has this problem over and over we will have them call a different support organization. Any time you reset your computer while you are editing a paper with Word Perfect or writing a check with Quicken, you are likely to corrupt some files and lose data. So take a pro-active stance. Do not reset your computer if you sense something is not right. Resetting the computer will only make matters worse. Many of the reports take valuable time to create. The larger your practice is, the longer things will take to process. A file reorganization can take anywhere from five minutes to two hours or more.

Converting from other Software

If you are a new user of the Stratford Healthcare EDI and Management Software you most likely are converting from some other software that does not work well for you. You want all the features of the Stratford program but usually you do not look forward to entering all the data again. If there are only a few hundred patient accounts, the job goes quickly and you will be learning our program at the same time. The problem is the new client with thousands of patients. We recommend that you enter only the patients who owe you money and enter the rest as they come back for future visits.

System Defaults

. DOT Enter

We use a dot (period or [.]) as a default. Some keyboards will have two periods, one on the number keypad and one on the typing portion of the board. When you type dot [.] [ENTER] the program lets you access information that is already in the computer.  For example use this when you are completing the insurance screen; if the "bill to" or guarantor's name is the same as the insured's name then type dot [.] [ENTER]. The program will access the default information. You may use dot [.] [ENTER] to access the patient's name, address and telephone number.

Trial Account

When you hire a new staff person or if you just want to practice without the possibility of "messing up" your accounts receivable, use your trial account. To get to your trial account, Double-click on the Stratford icon on your desktop. In the field that asks for your ID, type in "TRIAL". Your password is always the word "PASSWORD".