Stephens & Associates announces Lytec 2006!

Well, Lytec 2006 has been officially released, and we here at Stephens & Associates are very excited about the improvements this new version offers. As your trusted software consultants for over 14 years, we have always advised you not to install the first release of any version of software that has ever come out. When a computer program is a key component to your income stream, you just do not want to take chances. That being said, we know that Lytec 2005 was the most stable initial release of Lytec to date, and many of the key business practices that made it so robust are back in full force with Lytec 2006. In addition, Lytec is offering some very attractive discounts on their 2006 program that make now a good time to buy! If you were to buy the program now and wait to install it, you would be able to benefit from these price breaks without the normal risk associated with using an initial software release.

So what’s the big deal with Lytec 2006 you ask?

Lytec 2006 represents one of the most extensive improvements in the Lytec program since Lytec became a windows based program in 1998. While the development team at Lytec has maintained an identical look and feel to its previous versions, it packs some very impressive improvements under the hood. Lytec has taken the philosophy of transforming their program from just another billing program into one of the nations leading fully capable practice management programs, designed with saving you vast amounts of time and money in the process, and leaving other mere billing software systems in the dust! But before we get too wound up, as consultants we feel it is only appropriate to delve into each of the new features that Lytec 2006 sports into detail, so that you, our valuable clients, can make a well-informed decision about Lytec 2006.

Major Lytec 2006 Improvement number 1: The Switch to Microsoft SQL Server Database Engine

This was an improvement that just needed its own detailed explanation. We cannot properly elucidate the importance of this improvement without explaining why we are so excited about it. For over a decade, Lytec has relied upon the pervasive database engine to handle all of YOUR mission critical Lytec data. While pervasive did a decent job, it had some inherent weaknesses:

Data files were prone to certain types of corruption

It worked extremely poorly over wireless, and VPN connections, often leading to the aforementioned corruption

As an ISAM database engine, it worked well on a single computer, but had performance issues in a networked environment

Data files were difficult to gain access to for reports and data conversions

Data files were prone to bloat, and needed to be re-indexed regularly

Backups and rebuilds could not be performed while users were in the practice

Support was very difficult to obtain, there was very little generally available information on pervasive data files

By way of contrast, Lytec 2006’s switch to the nationally recognized and extremely popular and robust SQL (pronounced sequel) engine provides the following advantages:

SQL is vastly MORE ROBUST than Pervasive. Your data is much less likely to be corrupted or lost on Lytec 2006 than with previous versions!

SQL is FASTER than Pervasive, especially in a networked and client\server environment.

Smaller Data File Sizes: Since SQL does not allocate space for empty fields like pervasive did, it is much more efficient at storing that information on your hard drive. This means you are more likely to be able to make use of existing backup solutions, even if your data files were getting too big for them on previous versions of Lytec.

This one is my favorite! SQL server allows you to perform backups while using the data files. This means you do NOT have to get everyone out of Lytec to make a reliable backup of your data!

Speaking of backups, they run much quicker in Lytec 2006 because of the SQL engine. We here at S&A like this feature because it makes our clients MUCH more likely to run frequent backups.

SQL is an industry standard database! This means that there is more information on how to manage and set up this database engine than any other in the world. Your local hardware technician will be much more likely to be familiar and comfortable with its operation than they ever were with Pervasive.

SQL has some really neat Advanced features and capabilities like data replication, which can help you keep two identical copies of your practice automatically in sync at all times.

You can ACTUALLY rebuild and reindex your data files while in them, and not be in any danger of corrupting your data like you were with previous versions of Lytec.

There are many more very specialized things that your Microsoft experts here at Stephens & Associates can do with your Lytec program than we ever could do before. Since Lytec has switched to SQL, there is virtually no report we cannot get for you, and all sorts of neat tricks we can make your properly configured server perform. Would you like to have the system page you and let you know that a backup has been properly run? How about alerting you via email when a specific user deletes something? Would you like to have a file created in excel with your monthly summary numbers automatically every month? With Stephens & Associates in your corner, and Lytec 2006 on your server, your imagination is your only limit!

Major Lytec 2006 Improvement Number 2: Finally, a Reporting Solution for everyone!

One of the key complaints that we have heard over our many years’ experience with Lytec users is that it never has the report THEY want! Lytec added reports every year, but the reality of the situation is that every one of our clients has unique reporting needs. Just as Lytec went to the industry standard database engine to address concerns in that area, they have implemented a solution which fixes all of the reporting concerns by going with another industry standard – Crystal Reports! Using an integrated Crystal Reports powered report writer, Lytec has permanently and unquestionably fixed the “you don’t have the report I want” issue. Crystal Reports allows you to create ANY report you need or want from the Lytec data files, including financial reports which were never possible before. This bears repeating: With Lytec 2006, there is virtually NO REPORT that you could want that you could not have! In addition, these reports can now be exported to excel, html files, pdf files, or any of several other powerful formats.

Major Lytec 2006 Improvement Number 3: A REAL solution for Backups

Perhaps one of the most important safety improvements in Lytec 2006 is the built in backup utility. Previous versions of Lytec (from XE to 2005) had a built in backup that was adequate at best. It worked by compressing the contents of a single practice’s data folder into a standard zip format file with a “.bak” extension. The backup program in Lytec 2006 is far superior for the following reasons:

1. It can be run live. You can run your backups more often now, because you do not need to get everyone out of the practice to perform a backup.
2. It can (and absolutely should) be scheduled! This means that is is not possible for your staff to forget to run the backup. We recommend 2 backups daily!
3. It takes MUCH less time. The worst kind of backup program is one that takes so long to run, your staff will not run it. This one is considerably quicker to run!
4. You can back up, or schedule a backup on multiple practices at the same time!

With Lytec 2006, Stephens & Associates can help you plan and implement failsafe backup operations that virtually guarantee that you will never have to worry about data loss again. Ask us about offsite data storage solutions that can automatically take your scheduled backup files and upload them to a secure FTP location!With Lytec 2006, Stephens & Associates can help you plan and implement failsafe backup operations that virtually guarantee that you will never have to worry about data loss again. Ask us about offsite data storage solutions that can automatically take your scheduled backup files and upload them to a secure FTP location!

Major Lytec 2006 Improvement Number 4: Automated Scheduled Reports!

How nice would it be if you could have your month end reports waiting for on the 1st of every month? Let us face it, it can take a considerable amount of time to run some of our larger reports, and sometimes we wait days or even weeks to run those reports as a result. By using the Windows Task Scheduler, Lytec 2006 allows you to make sure those reports are run in a timely manner, and you do not even have to BE THERE for it to happen. All you do is leave your server on at night, and Lytec will automatically wake up at a time you pre-determine and run the reports you ask it to. Lytec even allows you to specify “Dynamic” date ranges, like “the first day of the previous month” to the “last day of the previous month”.

Major Lytec 2006 Improvement Number 5: Prepayment!

The traditional problem with Lytec in the past has been that you MUST apply all payments to the specific billing number (aka visit or encounter) that they apply to. This is all fine and dandy unless you collect money in advance for services rendered. For example, an OB provider takes “deposits” of several hundred dollars a month in anticipation of a hefty “Global Delivery” bill when the baby is born. Now Lytec has a great way to deal with that. You can collect money from patients in advance of an actual charge being created, then when you do create a charge, you can apply any portion of the money they have prepaid to you to that bill!

Major Lytec 2006 Improvement Number 6: Accepting Payments from the Appointment Scheduler!

We cannot possibly talk about prepayment without talking about the most important form of prepayment that we ALL participate in; the patient co-pay. With Lytec 2006, not only can you RECORD the co-pay before creating the bill, but you can accept the co-pay directly from the appointment scheduler. This means that your front office person can very quickly record receipt of a patient co-payment, which makes them extremely more likely to collect it!

Major Lytec 2006 Improvement Number 7: Attach images to the patient file!

It has been said that picture is worth 1000 words! Well, if a picture is worth 1000 words, a scanned image of an insurance card can be worth countless hours and thousands of dollars saved in rebilling costs. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to locate and then read a grainy faxed copy of an insurance card to make sure you have the right number. Scan your patient’s IDs and insurance cards directly into Lytec and have a ready copy available anytime you need it. Anyone who has to enter insurance information will DEFINITELY appreciate this feature! Has Lytec decided to become an EMR? Well, no. While this feature is great for cards and IDs, we here at Stephens & Associates do not recommend using this for your EOBs unless you consider some really nice hardware improvements. Image files still make for some pretty large file sizes!

Major Lytec 2006 Improvement Number 8: Eligibility Verification

This is a REALLY nice feature, which is very well designed. Lytec put their development team in the same room as several expert medical billers who have used Lytec for years and let the end users direct how the feature will work. The end result is a very nice feature that will save the average physician thousands annually in payroll expenditures. The way that this feature works is that it automatically looks at the appointment scheduler to see which appointments you have coming up, and connects with the Proxymed clearinghouse over your high speed internet connection and checks to see if they have coverage. Those with verified coverage get a green flag next to their name in the appointment scheduler, while those without get a red one. This gives your staff the opportunity to get corrected insurance information BEFORE it becomes a collections headache.

The only reason this feature did not make a higher rank on our list of MAJOR improvements is because it requires a monthly service charge with the Proxymed clearinghouse. This fact notwithstanding, the money spent is well worth the money you will save in having your staff manually check eligibility, or even worse, dealing with the collections headaches after the services were rendered. You should look at it this way. If you were to walk into a jewelry store to buy a tennis bracelet for someone, they would not simply take a photocopy of your ID and credit card. They would check first with your credit card company to see if they will get paid by your credit card company BEFORE allowing you to walk out the door with their jewelry. Why then, do physicians perform services regularly with just a hope that payment will be forthcoming?

Nice Lytec 2006 Improvements:

While the features above are major improvements to Lytec, there were a few other improvements we saw that we feel warrant your attention. These features include:

You can now Print from the Patient Ledger!

You can now add both Secondary and Tertiary Insurance Authorizations

Automatic recalls allow you to automatically schedule recall appointments whenever a specific CPT code is used.

In some of the past releases of Lytec, the developers have offered numerous features without substantive value to their end users. There were many “gee, that is nice” features, but there were not many features that represented a true value to your bottom line! With Lytec 2006, it really shows that they consulted with the end-users and experts who were using the program “in the trenches”, and came up with some major advancements that are designed to save the average provider thousands of dollars annually!!!

So here are the important dates to remember! You can purchase Lytec 2006 before 11/18/2005 and save over 10% off the upgrade price for Lytec 2006 from Lytec 2004 or newer (That’s $200-$300 on a professional upgrade)! Finally, because we are running this offer in conjunction with our great Hawaiian vacation getaway, every purchase or referral to a friend who purchases before December 31st, is an entry into our year-end drawing for a one week stay in a condo overlooking the pristine warm waters of the beach in Kapaa, Kauai.

Feel free to contact us today at 661-821-6800 to obtain a customized quote specifically tailored for your needs, as well as a combined list of all of the new features added since your particular version of Lytec. Also, if you just had a few questions and wanted to talk more about your options, remember we are here to help!