We had a great time with
this HAWAIIAN GIVE AWAY promotion! And so did all you folks who saved
a ton of money on that California Sales Tax we paid for you on your
purchases! We thank each and every one of you for your participation
and the suspense that built up as we reached the drawing of the THREE
WINNERS!
Here They Are:
3rd Place
winner receiving a Harry & David $50 Gift Certificate is
Gastroenterology of Santa Cruz, CA.
2nd Place Winner
receiving an Apple iPod Nano
Cathy Murphy of Dr.Tan Tran in Manteca, CA.
1st and Grand Prize
Winner of a 7-day stay at a Luxury Condominium at Pono Kai resort
in the town of Kapaa, on the Island of Kauai, Hawaii.
Jarnail Gugga, MD of West Covina, CA.
Our Congratulations to all the Winners-It
was a wonderful way for all of us to end 2005!
Flash!
Blowout Lytec Sale Coming!
How
about an encore like the Hawaiian Give Away but where everyone wins!
You will see an extraordinary Lytec Promotion in your mailbox in the
next few days. This will be our BEST sale of the year! Don’t
wait for the next one because it won’t top this. Sure! We’ll
have more promotions during the rest of the year, just like we did
in 2005. But this is our “Sale of Sales!” It’s the
one you are not going to want to miss! If you’ve been hanging
on to your older version of Lytec and missing out on all on the new
features since Lytec 2004, wait no more! We’ll make it worth
your while!
What
everyone should know about Anti-Virus
As
we sit and reflect on the holidays that have just passed, with New
Year’s resolutions abounding, many of you may have made a resolution
to clean up your computers, and perhaps upgrade your Anti-Virus software.
While we here at Stephens & Associates highly encourage our clients
to keep their computers both clean and safe (especially if you have
DSL, or any other high speed Internet connection), there are DEFINTELY
some issues you need to be aware of before making any decision on
Anti-Virus programs.
The
Battleground
First
of all, let us face the facts head on! You NEED to have an Anti-Virus
program on your computer. Not only are there more viruses being released
now (between 200 – 300 new viruses are discovered every day)
but over 75% of these malicious programs are being released not by
just-for-fun hackers or “script kiddies” but by the criminal
computer underground . What does this mean? This means viruses have
changed from programs designed to cause you frustration, into programs
designed to steal information for monetary profit.
Speaking
of Profit…
The
companies who help you fight this threat are making a really good
living off of it. In 2004, the top three anti-virus companies turned
a tidy profit from your peace of mind. Trend Micro (#3) made $508
million, McAfee (#2) made $597 million, and the #1 anti-virus company,
Norton, made $1.3 Billion selling us peace of mind. So what is wrong
with this? Well, the problem is that while each of these companies
works diligently to keep your computers clean, you may be surprised
to find out that NO anti-virus vendor will catch every virus all the
time. You may be further surprised (or perhaps the better term is
disappointed) to find out that these top three Anti-Virus vendors
seldom make up the top 3 of any list when you look for reviews on
Anti-Virus programs . Don’t take my word for it! Search Google
for Anti-Virus reviews.
What
about Validator
Over
the last few months, our call center has been fielding an increasing
number of calls from our clients about Validator problems that, upon
research, are being CAUSED by these anti-virus programs. Specifically,
there seems to be an issue with the communications module (the Terminal
Screen) when someone is using the auto-send feature. Normally, the
communications module requires very little system resources, but when
we are using the auto-send feature (the one where Validator listens
for the various prompts and responds automatically for you) there
is a spike in the system resources necessary to run the program. What
we are finding more often is the same “bloat” exists in
many new anti-virus programs. Clients who already are low on system
resources due to these new anti-virus programs will find the auto-send
feature just will not work for them. We have seen this issue with
Norton Internet Security 2005, McAfee’s newest anti-virus 2006,
and with AVG Enterprise Edition (though ironically the FREE version
of AVG does not seem to have this problem).
So what
do I do?
Today’s
consumer needs to be an informed consumer. You may be able to use
the aforementioned antivirus programs just fine depending upon how
much RAM your computer has, what kind of processor you have, the quality
of modem and phone line you have (external serial modems are always
best). Some of our clients have been able to disable the “auto-protect”
features of their Anti-Virus software just before transmitting (McAfee),
while others (AVG and Norton) have had to uninstall their anti-virus
software completely to get the auto-send functionality back. The good
news is you have a choice. Many of you may be surprised to learn that
the above three companies are NOT the only anti-virus software vendors
out there. They are just the ones with the largest marketing budget!
If you do a search, as I suggested earlier, on the Internet for anti-virus
software reviews, you will find a few brands really stick out. You
do not want the software that ranks at the top of only one list, but
one whose name you see repeated on several rankings. Some of these
include lesser-known brands such as Kasperski, NOD32, Panda and many
others. For some really interesting reading, you should visit the
articles on footnotes numbers 1 and 3. And of course, if you have
any questions, you can feel free to contact us
Lytec
2006 Form Revision 2 Released!
S&A
has recently released a 2nd revision to the electronic claims form
file for use with Lytec 2006. This form addresses issues we found
when sending claims with 4 diagnosis codes, as well as Loop 1000B
NM109 problems in certain instances. For a copy of this updated and
improved form, contact your friendly neighborhood Validator dealer!
Remember, if you do not have our electronic claims form for Lytec
2006, and have upgraded your Lytec recently, there is a cost of $149
for the custom Lytec 2006 form.
Soap
Box – Too Many HCFAs to Choose from!
Ok,
let’s face it! While we have a standardized form for printing
our paper claims onto (UB92 or HCFA 1500), each carrier has been taking
so many liberties with what they require on these forms, that it becomes
very difficult to keep up. I recently sat down at one of our client’s
computers and looked at their forms directory with what could only
be described as shock and awe. They had more versions of the HCFA
1500 form than Imelda Marcos had shoes. Each one had been customized
for the myriad of different requirements that insurance companies
had thrust upon them.
So
what’s the big deal? Well, it is really a nightmare for several
reasons! In this case, the Office Manager did not even know which
forms they used for which insurance carriers. Only the now-irreplaceable
Biller held that knowledge. The Office Manager was certain that many
of those forms were NOT being used, but had no idea which ones. Furthermore,
if she ever wanted to upgrade or make a change to the forms, she would
have to make those changes to every form in that directory!
So
while we are facing a brand new year, and making those New Years resolutions,
it is our ever so humble (don’t laugh) opinion that you should
resolve to clean up your Lytec system. This should be done not by
just any computer guy, but by a qualified Lytec support representative
(such as S&A, or your local Validator reseller), who can help
you not only clean out those form files you do not use, but can also
help you customize a single form that can handle all of your insurance
companies special needs!
