| Accuquest.sycle.net
Frequently Asked Questions
General Product
Questions
Reporting
Questions
Data Importation Questions
Registration/Administration Questions
Security Questions
General
Product Questions
What is accuquest.sycle.net and what does it do?
A. Accuquest.sycle.net is a web-based application that offers real-time
appointment management, patient management, patient retention,
direct mail management and patient database management. Accuquest.sycle.net
creates management and marketing reports specifically tailored
for managing an Audiological practice at the click of a mouse.
Accuquest.sycle.net tracks:
- Appointment history
- Direct mail history
- Hearing aid history
- Marketing referrals
Accuquest.sycle.net sends:
- Automated time-sensitive, customized, patient-by-patient
direct mail offers and reminders
Accuquest.sycle.net creates:
- Daily appointment confirmation call lists
and sales reports, referral reports, and management reports
Q. How does accuquest.sycle.net work?
A. Accuquest.sycle.net is a web-based application housed in a secure
IBM data center. Users simply login to accuquest.sycle.net via the Internet.
In the same way that you would log on to your favorite web
site, you can connect to accuquest.sycle.net and make appointments,
send direct mail, manage patient appointments and purchases
and view reports. If you have a web browser and an Internet
connection, you are ready to start using accuquest.sycle.net.
Q. Do I need to be connected
to the Internet to use accuquest.sycle.net?
A. Accuquest.sycle.net is a web-based application; therefore, you do
need to be connected to the Internet to use it.
Q. Do I need a dedicated
line to use accuquest.sycle.net?
A. Accuquest.sycle.net recommends that you have a dedicated line because
you will be online all day.
Q. What platforms do I
need to have in order to run accuquest.sycle.net?
A. Because accuquest.sycle.net hosts the application, all you need is
a computer that can run Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or
higher. It doesn't matter what type of hardware or operating
system you're running.
Q. How do I get upgrades
to accuquest.sycle.net?
A. Because accuquest.sycle.net is a web-based application, any time we add a new feature,
it will be available to you the next time you visit the web site. There is
no need to download any software or make system adjustments.
Q. What involvement is
required from my clinic’s IT department?
A. None. Accuquest.sycle.net applications are accessed through the Internet
via a web browser and require no modifications or upgrades
to your existing environment. All you need is Microsoft Internet
Explorer (version 5.0 or higher), and you are ready to use
accuquest.sycle.net. Because there is no hardware, software, or network
equipment to purchase, and the application is accessed through
a standard web browser, your IT department will not need to
implement or maintain the accuquest.sycle.net solution.
Q. Is any training required
to learn to use accuquest.sycle.net?
A. Accuquest.sycle.net is designed to be easy to learn and can be used
immediately. Our customers report that accuquest.sycle.net is extremely
intuitive and user friendly. If you know how to use the Web,
you will know how to use accuquest.sycle.net.
Q. Is training available
if I need it?
A. While training is not required, we offer free training
for you and your staff. The sessions run less than one hour
and cover typical usage by a user and administrator. We’ll
also send you a Quickstart Guide to refer to at any point
during the session. Trainings are held through the Internet,
conveniently allowing you to participate right from your office.
Q. What do I do if my Internet
connection goes down or my computer breaks?
A. If either your Internet connection goes down or your computer
breaks, you can call
888.881.SYCL (7925). If you have not already printed out your patient
schedule and outcome forms for that day, accuquest.sycle.net will fax
them to you. In the event of a computer replacement, you need
not install anything other than an Internet connection and
web browser on your new computer to log back on to accuquest.sycle.net.
We also keep a back-up of all your data.
Q: What is HIPAA?
A: HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability Act of 1996) is a regulation
designed to protect confidential healthcare information through
improved security standards and federal privacy legislation.
It defines requirements for storing patient information before,
during and after electronic transmission. It also identifies
compliance guidelines for critical business tasks such as
risk analysis, awareness training, audit trail, disaster recovery
plans and information access control and encryption.
The HIPAA regulation has three main components that apply
to “covered entities” (a covered entity is any
provider of healthcare services that charges the government
or insurance for their services):
1. Standard Transaction Code Sets
2. Patient Information Privacy
3. Patient Information Security (both electronic and physical
records)
Q: Is accuquest.sycle.net compliant
with HIPAA regulations
A: Accuquest.sycle.net was designed to be compliant with HIPAA regulations
as they pertain to the security of patient records and how
they are stored electronically. We have had our system tested
and have enabled the highest levels of security which, in
some cases surpass the government regulations for security.
Q: Are the other patient
management systems available in the marketplace HIPAA compliant?
A: Other patient management systems installed locally at your
clinic may not be compliant. The security measures needed
to comply with the electronic security of patient files would
be dependent on how your network is set up and the types of
security access given to your employees.
Q: Will
my practice be considered HIPAA compliant if I am using accuquest.sycle.net
for my patient management and retention system?
A: Yes, accuquest.sycle.net has taken care of the secure storage of
your patient records electronically. The security of the physical
files located in your office would need to be addressed at
the clinic level.
Q. What administration
features are included in accuquest.sycle.net that I will have control
over?
A. Accuquest.sycle.net is very easy to customize for your specific needs.
From appointment types and times, clinic hours and employee
information, to discount levels offered by your company and
security levels, accuquest.sycle.net makes it easy for you to customize
and manage your clinic.
Q. Can my clinic(s) configure
accuquest.sycle.net?
A. Yes, you can configure the following once you have been
set up and given your main owner password:
Appointment types including length
Discount types
Extended warranty types
Clinic hours
Clinic contact information
Employee passwords
Employee contact information
Employee hours
Q. How will my staff and
clinics see my data without me having to synchronize it?
A. No waiting or synchronization is necessary. Accuquest.sycle.net manages
one central database for your organization. Whenever a user
adds or edits a record, this information is automatically
captured in the centralized database and available for others
to see immediately (as long as the users have sharing privileges
to view such data).
Q. How do I remove an employee
from the system once they have left the company?
A. Login using your “owner” password; then simply
go to the administration page and delete the employee’s
name and password.
Reporting Questions
Q. What is a referral report?
A. The referral report details how many appointments and subsequently
how many
sales were made from each referral source. Referral sources
include the Yellow Pages, newspapers, physicians, TV, other
patients, direct mail, unknown and more. Every appointment
has a referral source attached to it.
Q. Do I need a report writer
to create and run reports?
A. Accuquest.sycle.net includes a number of pre-configured reports designed
to help you manage your business. Revenue, binaural rates,
close percentages and scheduling efficiency are just a few
of the reports that are available for you to view. These reports
can be pulled by clinic or provider, as well as date range
specified. Marketing reports are also available; these include
referral reports and clinic database reports.
Q. Can I get my report
information out of accuquest.sycle.net?
A. All reports can be exported to Microsoft Excel™ and
other desktop applications by selecting the "Export to
Excel" button in the display of every report.
Data Import Questions
Q. How do I import my existing
data into accuquest.sycle.net?
A. If your data is in an electronic format, accuquest.sycle.net can
import the data for you. If your data is in file or paper
format, you will need to import it manually using the patient
backfill area of the Administration section. You can, however,
start using accuquest.sycle.net immediately and add your existing patient
data over time.
Q. How will my data be
transferred to accuquest.sycle.net?
A. If your patient records are currently in an electronic
format, you can either email them or send them on a disk.
We will import them for you. If they are not, we suggest you
begin using accuquest.sycle.net and enter existing patient data over
time.
Q. How long does it take
to import my data and set up my clinic?
A. This depends on the data itself; getting set takes just
a few minutes.
Registration/Administration Questions
Q. How do I sign up for
accuquest.sycle.net?
A. Most users will sign up online, directly from the accuquest.sycle.net
web site. The process is completely safe and secure. If you
prefer, you can also sign up by phone. Sales and support representatives
are available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m to 5:00
p.m. Pacific Time at 888.881.SYCL (7925).
Q. How can I get access
to accuquest.sycle.net?
A. Because accuquest.sycle.net is web-based, there is no hardware or
software to buy, install or maintain. Just point your web
browser, Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 5.0 or higher),
to the login page and login.
Q. How quickly can my clinic(s)
be up and running?
A. With accuquest.sycle.net you can be up and running immediately. It
typically takes less than 24 hours to set up your login and
password. Importing existing data may take a little longer,
depending on the format.
Q. How much does Accuquest.sycle.net
cost?
A. Accuquest.sycle.net is billed on a monthly basis. The cost is $149.00
per month, plus the cost of any mail that you send using
accuquest.sycle.net.
Most other patient management software available today costs
between $3,500.00 and $5,500.00, in addition to a yearly upgrade
fee of $300.00 and $500.00. This does not include costs for
installing and maintaining software.
Q. Is there a start-up
fee involved?
A. For a limited time there is no start-up fee.
Q. How will I be billed
for the accuquest.sycle.net services?
A. Each month Accuquest.sycle.net will bill your credit card directly
for the service and any mail that you send. You will also
receive an itemized statement.
Q. What do I do if I no
longer want to use this service?
A. You can stop using accuquest.sycle.net at any time. We will return
your database to you with address corrected names, in any
format that you request (tab delimited, Excel or CSV). Chances
are, we will return your database in better condition than
we received it!
Security Questions
Q. How can I be sure my
data is secure?
A. Accuquest.sycle.net has partnered with IBM as our data storage and
hosting partner. Your data will reside in an IBM data center
in one of the most secure environments available today. IBM
uses and often is the developer of some of the most advanced
firewall technology in existence. The actual building is encased
in two-foot thick concrete walls and requires hand print recognition
for physical entry. The data center is directly attached to
the internet backbone to ensure a 99.9999% uptime; we also
have two diesel backup generators and days worth of fuel standing
by in case of a major power outage.
Q. Who monitors the data?
A. IBM technicians monitor the servers. They are less than
100 feet away from our servers and monitor them 24 hours a
day, seven days a week.
Q. How do the technitions
know if there is a problem?
A. They send a signal to our servers every five minutes. If
for any reason they do not get a response, they are alerted
and investigate immediately.
Q. How many servers do
you have?
A. We have two redundant servers. All data is duplicated on
both servers at all times. If for any reason one of them has
a problem, the other one takes over seamlessly and technicians
are alerted.
Q. How can I be assured
my data will be kept private?
A. Accuquest.sycle.net is committed to keeping your data private and
secure. To this end, accuquest.sycle.net has expressly stated how we
will handle your private data. For a greater understanding
of the legal obligations accuquest.sycle.net adheres to regarding data
privacy, please refer to the accuquest.sycle.net Privacy Policy as well
as the accuquest.sycle.net Terms of Use Agreement.
Q. Does accuquest.sycle.net ever
view or use my data?
A. No. As stated in the accuquest.sycle.net Privacy Policy, "Accuquest.sycle.net
will not review, share, distribute, print, or reference any
such Data except as provided in the accuquest.sycle.net Terms of Use,
or as may be required by law. Individual records may at times
be viewed or accessed only for the purpose of resolving a
problem, support issue, or suspected violation of the Terms
of Use, or as may be required by law. Please note that, customers
are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security
of their user registration and password."
Q. Can I house a backup
of my accuquest.sycle.net data at my own company?
A. You can receive a complete download of your company data
on accuquest.sycle.net by signing up for our Weekly Export Service.
Please contact your accuquest.sycle.net account manager for more information.
Direct Mail Questions
Q. Can I still create my
own direct mail pieces and use my own direct mail house?
A. Yes, you can create your own direct mail pieces and use
accuquest.sycle.net to mail them. You can also quickly and easily download
your database, create your own direct mail pieces and use
your own mail house to mail them.
Q. How will I know when
direct mail pieces are being sent?
A. There is an area on accuquest.sycle.net that displays a list of all
mail that is queued to be sent. You can locate this information
by clicking the “Marketing” tab, then the “Pending
Mail” report.
Q. What is the price per
piece charge for the automated mailings? Direct mailings?
A. Most items range from $0.45 to $0.65 per item plus postage,
depending on whether you choose color or black and white.
Q. How does this cost compare
to the cost of paying an administrative assistant or mail
house to handle automated and direct mailings?
A. We estimate that if you pay an administrative assistant
an annual salary of $25,000 and you have templates for all
your letters, it would take approximately eight minutes to
open the file, change the name and address, print it on company
letterhead, stuff, stamp and mail at a cost of approximately
$2.30 to $2.50 per letter. This takes into consideration:
employee time, equipment, letterhead, envelopes and stamps.
Q. Will I be able to customize
and add to the automated letters?
A. Yes, when you subscribe to accuquest.sycle.net we will let you review
the letters that have been provided and make any necessary
changes. In addition, if you have mailers that you like to
send at certain specified times, we can set them up to mail
when you want, to whomever you’d like.
Q. Can I turn the direct
mail items off and choose not to send them?
A. Yes, you can turn them on and off both globally (from the
Marketing page) or individually for each patient.
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