Rocket Science Consulting, Inc.

Many of our services require you to submit practice data for analysis and interpretation. While this can sound like a daunting process, it really is not. Read/print this page and show it to your software provider or local computer expert. If you don't have such an expert, we'll be happy to help you extract your practice data.

In order to evaluate your data, we need a file that contains all of the fields in your office software system. While not every field will actually be used, it is to your advantage to include all fields in order to minimize our response time and to expedite and simplify custom analyses. Because every office system maintains a database for the purpose of patient tracking, billing, and case review, every database therefore stores the information that we need. Once you’ve bought your computer system, you’ve already bought the hardware that you need to run a Rocket Science analysis.

Where do I get this file from?

Some office software systems can output text file by themselves. Many do not. If your system does not, don’t worry. The process of converting an office database into a text file is quite easy, technically. If you have in-house computer staff, they should be able to do it very quickly. If not, the service representatives from your computer provider will be able to do it in a few days, with low to no cost to you, depending on your service contract.

Are there any technical specifications that I need to be aware of?

Just a few. Perhaps the most stringent is the requirement that each record in the data set correspond to one procedure. Many systems have six fields in one record which correspond to the six available CPT lines on the HCFA 1500 form. Each record in the text file that you send should correspond to only one of those lines on the billing form.
The text file (.txt file) may be either fixed-width, or be delimited by any ASCII character. "Tab" is recommended; commas, periods, exclamation points, and spaces should not be used because of the strong possibility of those characters in the data itself. There is no size limitation on these files. Additionally, a list of preferred field names is available, but it may be easiest to use field names that already exist in your system. You should include a printout or readme file that lists the order of the fields, their present names, and what they represent.

How do we get our file to Rocket Science?

When you are ready to send the file to us, place it on the IBM-compatible medium of your choice. Perhaps the fastest and easiest way is to attach the file to an email message and send it to info@rocket-sci.com. Other easy media include ZIP or JAZ disks, Iomega Ditto-compatible tapes, Syquest tapes, and CD if you have an optical writer. Submitting on floppy diskettes is not recommended unless the file size does not exceed the capacity of a single disk.

What if my file does not meet these specifications?

If your file does not meet these specifications, we will still do our best to process your information, although our response time may be longer. If your data proves to be totally incompatible, we will return the disks to you and assist you in correcting the file structure.

This is patient data, will the confidentiality be protected?

Definately. Raw data is analyzed by computer, but is never printed, distributed, modified, or sold. The output of our analysis never specifies patient names, and can be customized to exclude physician and payor names in exchange for coded indexes.

I’ve never done anything like this before. Is there support available?

Support is available from both your software vendor and from Rocket Science. Your software vendor should not have any technical problems, but they may have questions about specifics of our file format. In the event that they do, call 1-888-ROCK-SCI, or email info@rocket-sci.com. The most convenient way in which Rocket Science handles your file-creation problem is by "Trial Load." Send us a small sample of data and we will test the compatibility of your data for you. This way, technical problems are identified and corrected early on.

As always, if you have any questions about this process, contact Rocket Science at any of the addresses on the main web page.