CORTRAK^® was developed in 1991 to assist in the management of Release of Information. Many features are incorporated into the software to ease data entry and retrieval. There are full featured components for Invoicing, Accounting of Disclosures, Document Capture, Frequent Requestor tracking and comprehensive reporting. A very robust Alerting system prevents the accidental release of patient information. Activity is tracked by user and extensive security controls are build into the software. Features can be tailored to the facility including changing of the screen field names.

The letter of authorization and the documents to be released may be scanned or imported and attached to the request.

The email system allows for immediate notification of the receipt of the request. Email may be sent using the integrated system or the desktop email client.

Reports may be searched and exported in Excel format, HTML (web page format), image (TIF, GIF, JPEG,PNG, Bitmap), Open Office, Rich Text Format (RTF), Word, XPS or PDF. PDF's may be encrypted with password, modify, print and copy protection.

All data may be stored in a encrypted, password protected volume.

Release Management System (Release of Information)

CORTRAK^® has been designed to be very flexible. You are not limited to the number of categories of requesters (i.e. commercial insurance, workmen's compensation, PRO/QIO, Legal, Subpoenas, etc.), or the statuses of requests (open, pending proper authorization, incomplete record, record signed out, closed, etc.) or the descriptions for copy contents or for invoicing messages.

The system offers a Letter component wherein you can write your own letters. A standard letter is structured in the system to serve as a cover letter for rejected requests. You may modify this standard letter as well. There is no limit to the number of letters you can develop.

CORTRAK^® has an extensive Management Reporting component including requests by category of requester (PRO/QIO, Legal, Workmen's Compensation, etc.), open requests sorted by date, requests opened and/or closed by employee (for employee productivity monitoring), and requests by date (for monthly or periodic statistical reporting), pull list, out guides and many more.

The invoicing component provides the option of batch invoicing at the end of a shift to reduce interruptions on your printer. The invoicing component tracks the amount billed, the description of materials sent and the date payments were received. You are not limited to the number or types of invoicing messages you may include in the invoice message area (i.e."Records will not be sent until payment in full has been received", etc.). All information entered upon receipt of the request is carried over to the invoice module without requiring re-keying.

User Defined Features

• User defined Type of Request - i.e. Attorney, Patient, PRO/QIO, etc
• User defined Status of a Request - i. e. Open, pending proper authorization, incomplete record, record signed out, closed, etc.
• User defined Letters for each type of request or create general letters.
• User defined Purpose for the request.
• User defined charge rates for each type of request.
• Use a standard window envelope with a fold line to ensure proper folding.
• Automatic charge calculation with user override.
• Invoice number generated by system or manually entered.
• User defined miscellaneous charges per request type.
• Two calculated charges per request type, e.g. paper and microfilm and five miscellaneous charges
• Percentage charge of gross billing, with a maximum, for postage/handling charges.
• Taxable request using a tax rate from the facility, frequent requestor, the request type, zip code or manually entered.
• Record of the time a request was opened and closed.
• Patient Master Index with statistics for number of request, date and status of last request all viewable from the request component.
• User defined Invoice with logo (optional).

Security and Authorization   ^top

HIPAA legislation is intended to safeguard the confidentiality of patient information and every healthcare system must have effective systems and procedures in place to uphold these important regulations. CORTRAK^® has incorporated the HIPAA requirements as they have been defined and the system infrastructure is designed to readily adapt to any new or changed regulatory requirements.

Security features built into CORTRAK^®

• HIPAA Disclosure report - Who requested information on a given patient and what information was requested.
• User Activity Tracking - Tracks what functions the user is using.
• Audit Trail - A record of all fields that have been changed and who changed them.
• Access to the system requires a logon with password.
• Password Expiration - The system administrator determines the time period before a new password is required.
• Password Restrictions - Password length and usage.
• The password and user information is encrypted.
• Prior to access to any PHI, a configurable warning (e.g. "This system should only be accessed by authorized users") is displayed on the login screen.
• Password Policy Enforcement (e.g. Password must contain at least a character, a numeric and a special character)
• Enforce a configurable limit of consecutive invalid password attempts by a user and protect against further, possibly malicious, user authentication attempts by placing a lock on the account until released by an administrator.
• Restricted menus by user or group. The administrator can designate what menu items are available to a user or a group.
• Restricted functions by user or group. i.e. Only authorized users can add new requests, or print invoices etc.
• Restricted fields by user or group. i.e. Only authorized users can view the patient medical record number, or the billed amount or perhaps some users can view the field but not change the data. The fields for view/change options are set by an administrator.
• Inactivity Timeout - If the user has walked away from the computer, after a administrator determined time period, the user will be logged off.
• Administrators set Authorization by user to:
  • Open a request only
  • Open and Close a request only
  • Open, Close, Invoice and make Payments
  • Make Payments only
  • Close Requests and Post payments
  • Invoice Only

Search and Retrieval   ^top

Extensive searching and lookup features are incorporated into the software. From using spreadsheet like grids with quick access searches to writing your own search conditions, patient information is easily obtained.

Finding Information

• By entering full or partial:
• Account number
• Name
• Request ID
• Invoice Number
• Individual making the request
• Repeat Requestor, with automatic fill of address
• Master Patient Index
• Grid Lists (spread sheet style)
• User defined search conditions
• User defined filters

Invoicing   ^top

Invoices may be printed at the time they are created or put into a batch queue for printing at the end of a shift to reduce interruptions on your printer. The invoicing component tracks the amount billed, the description of materials sent and the date payments were received. You are not limited to the number or types of invoicing messages you may include in the invoice message area (i.e."Records will not be sent until payment in full has been received", etc.). All information entered upon receipt of the request is carried over to the invoice module without requiring re-keying.

Invoicing Component

• User defined charge rates for each type of request
• Use a standard window envelope with a fold line to ensure proper folding
• Automatic charge calculation with user override
• Invoice number generated by system or manually entered
• Miscellaneous charges per request type.
• Automatic calculation of charges, per request type, based on page count for paper and microfilm charges.
• Percentage charge of gross billing, with a maximum, for postage/handling charges
• Taxable request
• User defined invoice

Reports   ^top

CORTRAK^® has a suite of reports that provide summary and/or detailed information on the requests and provides management with the information to manage the correspondence.

Report Component

• Pull lists
• HIPAA Disclosure
• Out guides (printed on 3x5 or 3.5x5 cards or 8.5 x 11 paper, multiple copies)
• Employee Productivity (Opened, Completed and Billed)
• Pending requests
• Closed requests
• Quality Assurance (Turn around times)
• Paid and Unpaid Invoices
• Aged receivables
• Request Incomplete Aging (aging by days, you set the interval)
• Payment Register
• Medicare reports (MSP)
• Summary or Detail formatted reports
• Select Abbreviated or Full options on report details
• View the report on the screen with scrolling
• Ability to print/view a request from within the request screen
• Data selection by a single date or range of dates
• Labels for pre-bills, invoices, and non-billable
• Sorting and data grouping options
• Data selection options

Repeat Requestors   ^top

Companies that make frequent requests are maintained in a separate database allowing ease of data entry and control of payments.

Repeat Requestor Component

• Track by month-to-date, year-to-date and inception-to-date:
  • Pages
  • Charges
  • Payments
• Statements
• Receivables

Tracking   ^top

CORTRAK^® allows you to track the correspondence from the time of receipt to completion.

Tracking Features

• Requests by requestor
• Requests by patient
• User Activity
• Field Change

System Requirements   ^top

Minimum Requirements:

• Windows 8 Pro, Windows 10 Pro (Touch Screen is not supported)
• 1 gigahertz (GHz) processor
• 2 gigabyte (GB)  memory
• 100MB on local drive
• 50 MB on network drive (before users add requests)
• 1024 X 768 Monitor resolution