What are some signs
of data corruption?
The most common sign of data corruption
are error messages when trying to work in any practice management
system. While some of these (error 84, error 85) are usually
harmless, and the error message alone is not usually an indicative
of corruption, the error messages that are likely signs of corruption
include error 2 and error 30.
What do
I do if I think I might have corruption?
You should obtain technical assistance
immediately. If you are fairly computer savvy, you may want to
make a copy (or 2) of your data files before doing ANYTHING else.
You do not want to continue to work on data that may be corrupt
as it could make the file worse. Whatever you do, DO
NOT REBUILD YOUR DATA FILES! While rebuilding data
files often will correct the problem, it does so by removing
a great deal of records permanently.
What
happens when I contact you about suspected data corruption?
The first thing that Stephens & Associates
will do is walk you through creating a manual copy of all of
the data files. Then we will discuss your symptoms and decide
if you might have corruption. Next Stephens & Associates
will help you determine the best way to get your data files to
us, whether that be next day mail, or over pcAnywhere, GotoMyPC,
FTP or VNC at that moment in time. Once we have your files, we
will get to work on them immediately so as to reduce your downtime.
Once the analysis and repair (if applicable) is finished, we
will give you back your finished files with a complete report
of our findings on each file we checked. Your files are then
guaranteed for 30 days!
Why does data
get corrupt?
There are many reasons for data to become
corrupt. Data becomes corrupt whenever there is a “save” being
performed on database files, and at that same moment in time,
there is another failure of some other critical component. The
most common cause of corruption, believe it or not, is power
related. If any machine on your network experiences a brownout,
blackout, or surge at the moment that information is getting
saved, there is a potential for corruption. The power that goes
into our computer, if untreated, is usually very unsteady, and
though we do not normally notice, we have several surges and
brownouts DAILY!!! Unfortunately, with any database program,
including practice management, EMR, financial programs, etc,
there is a much greater opportunity for these surges to occur
during the exact moment you are writing something to the disk
because saves occur very often. Unlike your standard word document,
which may get saved 2 – 3 times a day, you are saving,
and thus writing data to your hard drive thousands of times a
day!
What can I
do to avoid this happening again?
As we mentioned before, power is the number
one culprit. Keeping this in mind, a small investment of a UPS
(aka battery backup) on each of your computers is well worth
it. Your second most likely culprit is your network. Make sure
you are running quality category5 cable (the kind that looks
like a giant phone plug), and are NOT, under any circumstances,
using a wireless network. Are all of your cables in good shape
(no cuts or sharp bends in them)? Check the ends of the cables
to ensure that they are securely fastened into the computers
and that the other ends are securely fastened into a network
switch or router (hubs are not as good), and that the clips on
them work properly. Make sure you have the latest drivers on
all of your network cards, and that none of them were made by “Realtek”.
Finally, if you have a computer in your network which freezes
when in your practice management system, that is a sure cause
of the corruption. The friendly folks here at Stephens & Associates
will be more than happy to discuss your unique situation to help
determine any other possible causes.
In any case, if you believe you may have corruption, you should not work
in the practice, and should call for help immediately. Stephens & Associates
would be more than happy to discuss the problems you are experiencing and
get you back up and running in NO TIME!
