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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers about how we work, what we take on, and what an eClinicalWorks engagement involves. If your question is not here, call (321) 550-2564.
Working with us
What does Sparker Teknology LLC actually do?
Sparker Teknology LLC is an independent eClinicalWorks consultancy, trading as AdministratorECW. We fill the eCW system administrator role for medical practices and physician networks: security roles and user provisioning, item dictionary maintenance, progress note templates and order sets, custom eBO report writing, upgrade planning and regression testing, interface monitoring, staff training, and EHR data migration. We do the configuration work ourselves rather than advising your team on how to do it.
Are you affiliated with eClinicalWorks the company?
No. We are independent. We are not a reseller, not a value added partner, and we receive no commission from eClinicalWorks. That matters because our recommendations sometimes involve using less of the product rather than more of it.
Do you replace our eClinicalWorks support contract?
No, and you should keep it. eCW support handles the application, the platform and defects. We handle your build: how it is configured, who has access, whether your templates and reports reflect how you actually practice.
How do engagements start?
Almost always with a fixed fee assessment. We take read access to your build and review the item dictionary, templates, security roles, report library and interface logs. The deliverable is a written findings list, ranked by risk and cost. It is yours regardless of whether you continue with us.
What are the engagement models?
Three. A fixed fee assessment. A scoped project with defined start, finish and price. Or fractional administration, a flat monthly block of hours with a named senior administrator.
How is pricing structured?
Assessments are a fixed fee based on the size of the build. Projects are scoped and priced before work begins. Fractional administration is a flat monthly retainer for a set number of hours. We quote a number before you commit.
System administration
How much system access do you need?
Read access to start, so an assessment never requires giving change authority to a vendor you have not worked with. Configuration work requires administrator access to the modules in scope. Every production change is logged with the date, what it affected and how to reverse it.
Can you work alongside our internal IT team?
Yes, and it is common. Internal IT usually owns hardware, network, identity and endpoint management. We own the eClinicalWorks build.
Which eClinicalWorks versions do you support?
We work with current supported versions including V11 and V12, and we plan and test version upgrades between them.
Our item dictionary is a mess. Is that fixable without starting over?
Yes, and starting over is almost never the right answer because historical data depends on the existing items. The work is identifying duplicates, mapping them to a preferred item, retiring the rest from active selection while preserving history.
Reporting and data
Two departments run the same report and get different numbers. Why?
Usually one of three causes. A different date basis, for example service date versus posting date. A join that silently drops rows. Or duplicate structured items in the dictionary. All three are findable and fixable.
Can you fix a report we already have rather than rebuild it?
Yes. Send us the report and the number you expected to see. In most cases the report logic is close and the discrepancy is in the filter, the date field or the dictionary underneath it.
Do you handle quality measure reporting for MIPS, HEDIS or UDS?
Yes. The valuable part is tracing each measure back to the structured field that feeds it, so you know whether a low measure is a care gap or a documentation gap.
Migrations and training
How much legacy data can move into eClinicalWorks?
Structured data usually converts well: demographics, problems, medications, allergies, immunizations, encounters, and open balances. Free text notes and scanned documents are a retention decision more than a technical one.
We are acquiring a practice. How is that different?
You are merging two live patient populations onto one instance, which introduces duplicate patient resolution, two fee schedules, two template sets and two sets of staff habits. The data load is the straightforward half.
Is training remote or on site?
Remote for most role based sessions, which keeps them short and lets us record them for future hires. On site for go lives, acquisitions, and any engagement where we need to observe the real path a patient takes through your front desk.
Our staff has used eCW for years. Do they still need training?
They need the parts of your build they were never shown. Long tenured users are usually extremely efficient at the workflow they invented in their first year, and unaware of the three features that would replace it.
Get started
Let us make eClinicalWorks work better.
A 30 minute call, no charge. Bring the report that will not reconcile, the upgrade that stalled, or the migration nobody wants to own.