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FAQs

I'm getting an error message when I try to export data.

Make sure you "left click" on the "Export" link when you get your report results. This will create the export file, which you then download to your computer by clicking on the "Download" link that replaces the Export link when the export is ready. If you right click on "Export" link, you will get an error message.

When I export data to Excel, all of the data is in a single field instead of in columns.

Follow these steps for future exports:

1. Instead of "left-clicking" on the DOWNLOAD link, RIGHT-CLICK instead.
2. When presented with options after right-clicking, select SAVE TARGET AS
3. Save the file on your computer and then open it with Excel. Column formatting should be in place.

I can't find the city I'm looking for in the list of cities on the report selection criteria.

NetMinder uses standard Census Bureau and Post Office city, county and MSA designations are based on the zip code for each practitioner/location. If a city is not in the list, it is because the city is not an "official" post office city. If you search by county and subtotal by city and zip, you'll see the city associated with the zip you're interested in.

Where can I get a definition for each of the specialty codes/abbreviations?

Run the report you want. When you get the results of the report you're running, click on the orange "?" on the left side of the page right above the report results. When you click on it a list of specialty codes and definitions will appear.

When I run a Network Summary report, The "Practitioner Count" is almost always less than the actual sum of all the practitioner specialties. Why is this?

If a practitioner has more than one specialty, such as Cardiology and Internal Medicine, he will be counted once for each specialty in the Network Summary report. However, when the total for all specialties is calculated, he will only be counted once. When you run the Network Detail report, you will see this practitioner only once with a code for each specialty.

How are specialty codes handled if there is more than one specialty for a particular provider?

As a general rule, we only take the first specialty listed on each provider record for each network. If there is a string of specialties in the same record, we take only the first one. If there is a second provider record in the same network with a different specialty (i.e. the only difference between record 1 and record 2 is the specialty), we will add a second specialty code to the first provider record. If there is a matching provider record in another network (i.e. the only difference between record 1 and record 2 is the specialty), we will add a second specialty code and a second network code to the first provider record.

It is important to keep in mind that the entire data acquisition process if based off of directory listings. Each listing is a separate record. From each listing we determine if it matches another listing whether in the same or another network. If it does, we combine the records and add codes for each specialty and each network.

When I run a Network Overlap report, I find records that are identified as "unique" to my competitor, yet I also find them in my network as well.

The common explanation for this is that these records are in your network at a different address. It's important to note that NetMinder considers each physician at each location as a separate record. So if Dr. Jones practices at two locations, and you contract with him at one location, and your competitor contracts with him at both locations, he will show up as "unique" to your competitor at the second location. The good news here is that it should be easy to contract with these additional locations and quickly expand your network.

Another common explanation for this is that these providers were added to your network after we received your current provider file. Check the effective date for these providers.

How are providers (practitioners) and locations counted in NetMinder?

There are three ways to view the data in NetMinder. Practitioners shows each provider at each location he or she practices at; Unique Practitioners shows each provider once, regardless of the number of locations they have; Locations shows each location once, regardless of the number of providers at each location.

The totals records on the Network Detail report are higher than the totals I get on the Network Summary or Network Overlap report.

This has to do with the Open/Closed status of a particular practitioner. If the practitioner is "open" (accepting new patients) in one network and "closed" (not accepting new patients) in another network, on the Network Detail report there will be two records for this practitioner - one "open" and one "closed". Both records will show as "in" for each network they participate with. This "extra record" is why the count is higher for the Network Detail report. To get the true status for each practitioner for each network, you'll have to run the Network Detail report separately for each network. This is a known issue with NetMinder that we are working on fixing.

Why do the unique practitioner counts in the summary reports get bigger when I add geographic subtotals (e.g. county, city, zip) to the report?

NetMinder calculates unique practitioners at the state level. For example, if there are 3 Dr. Larry Jones in PA, one in Bucks County, one in Montgomery County and one in Merion County, there is an extremely high probability that they are the same provider, so we count them as one unique practitioner at the state level in the summary reports. However, when you add [county] subtotals to a summary report, we count the practitioner one time in each county. If NetMinder did not do calculate it this way, we would have to make an arbitrary decision regarding which of the 3 counties to count Dr. Larry Jones in. We would be short-changing some counties of their unique practitioners. Therefore, each time you add a subtotal to a summary report, the total unique practitioners will increase. The "uniquest" calculation is at the state level.

I am running a Network Summary report by city.

Is there any way I can select ALL cities in a state at once instead of having to select (check) each city one by one?

To select ALL cities in a state, in Step 4, select by STATE, then group by CITY. This will give you all cities in the state.

I'm having trouble logging in.

Passwords are case sensitive. Check to see if your caps lock key is on.

I'm having trouble changing my password.

Password must have at least 6 characters. Numbers or letters are fine.

I'm getting an error message that says I'm already logged in.

This happens when you close your Internet Explorer browser before logging out, and then try to log in again. When you close the browser without logging out, you're actually still logged in to the system. Wait 10 minutes and the system will automatically log you out. Then log in again.