Medical Practice Management Software
McKesson's PracticePoint Manager
Transaction Entry: Medical Accounting Software
Timely entry of charges and payments is crucial to the survival of your practice. That is why PracticePoint Manager medical accounting software features a transaction entry process that is comprehensive, yet easy to use. Charge entry, payment disbursals by line item, suspended payments, as well as debit and credit adjustments are just some of the everyday tasks that Transaction Entry handles effortlessly. And, more importantly, it guarantees that your practice will meet the challenges of today’s reimbursement and managed care requirements.
• Enter charges, payments and adjustments
• Group charges by episode of care
• Suspend payments and credits
• Enter insurance information for an episode
• Reverse incorrectly posted transactions
• Release suspended or held charge transactions
• Print statements, insurance and superbills on demand.
Transaction Entry Features
- Batching transactions
- Charge entry
- Import charges
- Payment entry
- Adjustment entry
- EOB Posting
- Releasing held transactions
- Reversing transaction
- Demand statements
- Demand insurance
Batching Transactions
A common practice in most medical groups is to batch transactions before entry into the computer. Batches group similar transactions together for ease of data entry and to help avoid missing transactions during the posting proce ss. The biggest benefit of creating batches is the ability to balance adding machine tape totals with the batch totals calculated by the system. Transactions may be grouped into batches to produce a total of charges, receipts, debits and credits for a given period of time. They can be further organized by provider, location, financial class, and so on. Your practice must decide which method best suits your needs, then prepare batches accordingly. Attach the Batch Trial Balance report to charge slips, encounter forms and other input after balancing the batch. In PracticePoint Manager, batches:
• are automatically assigned a unique number for identification purposes
• can be opened, closed, and reopened at any time
• are updated with current totals when transactions are saved
Charge Entry
PracticePoint Manager provides two ways of entering charges. The most common way is through on-line Charge Entry which validates charges and provides access to various codes in the data base. The other way is through a Charge Import process where charges are automatically posted into PracticePoint Manager, real-time. An error logging system allows you to review charge import errors at a later time. Charge Entry is used to post transactions for patient services. Grouping charges into batches makes entry and balancing of transactions much easier. For individual patients, charges may also be grouped by episode.
Import Charges
In addition to online Charge Entry, charges may be imported into PracticePoint Manager using a manual or automated import process. The manual import process requires a form (created in the forms generator) containing patient specific fields for posting a charge. With the automated real-time posting of charges, an error logging process allows you to disable errors that would normally require manual intervention, and review them at a later time. Charges are imported into PracticePoint Manager using Import Charges from the Registration menu. The following window displays.
Payment Entry
Payments are entered for a patient or responsible party through the Transaction Entry Payment option. They can be applied to specific line items or suspended for distribution at a later time. The system allows you to control when and how the payments are disbursed. If you start Transaction Entry from the Registration menu or toolbar, you must first choose a patient or responsible party. If you start from the Patient Registration window, the patient information will follow you.
Adjustment Entry
Adjustments can either increase or decrease the responsible party’s account balance. Overpayments and some posting errors can be corrected with a debit adjustment that increases the account balance. Write-offs or discounts, on the other hand, are posted as a credit adjustment, thereby reducing the account balance. Both debit and credit adjustments are entered on the Adjustment Entry window. Debit adjustments are posted to the patient, while credit adjustments are posted to specific line items, or to the patient as a suspended credit. Suspended credits can then be disbursed to the patient at your discretion.
EOB Posting
PracticePoint Manager EOB posting feature lets you keep track of EOB payments as they are posted by line item. When a carrier sends a lump-sum payment with a line item EOB, you can post that payment quickly while the system monitors what has been posted and what is remaining. An EOB status area on the Transaction Entry window displays the posting status as you go from patient to patient applying the payment.
Releasing Held Transactions
PracticePoint Manager has the ability to hold charge transactions in the system so they are not automatically billed when insurance is run. Charges may be held for a number of reasons—missing diagnosis, waiting for information, or patient hospitalization. Although the charge is being held, your Day Sheet will accurately reflect that the charge was posted. Transactions continue to age even while they are on hold. To start aging the transaction from the release date rather than the date of original posting, change the Age Date field in Patient History.
Reversing Transactions
Occasionally, a transaction is posted in error—to the wrong account, to the wrong provider, or for the wrong dollar amount. In PracticePoint Manager, you can remove this transaction from the system and repost it correctly, leaving an audit trail of what you have done. For optimum control and security, transaction reversals should be limited to supervisors or managers in your practice. Reversing transactions is accomplished on the Reverse Transactions window from within Transaction Entry. Transactions that can be reversed include,
• Charges that have not been billed to insurance
• Charges, line item payments and adjustments within the current period
• Charges with no payments or credits posted to them.
Demand Statements and Demand Insurance
A statement of the patient’s charges may be printed on demand at the time of visit. Charges appearing on the statement are within the range of dates specified at the time of request. An insurance claim may be printed on demand at the time of a patient visit. Charges printed on a demand claim will also appear on the next system-generated insurance claim, whether on paper or electronically. In Patient History, the Claim Generated flag remains N (not generated) when a demand claim is produced.
Request Information Kit