Adding A Patient

Patient Registration

Proper Patient Registration: When registering a new patient, there are several important areas that must be recorded. Proper patient registration ensures that:

• Insurance claims get created
• Filed properly
• Patient statements get sent on time and to the correct person
• Authorizations -referral numbers get recorded and sent properly
• Recall appointments help your practice keep track of patients thus aiding in the practice of good medicine.

Proper registration is the key to a well-run and efficient practice. It is the first and most important step in good practice management.

To Add a New Patient

Click on the Patient tab in the Main Screen

Do a Search to make sure the Patient is not already in your practice management database.

Make sure the Show Deleted and Show Guarantors radio buttons are on Yes

Type in the

Last Name

or comma then First Name

or the Patient's Social Security Number

Choose the type of search (Name, SSN etc)

Choose Search

This will bring up a list of Patients that match either closely or exactly

If you do not find the Patient you are looking for

Choose the Add button

This will bring up the Patient Add/Edit Screen

Page 1 - Demographics

Name/Address Information

Last Name	Required Field.
First Name	Required Field.
Prior Name/Alias	Used for Patient's maiden name or nickname. It is included in the last name search - if the patient is registered under a maiden name or nickname they will be found.
Title	Choose from the drop-down list
Suffix	If a patient has a Suffix it must be in the Suffix box not the Last Name box
Zip Code	Required Field. Enter the Zip Code for the address and the City and State will automatically be entered on the screen

Demographics Information

Date of Birth	Required Field. Enter the Patient's birth date without dashes or slashes into this format: 12121987(month, day, year. The program will add the proper slashes when it saves.
Deceased Date	The date listed here will appear on the Patient information page in large red letters to alert the staff as to the status of this Patient.
Social Security Number	Required Field for proper claims filing and payment assignment.
Gender	Male - Female - Organization. Use Organization if the Patient is not a Patient but a nursing home, worker's comp or attorney's office.

Contact Information

Home Phone	Required Field. Enter the Patient's Home Phone or primary phone number. If the Patient's primary number is the Cell Phone, enter it as the Home Phone. Enter with no dashes or slashes.
E-mail Address	Not a required field but useful - you can send the Patient an E-mail directly from this field.

Employment Information

Employment Status

Choosing either Full or Part-time will allow entry of the Patient's employer in the Employer field.

Page 2 - Billing Questions

Billing Information

Primary Location	Required Field indicating which location default will be used in both the claim creation and appointment scheduling screens.
Primary In-House Provider	Required field indicating which physician default will be used in both the claim creation and appointment scheduling screens.
Referring Provider	Choosing the referral source here is defaulted to the Referring Provider in the claim creation process. If the claim being created was the result of another referring provider it may be changed at the time of posting.
Check if Primary is also Referring Provider	By checking this box you are saying the referring provider is also the Patient's PCP
Primary Care Provider	If the box was not checked indicating the referring provider is also the PCP, choose the Patient's PCP here. Defaults the Primary Care Provider in the claim.
Statement Billing Code	Required Field. This field indicates whether or not a Patient will receive a statement if they ever have a Patient due balance. Select from the drop-down list. The default is Billing Code G - in which the person listed as the Patient's responsible party (Guarantor) will actually receive the statement. Billing codes are found in the Support Menu under the General Menu.
Financial Class	Optional Field to categorize Patient's into distinct financial or grouping classes. You can run a list of patients by Financial Class in the Patient Demographics Report Criteria screen. This is a list report only – it does not indicate any financial information.
Pay Terms	List any specific payment arrangements made with regards to any balance owed by this patient. This information appears only in the Patient Information Screen.

Other Information

Race	Choose from drop-down list
Ethnicity	Choose from drop-down list
Religion	Space to enter any additional information you would like
Other Race Information	Space to enter any additional information you would like
Emergency Contact Information	Contact Name, Contact Phone, Contact Relation
Chart Number	If you are using Chart Numbers from paper charts enter the number here. It will appear in the Other Patient Information section of the Patient Information screen. If you do not enter a chart Number no reference to Chart Number will appear in the Other Patient Information section.

HIPAA Information
This information comes from the Authorization Information section on the Face Sheet

Medical Records Release	Required Field. Checking this box prints "Signature on File" in block 12 of the HCFA form and enters the proper "Yes" designation in the ANSI 837 electronic claims format. NOTE: Leaving this box unchecked results in the claim not being paid.
Payment Release	Required Field. Checking this box prints "Signature on File" in block 13 of the HCFA form and enters the proper "Yes" designation in the ANSI electronic claims format. NOTE: Leaving this box unchecked results in the payment going to the Patient not the Provider.
Permission to leave a message on Patient's answering machine.	HIPAA required question to designate whether or not your practice may speak to a third party about this Patient's medical condition as well as the name of the person you are authorized to speak with and the relationship of that individual to the patient. Checking this box means the Patient has given permission.

Page 3 - Messaging

Messaging

Show Message on Patient Information Screen	Yes if you want the Message to show every time anyone accesses the Patient's account. No if you want a record of the Message but do not want it to show on the Patient Information screen.
Patient Message	Pop-up Message specific to this Patient. Shows up on the Patient Information Screen if the box is checked.
Statement Message	Enter a message to be printed on the Patient Statement for only this patient. This message will override the “current, 30, 60, or 90 day messages” which are automatically printed on statements with regards to the age of their Patient Balance.
Is person a Guarantor Only?	Most of the time the person will not be a Guarantor Only. You will leave this at No if they are a Patient. If they are just coming to pay the bill and are not a Patient then they are a Guarantor Only. Check Yes only if they are NOT a Patient. Checking this box signifies the person being entered is considered a "Guarantor Only" and will not be a Patient. The "Guarantor Only" Patient is colorized in Blue on the Patient Search list and may be hidden from the list by checking the box "Show Guarantors - NO" in the Patient Search page. A person who was added as "Guarantor Only" may become a Patient and may be changed by un-checking the "Guarantor Only" box in the Patient Demographics screen. NOTE: If a person was added as a "Guarantor Only" they may not have had the "Assignment of Release of Medical Records and Release of Payment authorizations checked. It is important to check these boxes if the Patient has signed the proper release forms.

Other

Deleted

Yes or No. If you have entered a Patient as a duplicate you may delete it here. No patient is ever erased from the system. Patients with ledger entries can not be deleted. You must first move all of the ledger transactions to the proper patient before a deletion can be made. If you do not see the delete option it means that either your user level is not high enough or that you do not have the option to delete.

Page 4 - Medical History
To use the optional Med Notes from the Patient Information Screen to give non-EHR doctors a form to write the review of symptoms on

Chief Complaint	Chief complaint to appear on the form here.
Allergies	Enter the allergies for the patient here.
Medications	Enter any medications the patient is currently on here

Choose Save to save the information you have created.

This will bring you back to the Patient Information screen

Completing the Patient Add Process

Choosing or adding the correct Responsible Party

The Responsible Party or “Guarantor” is the person to whom you will mail the bill if the patient has a patient-due balance and a statement is sent for payment. When the patient was added the “Responsible Party” was listed as “Self” meaning that the patient is the “Responsible Party” and will receive the bill. If the Responsible Party is someone other than the Patient choose the Edit button on Responsible Party.

The Guarantor/Policy Holder Search screen will come up.

This person may or may not be the same person as the “Policy Holder” for the patient’s insurance. Do not confuse the Responsible Party” with the “Policy Holder” as the “Policy Holder” will be chosen in the Insurance Policies section of the Patient Information Screen. Choose Relationship from the drop down box then enter the Responsible Party's (Guarantor's) Last Name – just a few letters will bring up a list to choose from. If they are there select them. If they are not, select Add New and proceed to complete the requested information.

Portrait:

Insert a Driver's License or photo of Patient here

Scan the front of the Driver's License. Save the image as a .jpeg and remember where you saved it. You can then browse for the file and place it here.