Adding a New Provider to Partner

The Physician's Computer Company


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2007/10/15 21:24:28

PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS: To print out copies of this document, browse to Adding a New Provider to Partner to download a PDF formatted version. Then select the "File" menu and choose the "Print" option. If you have trouble opening and printing the PDF, please contact PCC support at or (800) 722-1082.

You can add a new provider to Partner's tables in just a few seconds. But what about scheduling and insurance claim configuration? Will Partner reports work properly for the new provider? When adding a new provider, use the procedure below to ensure that all Partner functions will work correctly.

Contact PCC Support with any questions about any of the steps below. (1-800-722-1082, support@pcc.com)

  1. Add the Provider Group First

    Run the Table Editor (ted) and open table #19, the Provider Groups table. Clone an existing group and give it the name of your new provider and a memorable short name. The "Order" field in each entry determines in which order this provider group will appear on some reports.

    Why Add a Group? Provider groups are used for reporting purposes. In most situations, you should create a new group for each new provider. Your office may have special reporting considerations for nurse practitioners, medical assistants, and other providers. You can set up individual groups or a single, "Nurse" group depending on your needs.

  2. Add the Provider

    From the main menu in ted, select table #8, the Providers table. Clone an existing provider and fill out information for your new provider.

    • The "provider group" field should match the group you created above, or another existing group.

    • Be sure and select a unique "Initial" for your provider. If you have more than 26 providers, you can use upper and lower case letters. Ask PCC to turn on this feature.

    • Many of the fields are not required as they are only used for particular types of electronic submissions. The required fields include "Tax ID#", "Taxonomy Code", and "NPI #". For more information, read Provider Identifiers and Alternate Providers.

    • The taxonomy code for a pediatrician is 208000000X.

  3. Set Visit Lengths

    If you use Partner's scheduling system, you should now open ted table #7, the Reasons for a Visit table. Review each of the visit reasons your office uses and enter a "Visit Length" in minutes for your new provider.

  4. Optional: Add Abbreviations

    You may want to add an entry or entries to ted table #1, the Abbreviations table. You could create a few two or three letter abbreviations for your new provider to make your staff's job easier.

  5. Add Hours for Your Provider

    Run the profile program to set up the provider's standard work hours. If you are not familiar with profile, you should call PCC for help or read the Scheduling Configuration manual. If your office uses many different profiles, remember to add the provider's hours for each one.

    Tip

    If you do not schedule appointments with your new provider, you can skip steps 5-7. Continue below at step 8.

  6. Run scrod

    Now that Partner knows the default hours for your new provider, you should assign which days (and which set of hours) the provider will work. Run scrod and fill out the calendar. You can learn more about scrod by reading the Scheduling Configuration manual.

  7. Configure and Place Blocks

    Does your office use blocks to hold times for various visit reasons or "catch-up" time? You will need to edit your block files and then run blocks for your new provider. If you need help with blocks, feel free to call PCC support. You can also learn more about blocks by reading, Sick Call Blocking.

  8. Set Insurance ID#s or Supervising Provider Information

    Run the Provider IDs (provids) program, select a claim configuration, page down to find your new provider, and enter provider ID numbers. Repeat this action for each claim configuration.

    Optional? If your office only uses the National Provider Identifier (NPI), you can skip this step. If you have carrier-specific legacy identifers, however, you must run provids. In provids you can also assign an alternate claim provider for insurances with whom a new provider is not yet certified.

    For a complete guide to the provids program, read Provider Identifiers and Alternate Providers.

    TipSupervising Provider Charges
     

    As an alternative to provids, Partner's charge posting program checkout will allow you to assign a supervising or "billing" provider when you post a charge. You can also change the billing provider in the Correct Mistakes (oops) program after a charge has been posted.

  9. Notify PCC Support and ECS Departments

    Finally, you must notify PCC. Until you notify PCC's ECS department about a new provider, the provider's claims can not be sent electronically. Additionally, if you schedule using groups (such as "male" for male providers) or use the Day View in sam, PCC Software Support will need to add your new provider to those groups.