6. Patient Check-In
6.1. Introduction: Front Desk Workflow
The checkin program checks in patients. During checkin, you can update account and patient information, update insurance information, review outstanding balances, check eligibility, and post a copay payment. Because checkin has links to many essential Partner programs, it can be a great starting point for any staff member who deals with patients and accounts.
6.2. Quickstart: Easy Steps to Check In a Patient
What is your office's procedure for checking in patients? Do you review their address, check their insurance information, and ask them for their copay? Whatever your procedure, checkin has tools to help you. The procedure below covers all the screens in checkin: Demographics, Insurance, and Balance and Copay. In the sections below the sample procedure, you can learn about even more functions and tools in checkin.
Sample Patient Check-In Procedure
Run checkin
You can run checkin from your Partner windows.
You can also type checkin at a command prompt.
Select or Find a Patient
When you run checkin, you must select the patient you wish to check in. Use the arrow keys to pick from a list of patients who are scheduled to visit that day:
Press [F1 -- Checkin Patient] to check in the selected patient. To learn more about the patient selection screen in Partner, read Appointment Lists.
If the patient is not scheduled to visit, you can press [F2 -- Find Patient] to use a "magic word" or search by other means:
Or, after pressing Enter:
Would you like to learn more about finding patients, including how to find patients by chart number, birthday, or address? Read Finding Patients and Accounts.
Confirm Demographic Information
Next, confirm the patient's basic demographic information. Are the name and address entered correctly? Are bills being sent to the proper account? On the Demographics screen, you can quickly review and update this essential information.
The function keys at the bottom of the screen allow you to jump to other Partner programs. Read the section on Demographics for more information about tools on this screen.
Once you have finished checking and updating the patient's basic information, press [F1 -- Check Inscos] to continue.
Confirm Insurance Information
On the Insurance screen, you can confirm or update the patient's policy information. The Insurance screen shows you information about every insurance policy associated with the patient.
You can arrow up and down to review each of the insurance policies, and you can use the function keys at the bottom to edit, insert, move, delete, or expire any policy. See the Insurance section below for more information.
Once you have checked the patient's insurance card and confirmed it matches the screen, press [F1 -- Check Balance] to continue.
Check Copay, Outstanding Balance, and Insurance Eligibility
On the Balance and Copay screen, you can review the appointment's expected copay, an aging summary for outstanding balances, and any available insurance eligibility information for the patient.
Optional: Press [F6 -- TOS Payments] and Post Copay
If you collect copay payments during checkin, press F6 to visit the Personal Payment screen.
Enter the payment type, payment amount, and optionally a check number or provider.
Press [F1 -- Save Payment] to save your payment and continue, or press F12 to cancel and not enter a payment.
Press [F1 -- Finish Checkin]
If you need to review any previous checkin steps, or you want to go back to a previous screen, just press Page Up. You can also press F12 at any time during checkin to quit.
Press [F1 -- Finish Checkin] from the Balance and Copay screen to finish checking in the patient. checkin will update the appointment's status to "Checked In," and you can select the next patient in line.
Now that you know how to check in a patient in Partner, read the sections below to learn about other tools and functions you can perform during checkin.
6.3. Step 1: Demographics
The first screen in checkin shows demographic information and allows you to jump into other basic Partner programs. This screen is a great benefit to anyone using Partner, especially if they are at the front desk, answer phones, or need to use several different Partner programs with a patient at once.
6.3.1. Reading the Demographics Screen
The Demographics screen shows the patient's name, age, primary care provider, sex, and status line as well as four customizable patient fields. The screen also includes the status line, address, and phone information for any family account(s) associated with the patient.
Status Lines: Status lines contain status flags that you can assign to patients or accounts. In the example above, Pebbles Flinstone has the status of "Medicaid" and "Needs Extra Time," and his guarantor (Fred Flinstone) has the status of "Budget." To see the list of statuses on your system, enter an asterisk (*) in any Status field. PCC can teach you how to create new status flags that will help your office identify certain patients or accounts.
Use the Enter and Backspace keys to move among the fields and make changes. Press End to erase the text after the cursor. In some fields, you can use an asterisk (*) to get a list of possible choices.
For example, if you learned that Pebbles Flinstone is really the patient of Dr. Crusher, you could press Enter until your cursor was in the Physician field, press End to erase Dr. McCoy's name, and then enter a "C" for Crusher.
Get an Updated Encounter Form: After changing important information about a patient, press [F7 -- Reprint Enc Form] so the encounter form for the visit has the most up-to-date information. You may want to confirm insurance information on step two of checkin first.
One or Two Families? If your patient has only one family serving as both the guarantor and custodian, you will see only one family listed on this page. If the patient has one account as a custodian but a different account as a guarantor, you will see both accounts at the bottom of the screen. A two-account patient would look like this:
6.3.2. Function Keys on the Demographics Screen
From this screen, you can jump into the patient or family editors (notjane, fame), assign the patient a new guarantor or custodian, or reprint the encounter form. You can also run many basic Partner programs, including scheduling, charge posting, and billing programs. Whatever task you jump into, you can always return to this screen by pressing F12. Read the function key descriptions below to learn more.
- [F1 -- Next Step]
Press F1 (or Page Down) to continue the check-in process and move to the Insurance step. Any demographic changes will be saved. See below for more information about the Insurance page.
- [F2 -- Edit Patient]
Press F2 to run the Patient Editor (notjane) for the patient shown. From notjane you can view and edit immunization information, run reports on the patient's diagnosis and procedure history, and perform other patient related functions.
- [F3 -- Edit Account]
Press F3 to run the Family Editor (fame) for the guarantor or custodian of the patient. If the patient has two different accounts as custodian and guarantor, Partner will ask you which account you wish to edit.
In fame you can review and revise complete account information, run various reports on the billing history, and perform other account-specific actions.
- [F4 -- Reassign Account]
Press F4 to change the child's custodian or guarantor account. You will see the following:
After making your selection, Partner will ask you to find the new custodian or billing account. If the account is not in your system yet, you can add it immediately.
- [F5 -- CUSTOMIZABLE]
The F5 key can be set to any tool or function in Partner. For example, if your office uses the Phone Encounter Note (pen) program, PCC can change F5 so that it runs pen for the current patient.
- [F6 -- Make Appt]
Press F6 to run sam, the Partner scheduler. If your office does not use sam, or you need a function key for generating instant encounter forms, PCC can configure F6 to run encount instead.
- [F7 -- Reprint Enc Form]
Press F7 to print an encounter form for the appointment. Encounter forms are generally printed a day or more in advance of a visit, but if you have changed the patient's name or other important information, you may want to reprint the encounter form.
- [F8 -- Billing FKey Set]
Press F8 to change the function keys on the screen to billing-related programs. checkin is a great program for a biller who needs to hop among programs such as oops, pip, and checkout while still viewing important demographic information.
The new function keys that will appear look like this:
- [F1 -- Next Step]
Press F1 to save any changes and move to the Insurance page.
- [F2 -- Correct Mistakes]
Press F2 to run the oops program, where you can modify previously posted charges and fix mistakes.
- [F3 -- Post Charges]
Press F3 to run the checkout program and post charges.
- [F4 -- Post Ins Payments]
Press F4 to run the pip program and post insurance payments or adjustments.
- [F5 -- Post Reg Payments]
Press F5 to run the pam program and post personal payments or adjustments.
- [F6 -- Form Letters]
Press F6 to open the form letter screen for patients. You can generate an excuse letter or another patient form.
- [F7 -- Refund]
Press F7 to run the refund program and post refunds or adjustments.
- [F8 -- Checkin FKey Set]
Press F8 to switch the function keys back to the standard set for this screen.
- [Page Down] and [Page Up]
Press Page Down to continue to the Insurance screen. Press Page Up to go backward to the Balance and Copay screen. All changes on this page will be saved. If you do not wish to save changes, you should press F12.
6.4. Step 2: Insurance
The Insurance page shows you a list of all insurance policies associated with the patient. You can review a patient's active and expired policies. You can edit, add, move, delete, or expire any policy.
 | Insurance Policy Manual |
|---|---|
For a complete manual on the insurance policy pages in Partner, read Managing Insurance Policies. A brief description of the page and how to use it is below. |
6.4.1. Reading the Insurance Screen
The second page of checkin looks like this:
At the top of the screen is a list of all insurance policies for this patient. The list shows the copay, company name, and certificate and group numbers. Complete details about the selected policy are shown at the bottom of the screen.
Use the arrow keys to select a policy on the screen. Once you have selected a policy, full details appear at the bottom of the screen. You can then use the function keys to make changes to the selected policy or insert a new policy above it.
If a family has a long history of changing policies, you can use [F2 -- Scroll Backward] and [F3 -- Scroll Forward] to view the rest of the policies. If you use Larger Partner Windows, you will be able to see more policies at once.
6.4.2. Function Keys on the Insurance Screen
From this screen you can edit, add, move, delete, or expire insurance policies on the patient's guarantor account.
- [F1 -- Next Step]
Press F1 to save any changes and move on to the Balance and Copay page.
- [F2 -- Scroll Backward] and [F3 -- Scroll Forward]
Press F2 and F3 to move up and down through a large list of insurance policies. Normally you can use the arrow keys to move among the listed policies, but if the account has more old policies than will fit on the screen, you can use F2 and F3 to scroll through the list.
- [F4 -- Edit Policy]
Press F4 to edit the currently selected insurance policy. The bottom section of the screen will shift to show you fields for editing the policy.
- [F5 -- Insert Policy]
Press F5 and follow the prompts on the screen to insert a new insurance policy. While adding a policy, you will see options for copying a recently edited policy from a family member and for inserting the new policy to all family members.
- [F6 -- Move Policy]
Press F6 to move the currently selected policy up or down within the list of policies. Expired policies will still auto-sort below active policies, but you can control which active policy is primary or secondary.
- [F7 -- Delete Policy]
If you created a new policy by mistake, you can press F7 to delete it. You will be shown a confirmation screen to make certain you really wish to erase the plan from the account's records.
- [F8 -- Expire Policy]
Press F8 to expire the selected policy. The screen will switch to allow editing, and the cursor will move to the "End" date field. After expiring a policy, the screen will offer to expire the same policy for patients who share a guarantor with the current patient.
- [Page Down] and [Page Up]
Press Page Down to continue to the Balance and Copay screen. Press Page Up to go backward to the Demographics screen. All changes on this page will be saved. If you do not wish to save changes, you should press F12.
| Insurance Policy Manual |
|---|---|
As stated above, for a complete manual on the insurance policy pages in Partner, read Managing Insurance Policies, especially if the above summary does not answer your questions. |
6.5. Step 3: Balance and Copay
The Balance and Copay screen shows the expected copay, an aging summary of outstanding balances, and any available eligibility information for the patient. Function keys provide access to additional information and a tool for posting a copay payment.
6.5.1. Reading the Balance and Copay Screen
The third step of checkin looks like this:
The guarantor account name and PCC number appear at the top of the screen. The guarantor for the account is usually a parent, but could also be an organization or the patient themself. The account shown is responsible for the patient's bills; if you need to change the Guarantor account, press Page Down to return to the first page of checkin (Demographics) and press [F4 -- Reassign Account]. See the Demographics section above for more information.
In the main viewing window of the Balance and Copay screen, Partner shows:
Copay Information: This is the expected copay for the patient's primary insurance policy. It may be a new insurance policy, or it may expire tomorrow, but the amount is the patient's current copay. Some insurance companies have special copay rules for sick and well visits; the copay listed is the default copay for the patient's primary insurance plan.
Aging Balance Totals: Underneath the copay is a brief aging balance summary for the account. You can see outstanding balance amounts that are Personal (to the account holder), pending one or more insurance companies, or pending your default Medicaid company. The balances are aged into 30-day categories. Amounts are aged by payor responsibility, which means that old balances that just recently became personal will be under the 0-29 day column in the Personal line.
Eligibility Information: Partner automatically checks the eligibility for some insurance companies for patients with upcoming appointments. If an eligibility report is available, it will be shown underneath the aged balances. For more information, read Partner Eligibility.
6.5.2. Function Keys on the Balance and Copay Screen
- [F1 -- Finish Checkin]
Press [F1] to complete the patient check in. Partner will set the patient's visit status to "Checked In" and inform any EHR or EMR that the patient has arrived.
- [F2 -- Scroll Backward] and [F3 -- Scroll Forward]
Press F2 and F3 to move up and down within the display window. If the window includes extensive eligibility information, you may need F2 and F3 to review the full report.
- [F4 -- Show Detail]
Press F4 to run the Collection Report (coll) and review a summary of the family's outstanding balances. For more information, read the Collection Report manual.
- [F5 -- CUSTOMIZABLE]
If your staff frequently needs to run a specific program or report when they are finished checking in a patient, you can add a function key for that program on this screen. The F5 key is customizable and can be configured through the "Patient Check In" section of the Configuration Editor (ced). Call PCC support at 1-800-722-1082 for assistance.
- [F6 -- TOS Payments]
Press F6 to visit the Personal Payment screen and post a time-of-service payment. See the section below for more information.
- [F8 -- Print]
Press F8 to print the contents of the display window, consisting of the copay, aging balance chart, and eligibility information.
6.5.3. The Personal Payment Screen
Use the Personal Payment screen in checkin to post a copay or other payment received during checkin.
Posting a Personal Payment at Checkin
Open the Personal Payment Screen
Press [F6 -- TOS Payments] from the Checkin Appointment List or from the third page of the checkin program to open the Personal Payment screen:
Review Visit Information
The guarantor for the current patient is shown at the top of the screen, along with details about each patient visiting. You may see one patient or several siblings.
The Copay and Insurance columns indicate the expected copay for the visit. If several patients with the same account have appointments, you will see multiple patients and the total copay amount. Confirm this information with the patient or guardian visiting the practice.
Old Personal Balance: The screen also displays the account's personal balance. While the screen is designed for easily posting a copay, you may also post a payment towards the old personal balance. To research the outstanding charges, press [F4 -- Balance Details] to run the Collection Report.
Enter Date, Payment/Adjustment Type, Amount, Check #, and Provider
Enter payment details in the appropriate fields. Use Enter and Backspace to move among the fields.
Optional: Press [F3 -- New TOS Pmt]
Press F3 to add an additional payment. If the payment consists of two or more checks or cash payments, use F3 to add new lines.
If you need to remove a line, use the arrow keys to select it and press [F5 -- Delete TOS Pmt].
Press [F1 -- Save Payment]
Press F1 to save the payment. If your practice prints receipts, one will be generated immediately.
6.6. Conclusion
The checkin program is the perfect tool for the front office. In checkin, you can quickly confirm and verify essential information, make needed changes, and post a copay. The checkin program also tells your EHR and other Partner programs that the patient has arrived.
Visit learn.pcc.com to watch a training video on checkin, checkout, and many other basic Partner programs. Contact PCC Software Support at 1-800-722-1082 with any questions.