Patient and Family Accounts in PCC Explained

Your PCC system keeps track of families and patients. Your practice’s database stores information about every patient, with a patient chart for each one. PCC also stores a database of accounts, or “families.” An account may be either a “Home” account for the patient or a “Billing” account. These are sometimes called the custodian and guarantor accounts.

Three siblings may all have one family account serving as both home and billing account. The whole family may be listed under a single parent’s name and address. Alternatively, a patient may have one family account assigned as the Home account and a different account assigned for Billing.

It may be helpful to think of your PCC system as holding two giant lists: a list of patients and a list of accounts. Patients are linked-up to one or more family accounts, and they can be moved around to different accounts when families change shape. You schedule an appointment for a patient, you chart a visit for a patient, but you mail a bill to the billing account for that patient, and you might send a Flu Clinic flyer to the Home account of that patient.

In the image below, a list of accounts is on the left-hand side, and a list of patients is on the right-hand side. You can see how PCC family accounts and patients can be linked together to handle different kinds of families.

As shown above, some patients live with one account but have their bills sent to another family. Tracy Jones lives with her mother Judy, but Jack Jones pays Tracy’s medical bills. Junior Jones also lives with Judy, but he is responsible for his own bills and is therefore his own Billing account. Your practice can handle all of these situations with ease using PCC.

Multiple Names in EHR Accounts: PCC recommends your practice avoid using two names in an account, such as “Jack & Jill Smith” and instead select a single person as a home and/or billing account. Additional parents or guardians, that are neither home nor billing account, should be added as Personal Contacts and given their own Patient Portal account linked to the patient.

Here are some related articles in Front Desk > Edit Patient and Family Information:

Merge Duplicate Patients and Accounts
If your office has created duplicate patients or family accounts, you may need to merge them. Merging two patients combines data and saves a single set of basic demographic information. Merging two accounts combines the account billing and charge data so that it appears all of it occurred under one account.
Add New Patients and Accounts
Before you can schedule a patient, you need to create the patient and their family accounts on your PCC system. This article will guide you through a basic procedure for adding a new patient and a family account: try to find the patient, add the patient, and then add the family (if they are new to your practice).
Review and Update Patient and Family Demographics
Use the Demographics section of a patient's chart to review and edit patient and family demographics, such as patient information, contact information, insurance policies, and siblings.
Find Patients and Accounts
Learn special techniques for searching for patient and account records.
Review and Update Patient Insurance Policies
Use the "Policies" component to add, update, and work with a patient's insurance policies and medicaid plans in PCC EHR.
Review and Update Patient and Family Demographics
Learn how to update patient and family information in PCC EHR.
Record Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in a Patient’s Chart
Use PCC’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity components to securely record information in a patient’s chart. When a patient decides their gender identity is public, your practice can optionally display a patient’s pronoun and preferred name in the Appointment Book and elsewhere in PCC EHR.
Record Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in a Patient’s Chart
Use PCC’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity components to securely record information in a patient’s chart. When a patient decides their gender identity is public, your practice can optionally display a patient’s pronoun and preferred name in the Appointment Book and elsewhere in PCC EHR.
Help Families Resubscribe to Broadcast Emails and Opt In to Text Messages From Your Practice
When a patient or their caregiver indicates that they did not receive your latest text (SMS) message or broadcast email, you can easily determine if it is because they have opted out of communication from your practice.
Enter and Review Account Notes
You may wish to record details about an account or billing situation with a family. Read below to learn about Account Notes in PCC.
Enter and Review Account Notes
Learn how to enter and review account notes in PCC EHR.

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