7.3.7 Service Pack Release Notes 07-14-09

• Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) is now supported for use with NetPracticePM. After installing (IE8) run the Configure Internet Explorer function from the NetPracticePM launch page on every workstation running IE8.

• Workstation Setup Steps for IE Version 8.x (Help Index, Introduction, System Processes) - A new Workstation Setup Steps for IE Version 8.x section has been added to help, which fully outlines the manual steps required to set up a workstation using Internet Explorer 8 (IE8). You should use the Configure Internet Explorer function from the NetPracticePM Launch Page first. If you still encounter any issues with the functioning of NetPracticePM on IE8, you can double-check the manual setup steps in this Help section.

• Move/Re-Build Transmission File (Billing, Insurance Billing Functions, Electronic Claims) - It was possible for an error to occur if an electronic claim was filed to the tertiary carrier, but there was no primary and/or secondary insurance in effect for the date of service. This has been corrected and now the claim will be moved to the exception report with the new 'Primary or secondary carrier not in effect or changed for this date of service' exception message.
  
• Print Exception Report (Billing, Insurance Billing Functions, Electronic Claims) - An exception for 'Carrier does not have an effective primary' has been added. This exception occurs on DMERC electronic claims only, when the Medicare carrier is secondary on the patients account, but there is not an effective primary insurance carrier on the patients account.
  
• Print Insurance Forms (Billing, Insurance Billing Functions) - Separate claims will now generate if there is more than one referral source attached to the claim. This affects both paper and electronic claims.
  
• Print Transmission History Summary (Billing, Insurance Billing Functions, Electronic Claims, Printing Options) - This report now includes a Grand Total for the number of claims and claim amounts.
  

• Insurance Filing Report (Collections, Insurance Collections) - ***New Functionality*** - You can now access this report from the Insurance Collections menu. This is the same report that exists in Reports, Insurance Related Reports and in Billing, Insurance Billing Functions.
  
• Populate Collection Roster (Collections, Insurance Collections) - When you populated the collection roster, it was possible for worked transactions with future Follow-Up dates to be marked as Unworked. This has been corrected.
  
• Print Insurance Forms (Collections, Insurance Collections) - ***New Functionality*** - The Print Insurance Forms and Reprint Insurance Forms functions are now accessible from the Insurance Collections menu. These are the same functions that exist in Billing, Insurance Billing Functions.
  
• Third Party Turn Over Report (Collections, Patient Collections, Turn Over Functions) - This report has been enhanced when printing to Microsoft Excel via MyReports. Unnecessary fields have been removed and sorts moved into individual columns to allow easier manipulation of the data.
  
• Work Accounts (Collections, Insurance Collections) -
  • The Pend action has been enhanced to function as it does in Payment Entry. (The transaction is pended, tagged with a 'P' for Pend, and included in the Insurance Pend Reports until you take further action on the claim.) Previously, when a transaction was pended here, only a follow-up date was stored.
    
  • A new Follow Up Action has been added, which stores a follow-up date and marks the transaction as worked.
    
  • It was possible for a letter printed from this function to not populate the selected Case related data elements. This has been corrected.
    
  • The Alerts will now display when you select a patient that has DMS Alerts that have been selected to display in the Collections function.
    
  • It was possible for the Action Date and Balance columns to not sort correctly. This has been corrected.
• Work Accounts (Collections, Patient Collections) - The Save button has been removed from the Work Accounts summary screen. You can now just click Cancel to exit the summary screen. Any changes made from the patient's Work Accounts detailed screen are saved from there and reflect on the summary screen. If you click Change Status in the Action Column, those changes also save to the summary screen.
  

• Expected Payment Report (Managed Care, Management Reports) - ***New Functionality*** - This report has been enhanced as follows:
  • A Procedure Code field has been added so you can print the report for a specific procedure code or leave the field blank to include all procedure codes.
  • An Include Unpaid Items field and an Include Personal Payments field have been added. For detailed information on how these fields affect this report, see Help under Managed Care, Management Reports, Expected Payment Report.
• Print Outstanding Referrals by Referral Source and Requesting Dr (Managed Care, Referral Tracking Menu) - It was possible for only one of the referrals to print if you had entered more than one referral for the same Referred to doctor for the same Refer Date. This has been corrected.
  

• Image Management - (Patient, Change Patient Data) ***eDOCS Users Only*** - It was possible for Image Management to not include all eDOCS documents. This has been corrected.
  
• DMS (Patient, Review Patient Information) - This function has been enhanced so you can review the details of all of the DMS records on a patient's account instead of just the summary screen.
  
• History (Patient, Review Patient Information) -
  • ***New Functionality*** - If you hover over the procedure code, the appropriate equivalent code displays (if one is entered in the Procedure Code Table).
    
  • It was possible for the statement icon to not display next to the 'Statement Sent' transaction if multiple statement files were created on the same date. This has been corrected.
    
  • You can post a claim note (to print in HCFA Box 19 and its equivalent for electronic claims), by typing NOTE19 in the Proc field. Type the note in the Description field and make sure there is a 0.00 charge in the Chg Amt field. You must first create a NOTE19 procedure code in the Procedure Code Table.
• Patient Name and Address Information (Patient, Review Patient Information)
  • ***New Functionality*** - An Ethnicity field has been added. You can currently select 0 - Patient Declined or Unavailable, 1 - Non-Hispanic, or 7 - Hispanic. This field is currently used for UDS reporting for Community Health Centers.
    
  • ***New Functionality*** - A Referral Type field has been added so you can select a specific type of referral. The selection list includes the referral source codes that have been marked as a Referral Type. For more information, see the Tables section of these release notes under Maintain Referral Source Codes.
    
  • It was possible for the County code stored on the account to not display. This has been corrected.
• Patient Summary Screen (Patient, Review Patient Information) - A Col Balance field has been added to reflect the Total Balance of the account in the Collections Database. This balance updates in real time as charges, payments or adjustments are posted to the account in the Collections Database.
  
• Maintain Patient Recalls (Patient, Patient Recall Menu) - ***New Functionality*** - An Additional Comments field has been added. Any text entered in this field will also print on the Patient Recall Listing.
  
• Print Recall Cards/Letters (Patient, Patient Recall Menu) - You can now choose to print either DMS Letter Recalls or Recall Cards. If a recall has a DMS letter attached to it, the letter will print; otherwise a recall card will print.
  

• Add or Change a Letter (Reports, Data Management System, DMS Letter Processor) ***New Functionality*** -
  • A new CLAIM data element has been added to the Special Elements list under Claim Information. When used on the DMS letters marked as insurance collection letters, all of the details of the selected transactions print on the letter. Note that the CLAIM data element cannot have any other text or elements on the same line before or after it. It must be on a line by itself.
    
  • A PolicySpecCoPay data element has been added so you can choose to include the information stored in the Spec Co-Pay field on the patient's Insurance Policy Information screen.
    
  • A PatientEthnicity data element has been added so you can include information from the new Patient Ethnicity field on the Patient Name and Address Information screen.
    
  • Data Elements have been added to the Recalls Elements folder so you can choose to include the varied information stored on a recall.
• Aged Accounts Receivable for Insurance (Reports, Insurance Related Reports) - ***New Functionality*** - An Insurance Class field has been added so you can run these reports based on the Insurance Class Code stored in the Insurance Carrier Table.
  
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• Aged Accounts Receivable for Insurance (Reports, Insurance Related Reports) - A Fee Schedule Totals field has been added so you can track the amounts your office will likely receive based on the fee schedules, rather than what is actually owing. If there is any activity on the transaction or if there is not a fee schedule attached to the transaction, the A/R defaults to what is left owing on the transaction.
  
• DMS Letter Processor (Reports, Data Management System) - If you are using Plain Text, this function has been enhanced to include the option to select if a letter is an Insurance Collection letter. Use the CLAIM data element to pull the claim information into the letter.
  
• Deny/Pend/Refile Statistical Report (Reports, Insurance Related Reports, Insurance Statistical Reports) - ***New Functionality*** - You can now print this report in Excel format by selecting the Microsoft Excel via My Reports option from the Printers dialog box.
  

• Appointment Entry Statistics (Schedule, Scheduling Printing Menu) - ***New Functionality*** - This report has has been enhanced to include the options to sort by Schedule Doctor and User.
  
• Cancellation Report (Schedule, Scheduling Printing Menu) - ***New Functionality*** -
  • You can now print this report in Excel format by selecting the Microsoft Excel via MyReports option from the Printers dialog box.
    
  • You can now sort this report by the new Delete/Reschedule codes. Also, the Number of Copies check box has been removed. For more information, see the Delete/Reschedule Table and the Delete/Reschedule Reason Code entries in this section of these release notes.
    
  • A Ticket column has been added to include the superbill number attached to the deleted appointment.
• Delete/Reschedule Table (Schedule, Scheduling Table Maintenance) - ***New Functionality*** - This table has been added so you can add reason codes, specific to your practice, for cancelled and deleted appointments. This will also aid in reporting capabilities. For more information, see the Delete/Reschedule Reason Codes and Cancellation Report entries in this section of these release notes.
  
• Enter Patient Appointments - ***New Functionality*** -
  • Multiple users can now simultaneously access patient appointments in the same time slot for all functions except rescheduling and deleting an appointment. For example, users can be checking-in one patient and completing the E-Superbill on another patient at the same time. Previously the entire time slot was locked if one user was accessing an appointment in that time slot. Now only the individual patient's appointment is locked.
    
  • A Col Bal field has been added to reflect the Total Balance of the account in the Collections Database. This balance updates in real time as charges, payments or adjustments are posted to the account in the Collections Database. The balance displays in red font.
    
  • The Case drop-down list box no longer lists cases that have been terminated.
    
  • When you click the PLUS SIGN (+) next to the patient's name on the schedule, the third User Defined Comment field displays, if you selected it in the Appointment Display Integration. For more information, see the System section of these release notes.
    
  • When you delete or reschedule an appointment you must now type a delete/reschedule reason code or select the code from the Delete/Reschedule Table. This will improve reporting capabilities. For more information, see the Delete/Reschedule Table and Cancellation Report entries in this section of these release notes.
    
  • When you quick-register a patient, the Date of First Visit and the Insurance Effective Date will default to the current date. If an appointment is scheduled, the Date of First Visit will change to the last appointment made for that patient during the quick-register process.
    
  • The date associated with patient on the Wait List is now the date the patient entered the Wait List, not the appointment date. Also, if the appointment date is further out than 30 days, it will not automatically be deleted from the Wait List until the appointment date has passed.
    
  • It was possible for the selected days to not be highlighted on the calendars in the upper-right corner of the screen. This has been corrected.
    
  • ***Family or Linking Systems Only*** - The Family Review function has been added to the Action Column. It remains disabled until a patient is selected. After a patient or appointment is selected, click Family Review to view all of the patients on the account. You cannot access another family member's account from this Review Family Grouping screen. To access other family members' accounts from the schedule, click the selected patient's demographic information to enter that patient's account and then click Family Review to access the Review Family Grouping screen where you can access other family members' accounts. When you cancel out of the other patient's account, the screen refreshes to the appointment details of the original patient.
    
  • Wait List (Schedule, Enter Patient Appointments) - ***New Functionality*** - A Reason column has been added to the summary screen to indicate how the patient got onto the Wait List, and functions as follows:
    • If you manually add a patient, the text from the first Comment line displays.
    • If you block a doctor's schedule, the text from the Comment line displays.
    • If you replace a schedule with a template, 'Replaced Template' displays.
    • If you delete a doctor's schedule, 'Deleted Doctor Schedule' displays. When you Print the Wait List, this additional information prints to the right of the patient's phone number.
• Patient Check In/Out - ***New Functionality*** - ***NetVerify Subscribers Only*** - Verify Eligibility and Eligibility History functionalities have been added to the Action Column.
  
• Print Appointment Schedule to Excel (Schedule, Scheduling Printing Menu) - This function includes printing any comment entered in the User Defined Comment 3 field on the patient's appointment detail screen in Enter Patient Appointments. For more information see the System section of these release notes.
  
• Superbill Inquiry - ***New Functionality*** - If you cancel out of an E-Superbill, the superbill number is now tracked, and a message, 'This superbill was CANCELED BY (USER) ON (DATE)' displays. This canceled superbill will not be on the Missing Superbill Report since it was never attached to the appointment. Also, if you delete an appointment that had a superbill number attached to it, a message displays with the details of the deleted appointment.
  

• Appointment Display Integration (System, Database Maintenance Menu) - A Show User Defined 3 field has been added so you can choose to include the text entered in this field in the patient's appointment detail screen when you click the PLUS SIGN (+) next to the patient's name on the appointment schedule.
  
• E-mail Integration (System, Database Maintenance Menu) - The .. SMTP Username field has been expanded to allow 30 characters and the Default E-Mail Address field has been expanded to allow 60 characters.
  
• User Database Restriction (System, User Management) - ***New Functionality*** - You can now set which databases a specific user is restricted to using. For more information see Help, System, User Management, User Database Restriction.
  

• Maintain Doctor Codes (Tables, Doctor Code Table) - ***New Functionality*** - An E-mail address field has been added.
  
• Maintain Procedure Codes (Tables, Procedure Code Table) - ***New Functionality*** - ***Community Health Centers Only - The Nominal Fee/Cost & field has been separated into two fields. Nominal Fee - You can enter a flat fee for the procedure code, which overrides the value stored in the Nominal Fee field in the Type of Service Table. Cost & - You can enter any cost associated with this procedure code.
  
• Maintain Referral Source Codes (Tables, Referral Source Table) - ***New Functionality*** - A Practice Physician field has been added so you can differentiate the physicians in your practice from outside referring physicians. NetReports users can run reports that pull only outside referrals.
  
• Maintain Referral Source Codes (Tables, Referral Source Table) - ***New Functionality*** - A Referral Type field has been added so you can designate a referral source code as a referral type, which you can then select in the Patient Name and Address Information screen.
  
• Print the Fee Schedules (Tables, Fee Schedule Table) - ***New Functionality*** - A Facility or Non Facility option field has been added.
  

• Edit a Transaction - The Filing Delay field has been changed to Claim Hold. For more information, see the Procedure Entry Function entry in this section of these release notes.
  
• Payment Entry Function - ***New Functionality*** - The Batch Number, Batch Total amount and Batch Posted amount now displays as read-only text. Previously this information displayed within text boxes.
  
• Pre-Treatment - ***New Functionality*** - With this function you can enter and store the details of an upcoming procedure so you can calculate the amount due in full or as a deposit from the patient and then have these details available for posting after the procedure takes place. For complete information, see the Pre-Treatment Help section under Transactions, Pre-Treatment.
  
• Procedure Entry Function -
  • ***New Functionality*** - The Filing Delay field has been changed to Claim Hold. When you type a date in this field to hold the claim from filing, the transaction immediately moves to the insurance balance and is marked with the new 'H' insurance flag so you can easily see when reviewing the Transaction History which transactions/claims have a hold on them. Any held charges still appear in the Insurance Balance portion of the patient statement, but the charges are not marked as billed to the insurance. Held transactions do not enter the insurance collections process. Any transactions that have been held appear on the Insurance Never Filed report. The transactions will be included in the Create Insurance File function when the claim hold date is reached.
    
  • ***New Functionality*** - When you click More in the Action Column to add more charges, you can now continue to use the same superbill number from the previous entry.
    
  • ***New Functionality*** - A duplicate charge warning now displays if you are posting a charge that duplicates one already stored in Unposted Procedures.
    
  • The Chg Amt field has been expanded to allow nine digits. The decimal point and two zeros (.00) are automatically added to the end of the number.
• Unposted Procedures - ***New Functionality*** - When you click New Patients in the Action Column to access the Un-registered Patients screen, a patient will now display only one time even if multiple messages are received on that patient, as long as the First Name, Last Name, Birth Date and Social Security Number match on each message. If these fields do not match, a separate entry is created.
  

• Equivalent Codes (Help Index, Introduction, System Processes) - A new Equivalent Codes section has been added to help to fully explain the setup and process of entering and billing equivalent codes. Also, in every place that equivalent codes can be entered, Help instructs you to view the Equivalent Code help section.

• Selecting Multiple Items in a Multiple Selection Box
  The Corporate Reports and the Block/Unblock function in Doctor Schedule Maintenance contain the option to choose multiple items. Shortcuts that may be helpful are:
  1. To Select All Items, click the first item in the list, scroll to the end of the list, press and hold the SHIFT key and click the last item in the list. Or, click the first item in the list and press SHIFT + DOWN ARROW.
     
  2. To Select a Range of Items, click the first item in the range you want, scroll to the last item in the range and press and hold the SHIFT key and click the last item in the range.
     
  3. To Select Multiple Non-Adjacent Items, click the first item in the range you want and press and hold the CTRL key and click the items you want to include.
  For additional information, see the Introduction, System Conventions, Data Input Options and Working with Data help sections.

• History (Patient, Change Patient Data) - The Post NOTE Action does not tie the note directly to the charge. It is entered as a claim note that prints in Box 19 on the HCFA (and its electronic equivalent). If you need to tie a note to a specific charge after the initial charges have been entered and saved, you must reverse and re-post the charges or enter negative charges and re-post the charges.
  
• History (Patient, Review Patient Information) - Insurance Flag and Assignment Indicator Review
  On the patient's Transaction History screen, the 'I' column contains a code (flag) for the insurance filing status and a code for the accept assignment indicator. If you hover over the codes, their description displays.
  
  • Insurance Status Codes:
    • B = Balance Transfer - This charge has been transferred from the Insurance Balance to the Patient Balance with the Transfer Insurance Balances function.
      
    • C = Collection Status - If you use Patient Collections, this indicates the transaction is in the collection process.
      
    • D = Denied - This procedure has been denied by one of the patient's insurance carriers. The insurance ledger indicates the carrier and the denial reason.
      
    • E = Electronically Filed - This procedure has been filed to the patient's insurance carrier electronically.
      
    • F = Filed - This procedure has been filed to the patient's primary insurance carrier.
      
    • H = Held - This procedure has been held from being billed to the insurance company with a Claim Hold date entered in the Procedure Entry Function.
      
    • P = Pended - The insurance carrier has responded in some form, but has not yet paid nor denied the claim.
      
    • * = Refiled - This procedure has been refiled to one of the patient's insurance carriers. The insurance ledger indicates which carrier.
    • S = Secondary Filed - This procedure has been filed to the patient's secondary insurance carrier.
      
    • T = Tertiary Filed - This procedure has been filed to the patient's tertiary insurance carrier.
      
    • V = Void - This transaction has been voided.
  • Assignment Status:
    • Y = Yes - Assignment was accepted on this procedure.
      
    • N = No - Assignment was not accepted on this procedure.

• The Last Visit field in the patient demographic section at the top of the screen displays the date of service posted with any procedure code beginning with 99 that is not tied to a case. When you first select that patient, until you select a case on an appointment, it displays the last non-case Last Visit date. When you select an appointment and tie a case to that appointment, the Last Visit field updates with the date of the last 99- procedure for that case.

• Print Payment Exceptions (Transactions, Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA)) - You can only print the ERA payment exceptions for an ERA up until the point that you import and post another ERA. Each subsequent ERA that you post overwrites the payment exceptions from the last ERA. If there are no exceptions on the newly-posted ERA, then the No exceptions created message displays.