(Topic Last Updated On: 08/06/2015)
The Payment Information menu item on the Accounting menu launches the Payment Information screen, where miscellaneous Methasoft Version 5 (and previous version) Accounting and/or Billing legacy fields remain available to store data for each patient. The functionality of this screen has essentially been deprecated and replaced in Methasoft Version 6 by the functionality available on a combination of screens, including Payer/Rate Groups, Billable Services, Basic Dosing Charge Information, Billing Episodes, Additional Patient Information (Profile - More... button), and/or Billlable Service Overrides. Each patient's 'Primary Diagnosis Code' is now stored on the Additional Patient Information window instead of this screen in Version 6.5.3 or higher. ICD-9 and/or ICD-10 Diagnosis Codes for third party medical billing are stored on the Diagnosis Codes screen in Version 6 or higher. However, some fields, such as 'Payment Status' and 'Eligibility/AID Code', remain on this screen because no equivalent field was introduced in Methasoft Version 6 and/or for Reporting purposes. The 'Override Balance Locking' checkbox/section of this screen is used for overriding global Dosing lock-out settings defined in Methasoft Preferences (Accounting Preferences - General Setup) for an individual patient to accommodate specific patient circumstances, such as patient pregnancy.
Acceptable Payment Type
This field indicates the type or types of payment a patient is allowed to make. Selections available in this field are fully customizable for each facility in the 'Payment Types' code table. The value selected in this field appears in the 'Payment Type' label at the top of the Patient Payments screen when a patient is retrieved.
Payment Option
This field generally indicates whether or not a patient pays for their own treatment or relies on third-party contributions. Available selections are fully customizable for each facility in the 'Payment Option Types' code table. The selection made in this field is only useful for filtering a small subset of Accounting/Billing-related reports which provide a 'Payment Option' criteria filter.
Payer (Rate Group)
This field functions as a label and displays the Payer/Rate Group of the retrieved patient's currently Effective Billing Episode, as assigned to each patient on either the Basic Dosing Charge Information or Billing Episodes screen.
Payment Status
This field is a unique field used only by specific facilities that track a 'Payment Status' for each patient. Selections available in this field are fully customizable for each facility in the 'Payment Status Types' code table.
Eligibility/AID Code
This field is a unique alphanumeric text field used only by specific facilities that track an 'Eligibility/AID Code' for each patient.
Override Balance Locking
Checking this checkbox enables the 'Maximum Balance Patient can carry' and 'Lock Patient Balance when over Maximum Amount' fields, allowing the global preference-defined functionality which locks a patient out from Dosing when carrying a balance that exceeds the maximum balance amount allowed by a facility to be overridden for a specific patient.
Maximum Balance Patient can carry
This field is disabled unless the 'Override Balance Locking' checkbox is checked. By default, this field is auto-populated by the globally preference-defined amount set in Methasoft Preferences. If the 'Override Balance Locking' checkbox is checked and an amount is entered in this field, then Methasoft will only prevent the patient from Dosing if their Patient balance exceeds the amount entered in this field and the 'Lock Patient Balance when over Maximum Amount' checkbox is checked. If the 'Lock Patient Balance when over Maximum Amount' checkbox is not checked, then the amount entered in this field will dictate the threshold at which a Balance Overdue system flag will appear, informing users that a patient's Patient balance has exceeded the amount entered.
Lock Patient Balance when over Maximum Amount
This field is disabled unless the 'Override Balance Locking' checkbox is checked. By default, this field is auto-populated by the globally preference-defined setting set in Methasoft Preferences. If the 'Override Balance Locking' checkbox is checked and an amount is entered in the 'Maximum Balance Patient can carry' field, then Methasoft will prevent the patient from Dosing if their Patient balance exceeds the 'Maximum Balance Patient can carry' amount entered. If this checkbox is unchecked, then the amount entered in the 'Maximum Balance Patient can carry' field will dictate the threshold at which a Balance Overdue system flag will appear, informing users that a patient's Patient balance has exceeded the amount entered.
Reconcile Balance
Pressing this button opens the Reconcile Balances window displaying the retrieved patient's balance information for all Balance Types, allowing users to reconcile balances as needed. Generally this functionality is restricted to Administrative staff only via Methasoft Security Administration settings.
'Override Balance Locking' Functionality Overrides Both Preference Settings for the Retrieved Patient if the 'Override Balance Locking' Checkbox is Checked
It is important to understand that if the 'Override Balance Locking' checkbox is checked on Payment Information for a retrieved patient, that both the 'Maximum Balance Patient can carry' amount and the 'Lock Patient Balance when over Maximum Amount' setting will be used for the retrieved patient in lieu of the global preference-defined settings set in Methasoft Preferences (Accounting Preferences - General Setup). Thus if the 'Override Balance Locking' checkbox on this screen is checked, it is important for users to ensure both of these fields are addressed and set appropriately for the retrieved patient.
Payment Information Patient Charges Dosing
Payment Summary by Payment Method
Clinic tracks 3rd Party and/or Deposit Balances
Automatically insert default Payment Information on new patients
Default Payer when assigned automatically
Payment Type
Payment Option