Keeping It Simple With Client Balance Only Statements

Simple is usually the most effective way to communicate anything.  With ShrinkRapt’s client balance only statements, you can easily communicate to your patient exactly what they need to pay.  This statement shows no insurance information, but if they only have a co-pay, they probably don’t care.

In this blog post we will discuss:

1. How to setup a patient record so they receive the client balance only statement.
2. How to enter and modify the patient/responsible party amount in a visit record.
3. And finally how to recognize in the patient list which people are using the client balance only statement in the patient list.

When To Use Client Balance Only Statement

You may want to use client balance only statements when you accept insurance and want to send a statement to the patient that reflects only the portion of the visit fee they are responsible to pay. If your practice does not accept insurance — is self pay only — this type of statement does not apply to you.

Setting Up The Patient Record

To use the client balance only statement, there are a few things you must setup in the patient record.

1. On the Billing page of the Patient record (and responsible party if they are different), choose Client Balance Only in the statement area.
2. On the same page, enter the amount the patient needs to pay in the responsible party insured column.

Entering A Visit and Responsible Party Amount

When you add a visit, the amounts entered on the patient Billing page will automatically be added.  You can/will modify this value as needed once you have received the insurance EOB.  As an example, if you find the patient needed to pay the full fee for the first visit, would modify the visit record and change the Resp Amt to $180 as shown in the example below.

Payments Made By Patient

When you add a payment, it will automatically be set as a Client payment.  If you entered a default payment amount on the Billing page of the patient record, the amount will also automatically be entered.

Viewing Balances On The Patient List

Balances on the patient list will be displayed in bold and/or plain text .  When a patient has been setup for client balance only statements, their balance will appear in bold.  If they are self pay, the balance will show in plain text.

Tip  –  To see the total due for all patients, including amounts not yet paid by the insurance company, hold down the alt/option key on the keyboard and click at the top of the list (on the 12 as shown in the graphic above).  The balances will change to reflect unpaid insurance claims.

Viewing Patient Transactions

To view patient fees, payments and adjustments, click on a name in the list and click the All Trans button.  Click the Adjust button or Payments button to see the list of patient payments or adjustments.  The Visits list will always display the full fee amount.

Tip  –  To view the full fee and include insurance transactions in the list, hold down the alt/option key on the keyboard and click on the All Trans button.  To switch back to client only transactions, stop holding the alt/option key and click the All Trans button.

If you would like additional information about using Client Balance Only Statements, please email sales@sanersoftware.com.