Fee Management

The Fee Management function allows you to manipulate a variety of fee aspects. This includes:

1. Setting a default fee level
2. Adding a new fee level
3. Adding a new fee schedule
4. Bulk updating a fee schedule
5. Updating individual treatment codes
6. Setting an appropriate Item Mode

Concept

In Core Practice, fee levels are governed by the health fund input into the patient's profile. Some businesses/locations are known as preferred providers, where they have agreements with certain health funds in regards to the maximum chargeable amount for their members. In order to eliminate incorrectly charging health funds, we have simplified the process. The fee level changes based on the health fund and location/provider; the staff members only have to add the health fund to the patient's profile and Core Practice will choose the correct fee level.

Go to Location and select Fees Management from the dropdown menu. Commence each of the following procedures by starting from this point.

Setting a default fee level

1. Click on three dots and then click Set as default.
   

Adding a new fee level

1. Click on Create a new fee level.
   
   
   
2. Complete the relevant fields and select Save changes.
   
   All item "prices" will be blank and you can now allocate an amount to each one. At this point you can also change each item "Mode" and whether it is a "No Gap" item (if applicable). These changes need to be executed individually.
   
   
   
3. Alternatively, you can use the amounts from an existing level/schedule to fill your new fee level. Select the fee level that you wish to update. Go to More and then click Copy Fees.
   
   
   
4. Select the Source Fee Level and the Source Fee Schedule and click Copy.
   

Adding a new fee schedule

Health funds sometimes change their agreed chargeable amounts. The fee schedule is referring to the period in which the fees in each fee level are valid. Sometimes fee levels change, and a new schedule needs to be created to suit the updated fees.

1. Click on Create a new fee schedule.
   
   
   
   
2. Set the "From" date and click Create.
   
   The old fee schedule will now be "Archived", and you can scroll through all created schedules by clicking on Older or Newer.

Bulk updating a fee schedule

In a preferred provider scenario, you may be required to update the maximum chargeable amounts for a few items or the entire schedule. In this case you would need to update your fee schedules in order to prevent issues with overcharging the health fund. Presumably, you would have a separate fee level in such a scenario. It might be useful to add a new fee schedule first. Then, if the amounts have changed by a uniform amount (i.e. a percentage) you can make this process much more efficient by performing a bulk update.

1. Click on your desired fee level.
   The current fee schedule will appear and you can scroll through the list of items or search for the specific items which need to be changed. You can now update them manually.
   
   
   
2. Click on your desired fee level, click More and then Update Fees.
   
   
   
3. Set whether the fees are to Increase or Decrease and by the percentage amount. Click Update.

Updating individual treatment codes

Sometimes you need to edit single treatment prices in a given fee level. Here's how to do it.

1. Click on the fee level you wish to edit.
   
   
   
   
2. Type the item you wish to change into the search function.
   
   
   
   
3. Make the changes that you need to make. Once you click away, the change will be saved.
   
   a) Price: The fee that will be charged.
   b) Mode: The type of item (Variable, Fixed, Maximum, Minimum and Dynamic).
   c) Value: The amount that the system will respect if you have set a mode (b) other than "Variable". If you leave this field blank, the applicable modes will not be set. You can learn about setting an appropriate item mode below.
   d) Disc?: For discount special rule.

Setting an appropriate Item Mode

Selecting the appropriate Item Mode for each item is important. This will dictate how the system handles these items, and the freedom that your staff have in editing the fees when applying Treatments.



You must set a Value for each item that has a mode other than "Variable". See the explanation of Item Values above. There are five modes:

a) Variable: This will allow users to freely change the item's fee.
b) Fixed: The fee cannot be increased or decreased beyond the amount set in "Value".
c) Minimum: The fee cannot be decreased; users in "Treatments" can increase the fee, however they cannot decrease it beyond the amount in the "Value" field.
d) Maximum: The fee cannot be increased; users in "Treatments" can decrease the fee, however they cannot increase it beyond the amount in the "Value" field. This is especially useful in "preferred provider" cases.
e) Dynamic: This mode is currently only effective for Ortho treatment plans. It will take the patient's health fund, each item's "Value" and the total course of treatment cost into consideration. This is particularly useful if you have preferred provider status with a health fund - thus not allowed to charge over an agreed amount - but you still need to distribute the total course of treatment cost between multiple visits (such as in the case for a course of Ortho treatment).

If you have any questions, please click the yellow Help button at the bottom left and chat to us. We are more than happy to help!