How to Process Patient Payments and Claims

Once the patient has been checked out of the room, it is then time to apply payment. Entering payments has been streamlined in Core Practice, in that you will be able to claim electronically for both HICAPS and EFTPOS payments through the system. This guide includes the following:

1. Outline
2. Invoice not created
3. Invoice created
4. Claiming electronically
5. Applying a payment manually
6. Applying a discount

Outline

Applying payment to an invoice depends on the status of the invoice:

• If an invoice has not been created, you will be prompted with the HICAPS claiming screen first. This is because Core Practice assumes you are the receptionist taking a payment for a treatment which has just finished. This HICAPS claiming page will always be the first step in this process, regardless of whether the patient has a health fund in the system or not.

• If an invoice has already been created, you will be prompted with the "Make a payment?" page, which is where you will see a range of receipt options. This is because Core Practice assumes you are taking a payment after the treatment was provided.

The way to distinguish if a treatment invoice has been created or not, simply look at the patient's treatment from the Treatments details:

If it is blue and says "Not Invoiced" - as below - then an invoice has not yet been created for this treatment. If it is red and says "Overdue", then the invoice has already been created, but not paid. 

Invoice not created

1. Start from the the patient's profile and click on Treatment.
   
   
    
2. Click on Create Invoice.
   
   Skip to Claiming electronically if you are ready to make a claim.
   Skip to Applying a payment manually if you need to enter receipts manually.

Invoice created

1. Click on Invoice from the patient's profile.
   
   
    
2. Click on the invoice number of the required invoice.
   
   Skip to Applying a payment manually if you need to enter receipts manually.

Claiming electronically

1. Click on Continue to Payment on the "Review Invoice" page.
   
    
2. Ensure the Terminal is correct i.e. the terminal name matches the location from which you are claiming.
   
   
    
3. Click the HICAPS icon.
   
   The terminal will begin to process the claim; follow the prompts on the terminal. Once the claim has completed, click Done at the bottom-right of the page if there is no outstanding balance remaining.
   
   If the patient will not be using a health fund to pay for their treatment, click Continue to Payment at the bottom-right of the "Review Claim" page (shown below).
   
    
4. Confirm that the amount at the top of the page is correct.
   
   
    
5. Select the payment type.
   
   This page will prompt you to select the type of payment for the treatment or the outstanding balance (if applicable).
   If it's a cash payment, simply click on Cash after receiving the money and the payment will be applied.
   If it's EFTPOS, Mastercard, Visa or Amex simply select the correct card type and Core Practice will prompt the terminal for the patient's card. Once it has been processed and approved, the payment will be applied automatically.

Applying a payment manually

1. Click on Continue to Payment.
   
    
2. Click on Continue to Payment again when you're on the "Claim now?" page.
   
    
3. Click on External.
   
   
    
4. Enter the amount of the receipt at the top of the page.
   
   
    
5. Fill out the fields below and click on Record Payment to save it.
   
   If there are multiple receipts, it will remain on this screen and you will have the opportunity to enter another one. 
   a) Date: needs to be the same date which is on the receipt
   b) Type: dropdown menu containing payment types
   c) Reference: this is the RRN which is used to identify each receipt (or in the case of a cheque, this is where you put the cheque number)
   d) Source: the bank which has issued the cheque (this is only required for cheques).
   
    
6. Click Done when you have finished entering receipts.
   
   Click on Skip Payment in the bottom right corner if there is no outstanding balance.
   These will both navigate you back to "Invoices".
    

Claiming manually is sometimes necessary, particularly if you have issues with the connection between the terminal and Core Practice; the terminal will not be receiving information from the system. If this occurs, learn how to understand why your HICAPS terminal is not connected.

Applying a discount

1. Confirm the amount (a) is correct and click the Discount icon (b).
   
   
    
2. Click Done if you're finished.
   You can also print, email or download the invoice by clicking the corresponding icons.