The Patient Transaction screen is designed to be quickly navigated using keyboard shortcuts. Using the mouse to move from box to box will be more cumbersome than using the keyboard. Learn to use the shortcuts by practicing on a test patient file. Remember to remove those Transactions.
Navigate the Transaction screen using keyboard shortcuts. To move from box to box, use the TAB key on your keyboard in conjunction with the ENTER key. TAB will move you around the screen and ENTER will select options and also move through the different boxes. Using the ALT key and an underlined letter will enter the specific command. In the image above, see that the ‘Save Transaction’ button has an underlined ‘S’. Pressing ALT+S will enter the transaction, as completed to the point.
Once inside the Patient Transaction screen:
- Note the Patient ID number and Patient Name
- Select Provider / Verify Transaction Date: in multiple Provider clinics, you can associate a charge or Payment to a specific Provider. If a Payment needs to be applied to multiple Providers, it is necessary to enter separate Transactions. In some setups (single Provider clinics, etc) this will default to one Provider and will not have to be set at each Transaction.
The Transaction Date can be changed to a date in the past, as needed. If you modify the Transaction Date, Atlas may warn of potential changes based on Insurance files or Financial Plans on the patient file.
- Click TAB to navigate from this area to the Transaction Line
- Transaction Line: select the Service or Inventory Item you are applying to the Patient file. Each Service or Inventory Item being charged will appear on a separate line - choose the desired Service or item from the dropdown menu (to select Inventory click TAB to move into that drop down menu)
- Click TAB to navigate from Transaction Line to Amount
- The AMOUNT will be filled in (based on Service or Inventory selected) with the Default Price. NOTE: the Default Price is affected by multiple settings in the software as discussed in the Pricing Hierarchy section.
NOTE: be sure to enter the ‘Quantity’ sold when using Inventory – Atlas will automatically calculate the total amount based on this quantity.
If the charge is configured to be allocated to a Financial Plan, you will see ‘YES’ in the Plan box.
If the charge is configured to be allocated to Insurance, you may see an amount in the Ins box.
- Click TAB to navigate to the ADD or EXIT button
- Use the ADD button to Add additional Services or Inventory or use the EXIT button when done entering Services or Inventory
- Click ENTER to select ADD or EXIT and move into the next section.
- Click ENTER to select ADD or EXIT and move into the next section.
- If you click EXIT, your selection will take you down to the AMOUNT TENDERED box. You will notice the Total Due box is filled in based on your charges and taxes above. Type in the actual amount of money you are tendering – notice the Change will automatically calculate if required.
If the Patient is not making Payment on the charges entered, leave AMOUNT TENDERED blank – alternatively you can enter part of what the total charge is (Patient is only paying for part of the Services) this option leaves money owing (debit) on Patient account. Patients paying MORE than the Amount Due (paying a Credit on their account) are handled in the next section Payments)
- Paid By: choose the Method used for Payment (or leave as Amount Due) for non-payment Shortcut keys here are the first letter of Payment Method
V=Visa M=MasterCard C=Cash CH=Check
Additional Payment Methods are configured in the Payment Methods section
Detail: for certain transactions, the user can enter a short text detail (check number, etc) Print Receipt: type ‘Y’ to print a receipt of the transaction – if configured in System Settings, this option can print a Statement for the current date
- Clicking TAB or ENTER in these fields will navigate to the next box
- SAVE TRANSACTION: click ENTER or ALT-S to save the current Transaction
- Information Area: this area displays if the Patient is in a specific Category, shows what the CASH date currently is, the Patients balance and Plan Payment (if configured) This area is for information only and cannot be changed through this screen.