Patient Payments: Taking a Patient Payment

This feature is currently in limited release to a select group of clients and will be rolling out to everyone in the coming months.

The Patient Payments feature, when enabled, allows you to charge for services and collect payments.

Important: You must have completed the Patient Payment setup for the location before you'll be able to collect payment. Additionally, the Patient Ledger must be setup for this tab to appear.

Let's review how to collect a payment from the patient's facesheet. 

Required Permissions: Super Admin, Biller, Utilization Review Internal, Provider, Chart Auditor 

Getting Started

1. Navigate to the patient's chart and open the Billing tab. 

   

   • Note: The name and location of this tab are customizable and may be named something else depending on your facility's preferences. 
2. Click Patient Payments.
3. There are two ways to initiate payment. 

Patient Portal/In-Person Payment

The first option is to initiate a payment that can be sent to the Patient Portal where the patient can enter their own payment information, or where the user at the facility enters details on the patient's behalf.

To see the patient experience in the Patient Portal, check out this article.

1. To begin, navigate, enter the desired payment amount and click Start Payment.

2. Next, complete information and receipt details. 

   Next, type in the name on the card. Ensure that it matches the card exactly, including any middle initial if present.  In the Email field, you can enter an email address.  When combined with the Send Receipt checkbox, the payer will receive an email receipt.  You can enter details about the payment if desired. This information will be sent to the table under Settings > Billing Audit Tool > Account Management > Payment List (Kipu).

Pay with a Card

To pay with a card, or save card information, follow these instructions.

1. Add the card details or create a new saved payment method. Stripe accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners, and Discover cards.

   Saved Payment Method	Pay with Other Payment Method
   Click the +Add new payment method button to create a saved payment method for this payer. If desired, set a nickname for this card.  Complete the card details including card number, expiration date (MM/YY), security code, country, and zip code. Click Save Payment Method. Select the newly added payment method and click Submit Payment.	The Pay with other payment method (Not saved) radio button will be selected by default when there are no saved payment methods. Enter the card number, expiration date (MM/YY), security code, country, and zip code. Click Submit Payment.

2. Review the Payment Summary and click Confirm Payment to process.
3. You'll receive a Payment Successful confirmation message with the related details including a confirmation number. 
       

Paying with Bank Transfer (ACH)

If the payer prefers to pay via bank transfer (ACH Direct Debit only) instead of by card, they can do so.

1. Follow the steps above, but instead of entering credit card details, click on US bank account.
2. Enter the email address and full name of the person paying.
3. Next, search for the bank or click Enter bank details manually.
4. In the pop-up window, enter the bank routing number and account number, confirm the account number, then click Submit. 
   

Payment Links

You can also initiate a payment by creating a payment link. Payment Links allow you to collect payments from customers quickly and securely without requiring them to log in to the Portal. A Payment Link can be shared via email, text message, or embedded in your workflow, making it ideal for one-time or remote payments.

1. To begin, click Create Payment Link.

2. Then fill out the information in the Create Payment Link window. 

   Payment Link Name: The payment name will appear in your records, but not for the patient/patient representative. Description: This description will appear in your records, but not for the patient/patient representative.  Amount Type: Choose one of the following options: Free Text: The payer can enter any amount to pay. This option can be useful if your facility wants to make a single payment per patient, and they can make payments of various values over time. Fixed Amount: The user at the facility enters a specific amount, and the patient/patient representative must pay that amount. Suggested Amount: The user at the facility enters an amount that they would like the patient/patient representative to pay, but the payer can adjust the amount. Amount: This field will only appear if you choose Fixed Amount or Suggested Amount. Never Expires/Expiration Days: Never Expires means that the link will always be accessible. Expiration Days allows you to set a time after which the link will no longer work. Click Create Payment Link.

3. The payment link will save. Now, click the copy icon to copy the link. You can send the link to the patient by pasting it into an email or text message, embedding it into your workflow, or pasting it anywhere else, as needed.
4. The patient can click on the payment link and pay using card, bank account, or Sunbit. 

Payment links are unique and secure. They can be used when a patient isn't physically present, you need to collect payments quickly without creating an invoice, etc. They are not intended to replace recurring payment plans or complex billing workflows. Records for payment links appear at the bottom of the Payments Summary (Kipu) tab under Settings > Billing Audit Tool > Patient Payments.

To see the patient experience with Payment Links, check out this article.

CollaborateMD Integration

If your facility has the CollaborateMD (CMD) integration added, any payment activity that occurs in the EMR through Patient Payments will be sent to CMD. Items added to the ledger manually or taken through the legacy Stripe integration will not be sent. Check out this article for information on applying payments from Patient Payments in CMD.