Generally speaking, switching from Balance Forward to Line Item accounting does not change existing reports. There are two major exceptions.
- When Line Item is activated, the Cross Settlement reports are unavailable.
- Employee goals are no longer found on the Daily and Periodic reports.
I'm going to focus on the latter point in this discussion, describing why the goals moved and where you to find them. But first some background.
1. Goal calculations are based on Net Production.
2. When Line Item accounting is activated, estimated insurance write-offs are not posted at check out. Write-offs are posted (and distributed to procedures) when the insurance payment is entered.*
3. Since write-offs are no longer posted at checkout, the Daily and Periodic report's Net Production could be significantly different. Let me give an example.
Dr. Smith's gross production for the day is $5,000. Of that $5,000, it is estimated that $1,000 will be written off by the insurance companies. On the Daily report:
- In the Balance Forward enabled system, Dr. Smith's Net Production is $4,000.
- In the Line Item enabled system, Dr. Smith's Net Production is $5,000.
If Dr. Smith's production goal for the day is $5,500, balance forward records his goal percentage met at 72%. In Line Item, it's 91%. That's a huge difference! Which one is right?
4. Based on beta feedback, it was imperative for providers to have a report with Net Production that included the amount to be written off.
Moving the Goal's Post
Line Item accounting enabled users have access to a new report called Estimated Net Production. For a detailed review of the report please see the attached annotated copy below.
The Estimated Net Production report is ideal for producers that want to see production for a time frame, along with the amount of adjustments and estimated write-offs. In addition we include a new value, Average Net Production Per Patient. This value is calculated by taking the Net Production and dividing it by the Patients Seen.
For producers or staff who want a deep dive into production and write-offs, the option to include details is provided. Details are grouped in two categories:
Production, Distributed Adjustments, and Estimated Write-Offs - includes all production for the date range, adjustments distributed to procedures, and estimated insurance write-offs. The report is ordered by patient last name, with adjustments and estimated write-offs listed directly following the production to which they were applied.
Undistributed Adjustments - adjustments posted to the ledger during the reporting time frame but not distributed.
If you use production goals in conjunction with Line Item accounting, the new Estimated Net Production report gives you a quickly digestible view of your production and a neatly arranged, detailed overview of your production.
I'd love to get your feedback or answer any questions you have about the report.
*When Line Item accounting is activated in Version 8, insurance write-offs are not posted at checkout. Rather they are posted when the insurance payment is received. PracticeWorks does account for the estimated write off and deducts it from what the patient owes. The new Ins. WO portion of the aging grid displays the total for all estimated insurance write-offs on the account. Once the claim is cleared the associated estimated write off is removed from the aging grid.
