Most organizations generate patient statements monthly, but you can do them any time you please, with many filter options and other options to customize the accounts and specifics included in the output. SOS offers three very different kinds of statements:
- The Standard Statement is similar to bank and credit card statements in that it includes an itemized listing of the activity (charges and credits) on an account during a specified date range.
- The Open Item Statement is quite different in that it is not restricted to a date range and lists only items that still have an open balance, that is, those account charges that have not been fully paid or resolved by applying adjustments of some sort. The date of the charge entry is irrelevant.
- The Alternate Statement By Charge is similar to the Open Item statement, but you can specify a date range and the output includes all charge entries within the range, whether there is a remaining balance or not.
If you are not already familiar with these statement options from previous versions of SOS, it is a good idea to run a sample of each one using your own data so that you can compare the types and select the one you think would work best for your organization.
To run a statement, you start at the Statements section of the Navigation bar, in which you will find Create Statements.
From there, highlight the desired statement selection on the right and click Print Report in the toolbar at the top.
If you choose Standard Statement the options page that appears will offer numerous filter and content options as well as several Type of Statement variations (All payer summary, All payer details, Payer specific details). Each of the variations provides a different level of detail. SOS recommends that you run a sample of each one, using your own data, to compare the options. You should then be able to make the best choice for your organization.
The Open Item Statement has fewer filter and content options. You may want to run a sample, especially if you are still not altogether clear about the difference between Standard and Open Item billing.
The setup for Alternate Statement By Charge is similar to that of the Open Item type, with the addition of the date range.
Note that all statement approaches allow you to include a section that prints the account aging information. Aging tells the payer exactly how much is still owed on charges that were due 30, 60, 90, or 120 days before the current billing was generated. Among the options available in each case is one to recalculate aging to be sure that it matches the dates covered by the statement.
Next, you will see your statement batch appear in the report preview window. From here you can scroll through or use the Search feature to locate a particular statement you may want to examine. Once satisfied, you can print or export the results. If you export, some of the formats (such as PDF) will offer you yet more options.
