New Collection Category

Follow these steps to add a new collection category:

1. On the Settings menu, click Other Lists>New Collection Category. This opens the New Collection Category task.

Optionally, if you are adding more than one collection category during the same work session, you can click Find Collection Categories to open the Find Collection Category task (or browser); and then click the New button on the Task Button Bar of the browser to add a new collection category. As you add new collection categories to the system, those new collection categories will be added to the list area of the browser.

Note that Kareo has already set up two collection categories in the system: "Current" and "Collections." However, you can add any number of collection categories depending on the needs of your organization.

2. To create a new collection category, do the following:

Name: Enter a name for the new collection category.
Description: Enter a brief description for the collection category.
Send Statements?: To continue to send patient statements for any patient that falls within this collection category, click the Send Statement? checkbox.
Dunning Message: If you wish to add a message that will be printed on all future patient statements for patients that fall within this collection category, enter the message within the Dunning Message text box. (This message should not exceed 250 characters, including spaces between words. If you use all upper case characters, you may want to test a couple of statements with the vendor first before sending out a batch of statements.) When printing patient statements, this message will replace any message that might have been entered in the Global Message 1 text box within the Patient Statement Options task, but only for patients that have been placed in this collection category, and only when the Send Statement? checkbox is checked.
Show Automatic Alert?: If you wish to enter a Collection Alert message that will appear at the top of various records in the system when a patient has been placed in this collection category, click the Show Automatic Alert? checkbox. (Please see additional information below related to Patient and Collection Alert messages.)
Alert Message: Enter the alert message. Note that this message is a screen message only, and will not be printed on the patient statement.

It is important to note that there are actually two different types of alert messages that can be added to the system: Patient Alert messages and Collection Alert messages.

A Patient Alert is entered under the "Alerts" tab of a patient record, and is customized to that specific patient. When entering a patient alert, the user can configure in which records this message should appear. For more information, see Patient Alerts.
A Collection Alert, on the other hand, is an alert message that has been entered in the Alert Message text box of a collection category record; and will appear only when the patient has been placed in the collection category, and only when the Show Automatic Alert? checkbox is checked. This type of message is not a custom message for a specific patient, but applies to all patients that have been placed in a specific collection category. This message will automatically appear at the top of an open patient record, encounter record, claim record, appointment record, and under the "Collection Alert" column of the Send Patient Statements wizard until the patient has been removed from the collection category. To learn how to place a patient in a collection category, see Edit Patient's Collection Category.
Note that both messages will display at the top of a screen if configured to do so. The Patient Alert message will appear as the first message line, the Collection Alert message will appear as the second message line.

3. If you wish to make this new collection category the default category, click theSet As Defaultbutton.Caution:Once a new category has been selected as the default category, all new patients added to the system will automatically be placed in this category. Beextremely carefulnot to click theSet as Defaultbutton unless you specifically intend to change the default category.

4. Once you finish adding the new collection category, click Save on the Task Button Bar to save the record; or to exit from the task without saving the new record, click Cancel.