Minimum Amount for Patient Bills

Ever wonder what it costs to send out a bill to a patient?

Yes, there are the obvious costs like the printing of the bill, the envelope and return envelope, and the postage to send out the bill - but there are also costs related to the labor to generate the bill, stuff the envelope, mail the bill, and answer patient inquiries about a bill.

There comes a point where the bill is small enough that it doesn't even pay to send it out, so KIP allows you to set a minimum amount to bill a patient.

To access this feature, go to File > Preferences > Billing Preferences and set the minimum amount to bill a patient. The default amount is $0.00. So, for example, if you set it to $3.00, patients will not get a bill below $3.00.

This way you can set your own preset amount as to minimum bill that you wish to generate.

KIP Version 11 and Snow Leopard are Now Friends

KIP Deluxe version 11 and Mac OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) are made to work well together.

All KIP Version 11 users receive a free upgrade to our Snow Leopard compatible version.

Make sure you upgrade to our latest version of KIP to ensure compatibility prior to installing or upgrading to Snow Leopard.

Updates for Anesthesiology Billing

KIP Deluxe version 11 now includes the following updates for Anesthesiology which may apply to other specialties as well.

1) Provisions for more than one treatment provider per claim.

Some anesthesia claims require that multiple treatment providers be billed on one claim to be paid.

The example given concerned Blue Cross Blue Shield and a patient in labor who receives a spinal in the labor room by one anesthesiologist and then undergoes a C-section in the OR by another anesthesiologist on the same day. These charges are required to be billed on the same claim (either electronically or on paper).

As you can see in the line item image below, each line item can now have a unique provider. To reach this area, click the double triangles to the left of the word Diagnosis when editing an invoice.

Editing the provider on a CPT line in handled with a single click. No typing is needed.

2) Anesthesia minutes and units

Anesthesia billing requires both minutes and units on the claim. KIP always allowed both the minutes and units on the claim, however, KIP now calculates the units automatically once the anesthesia minutes are entered.

A Mac G4 Client with KIP v11

It seemed such a shame that migrating to KIP version 11 Multiuser would force us to upgrade any Mac G4 computers currently in use with KIP version 10.3, so we decided to test one out.

Our first test was an eMac running a 1.42 GHz G4 processor loaded with 512 MB of RAM and Mac OS 10.4.11, and here are the results.

Awesome!

The G4 ran flawlessly. In fact, and we are not sure why, this G4 seemed just as fast as our 1.8 GHz iMac G5 running the same OS loaded with 2 GB RAM.

And the surprising thing was that the 512 MB of RAM did not seem to affect performance at all.

Granted, we did not test every routine in KIP, but whatever we did run, ran well.

So, we are modifying our hardware requirements to include G4 Macs.

For sure, you will need a minimum of Mac OS 10.4.11 and 512 MB of RAM. Earlier versions of Mac OS 10.4 definitely do not work.

You can try slower G4 Macs and test whether the performance is acceptable to you or not. Obviously, expect a 700 MHz G4 to run half the speed of the 1.42 GHz G4 we tested.

But the good news is, the G4 is OK with KIP version 11.

KIP Updates

KIP has been up and running now for a few days in our beta location. All is going smoothly and in our excitement, we have been adding a few new features while testing things out. We didn't want to get too involved so early in it's release, but we just couldn't help ourselves when the test site had a few requests.

Our first request was:

Improve tracking of unpaid claims

...so we super-charged the Tickler file.

The Tickler file shows a list of all unpaid claims. You should be logging all calls on unpaid claims via the Tickler file. Now, there is a major reason to do so.

When you click on a claim, you will instantly see a list of all calls (or "actions") made to get this claim paid ... how many times it was printed, electronically submitted, or called upon.

The list can be sorted on any column, shortened to all claims older than a specific date, and searched.

You can also find "neglected claims" - all claims with no "action" taken within a specified period of time.

This will greatly reduce the chances that a claim will "slip through your fingers."

The second request was:

Have KIP calculate the Adjustment on a claim

The problem was, that certain insurance carriers post the payment and the balance but not the adjustment. The office would have to calculate the adjustment before entering it.

Now, when you enter a payment, you can enter the amount paid and the balance and let KIP calculate the adjustment for you.

I know it's a simple request, but sometimes, when you do something a lot, it's nicer when it's made just a little bit easier.

Make the Passwords easier to change

To change a password using earlier versions of KIP, you had to enter the original password and then a new screen would appear where you would enter the new password. This was a little confusing, so we moved it all to the password entry screen. Just click on the user and then the CHANGE PASSWORD button. This has proven to be much easier now.

Have an idea?

If you have an idea to make KIP better, let us know. It's input from our users that make KIP better.

KIP Version 11 - Day One

As of right now, our first location is up and running successfully. There are a few minor idiosyncrasies we are ironing out, but KIP is making it through day one just fine.

We are using an Intel Mac mini server with two Intel iMac clients and one G5 iMac client. The Intel iMacs are lightning fast (think Emeril - BAM!) and the G5 seems to be hanging in there just fine, but noticeably slower.

We will give it a few weeks, just to make sure - but this transition went extremely well.

It seems this version takes full advantage of the Intel processor, so keep that in mind when you consider any hardware purchase or upgrade.

Upgrading to KIP Deluxe v11 - FAQs

We are quite excited, installing our newest version using the new 4D platform.

The initial comments are - It's fast!!!

Here are some FAQs that our current users are having about upgrading.


Will I have to upgrade my computer?

That depends.

All Windows users should be fine with their current hardware.

If you are running at least a Pentium III with at least Windows XP (and who isn't), you won't need to change a thing. Just make sure you have at least 1 GB of RAM installed.

If you are a Mac user, and plan on using the KIP Deluxe Single User version, you have to be running at least a PowerPC G4, with Mac OS 10.4.11.

If you plan on using KIP Deluxe Multiuser edition, your server needs to be an Intel Mac running at least Mac OS 10.4.11. The client computers must be at least a PowerPC G4 running a minimum of Mac OS 10.4.11.


Can I use a Windows client computer with a Mac server? Or a Mac client computer with my Windows server?

Yes. You can use a Windows XP or Vista server computer mixed with Mac or Windows clients.

You can also use a Mac OS server mixed with both Mac or Windows clients.

Just make sure the client computers meet the minimum requirements of the KIP Single User Version. Of course, the server computer must meet the minimum requirements of the server computer outlined above.


What if I start out with a Windows server computer and later decide that I want to switch to a Mac server (or vice versa)?

You will need to order new licenses to move to the other operating system - otherwise, no big deal.


What if I start out with KIP Deluxe Single User on the Mac and later decide that I want to switch to a PC (or vice versa)?

Again, you will need to order new licenses to move to the other operating system - otherwise, no big deal.


What if I start out with KIP Deluxe Single User on the Mac and later decide that I want to switch to the multiuser version for the PC (or vice versa)?

Again, you will need to order new licenses to move to the other operating system - otherwise, no big deal.


How hard is it to upgrade from KIP Deluxe 10.3 to KIP Deluxe 11?

Actually, this is quite easy. The transition is amazingly smooth. I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised.


How hard is it to upgrade from earlier versions of KIP Deluxe to KIP Deluxe 11?

We take care of all of this for you. We will migrate your data and install it on your system for you, so that everything goes smoothly.


Will we need training with the new system?

KIP Deluxe version 11 will be familiar right from the start. You should be up and running within minutes. If you are currently using KIP Deluxe, you will be ready to go as soon as it's installed.


What features are in this new version?

We have been improving and adding new features constantly. Most of these features make KIP work smarter and better, and require little to no training at all.

You will find new reports along with new ways to enter, sort and find data.

New electronic claim formats are working behind the scenes for you as well.

But what's most exciting is what is yet to come. Expect exciting new changes as future versions are released.


When will this new version be available for me?

Very soon. We would like to give this program a good testing in our first location. Once everything has been up and running for a few weeks, we will begin to install the versions in locations which have pre-ordered.

Most everyone will be able to upgrade within the next few weeks.

Our new release

We reported the invoice entry bug to 4D and they were not able to reproduce it, which means it had something to do with the import from the old version. Fortunately, it was something we could program around, and that seems to have worked well. A couple of last minute touches, and we will move it to our first testing facility.

It's not fun programming around something that used to work, but what can you do.

There were some new interface options included with this new version which we incorporated into KIP. It doesn't change anything, but it looks a whole lot nicer.

We are ordering the rest of the 4D components this week and should be able to install everything next week in the first beta facility, if all goes well.

4D v11.3 SQL Hotfix 2 Released

It was just a few days ago when 4D v11.3 Hotfix 2 was released with another myriad of issues addressed. So far, the crashes experienced with the previous version have been addressed, and things seem to be running smoothly. There does appear to be one annoying bug which remains. It does not appear to corrupt any data but does make data entry on invoices difficult.

As of right now, I believe this issue is annoying enough to prevent the installation in any live situation. Once the issues related to 4D itself have been addressed, we can then begin to install the new version in more and more locations.

I am most interested to see how well this version works when logging in via the internet. 4D version 2003 has been working well over the internet, however, speed was an issue when entering transactions. Version 11 is supposed to be much faster in this regard. Time will tell.

I will keep you informed as to how this initial rollout goes.