This page will explain how to use the Collections Module in TRAKnet.

Collections Module

The collections module in TRAKnet is a module meant to help organize, prioritize and generate a collections report. The collections module will allow the user to put into place rules based on specific methods of collections to help track and improve collections in the office. It does not necessarily mean that the patients are in collections, however it can be used to send patients to a collection agency.

The collections module has some setup steps required prior to use. These steps will be detailed below.

Setup

Setup for the collections module takes place under the Properties tab of TRAKnet. There are three categories.

Collection Agencies

Collection agencies are the collection companies the office works with. When a patient is put into collections, they will be assigned to a collection agency, at which point the collections module can be used to print or export reports to send to the collection agency.

To add a new collection agency, click Add. The information you can enter is below:

• Name — The name of the collection agency.
• Address, Address 2, City, State, Zip — The address information for the collection agency.
• Phone Number, Cell Phone Number — Primary contact numbers for the agency.
• Fax Number — The agency's fax number.
• Email — The primary email address for the agency.
• Contacts — The primary contacts at the agency.
• NPI, FEIN — NPI and FEIN for the agency.

There is also a comments tab where free-type comments can be entered.

Collection Letters

Collection letters are one of the possible methods for addressing patients when using the collection module. Letters are free-text documents that work similarly to any word processing software. Typically, various letters will be created; for example, a letter might be made for when patients are 60 days past due to indicate the patient is past due; a more stern letter might be created for 90 days past due accounts.

The below is a description of adding a letter:

To add a new letter, click Add from the Collection Letter screen in Properties. This will open the collection letter editor window.

If the office already has a collection letter template, this can be copy and pasted into the free text field of the letter.

To pull over the patient's specific information, place your cursor in the body of the collection letter where you would like the information to go and click Insert Data Field. A list of available fields will appear.

Click Preview to view a sample of the letter with fields populated.

Once completed, type in a Name for the letter, then click save. Save As will save a copy of a letter if you are modifying a pre-existing letter and making changes.

Collection Rule

Collection rules are the primary driving force behind using the collection module in TRAKnet. The collection rules are what filters out patients and assigns a specific method to a patient.

To add a new collection rule, click the green Add button on the Collection Rule screen under Properties. The below information can be entered:

• Name — A name for the rule, such as 60 days.
• Collection Method — Can be None, Letter, Statement, Phone or Collection Agency.
  • Note: If you select Letter, you will then get a new field, Collection Letter, where you must select which letter will print. If you select Collection Agency, you will get a new field for Agency, where you will determine which agency the patients will be assigned to.
• Past Due (Days) — Days since the oldest charge for that patient was marked as patient responsible.
• Last Payment (Days) — Days since the last payment was made.
• Last Statement (Days) — Days since the last statement was sent.
• Minimum Balance — Setting an amount here will exclude any patients who owe less than this amount.
• Follow-Up (Days) — If the office would like to follow up with a collection status, how many days should pass?
• Follow-Up By — Which user should perform the follow up?

Below is an example of a Collection Rule:

Navigating the Collections Module

The collection module is accessible under the Billing Dashboard of TRAKnet. After entering the billing dashboard, the collections module is fifth icon listed.

The collection module screen has the following features:

• A menu bar along the top of the screen that allows the user to apply rules, select patients, print or export the list, and refresh the screen.
• An Action tab, where rules are generated.
• A Follow-Up Items tab, where follow-ups are completed.
• An In Collections tab, where all patients in collections are displayed.
• A filter window, where all rules and filters on all above tabs are listed.
• A list of patients who fit the set rule.
• A preview of the patient's information including Balance, Name, Acct #, and three additional tabs:
  • History — History of actions taken through the collections module.
  • Charges — All of this patient's charges.
  • Payments — All of this patient's payments.

Using the Collections Module

To use the collections module, from the Actions tab, click on the Collection Rule drop-down menu, then select the rule you would like to generate patients for. The information set up when creating the rule will populate in the Rule portion of the filters, as seen below:

And a list of patients will be generated on the right-hand side of the screen. To apply a rule, check the box next to a patient's name, then click Apply. The effect will differ depending on the Action/Method set up in the rule.

• Letter — The designated collection letter will print.
• Statement — A patient statement will print.
• CollectionAgency — The patient will be marked as In Collections, assigned to the designated agency.
• Phone — The user is calling the patient manually - this method simply saves a record to the patient's chart that a call was made.

Patients will be removed from this list, only reappearing when the follow up days indicated have passed.

Follow-Up Tab

This tab lists all patients who have already had a rule applied but require a follow-up. This will be user specific if a user was assigned to that rule.

In Collections

The list of all patient's in collections. They can be printed, exported, or the chart can be reviewed from this screen.