Release Notes

Here we describe the changes we've made to ClinicTracker since the last update. Almost all of them are inspired by our user community suggesting ways to improve their use of the system. We have such frequent updates because we want to turn those suggestions into reality as quickly as possible.

If you have any questions, you can reach us through the support portal.
We encourage all users to attend the ongoing Community Training Series. To view upcoming sessions and register, click here.

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Update #1010
Released: 09/22/2023
Version: 8.03.049
Details
Module
Type

 

Save Form Designs with Improved Efficiency. In Form Builder, we have made enhancements to the saving process for Custom Form designs, resulting in faster speeds and the addition of a progress indicator. When saving and loading forms an on-screen dialog box will detail the status while the system is updating the layout. These enhancements should provide a noticeable improvement, especially when you are saving large form designs. Many thanks to Matt in California for the feedback on this enhancement!
Form Builder
Enhancement

General Updates. This version also includes general updates and performance improvements across the system. These updates are designed to offer a better user experience by improving usability and adding new efficiencies. We greatly appreciate the valuable input and feedback from our user community, which we have incorporated in this release.
Misc
Enhancement

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Update #1009
Released: 09/15/2023
Version: 8.03.048
Details
Module
Type

 

Staff Portal: Collect Payments from the Scheduler. Staff portal users are now able to collect payments directly from the Scheduler. To collect a payment (and view the newly-updated Service Specific Fee information), go to: Staff Portal > Scheduler > Right Click on the event > Collect Payment > Select an Insurer, and the Service Specific Fee window will load.
If your organization is not utilizing the staff portal in its processes and would like more information on how this can positively impact your revenue cycle, please reach out to our support team.
Staff Portal
New Feature

Find Available Timeslot: Ability to Limit Locations Based on Patient Distance. In the Find Available Timeslot feature, you can now limit your building locations by the distance from the patient. Go to: Scheduler > Find Available Time Slot > Select a patient > Click the filter button next to the location list, and enter a search radius. Thanks to Joel, a valued partner of ours from California, for the feedback on this feature! You'll see this same functionality rolling out in the Patient Portal soon.
Scheduler
New Feature

Multiple Payors and Authorization Codes on Appointments and New Coverage Type Concept. One of our partner clinics in Pennsylvania needed to handle situations in which patients may not have their services covered by a payor based on their insurance authorization. The Primary payor needs to then be bypassed, and the claim submitted directly to the secondary payor as if the primary payor did not exist. This clinic also encounters other scenarios in which the primary payor still needs to be associated with the claim (for COB purposes), but will not cover the cost, so they want to directly submit to the secondary payor.
In addition, when associating multiple payors with a claim, each one may have its own authorization codes. This is now supported.

We know this type of situation can happen for many of our clinic partners, so we have added a new concept of "Coverage Type" which includes the following options:
  • Covered: Insurance will attach to the claim and receive the calculated balance.
  • Non-Covered: Insurance will attach to the claim, but the balance will be assigned to the next payor in sequence when transitioned.
  • Bypass: Insurance will not be attached to the claim at all.
You will see this Coverage Type option next to the payor selection on Patient Contacts as well as on the Insurance Authorization and Authorization Package forms. Not sure what to do with this? Just leave it as "Covered" and everything will work exactly how you're used to.

As part of this change, we also made it so the Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary payers will be available on Patient Contacts. This will allow you to set a specific payor priority, or exclude a certain payor from being associated with the claim. Again, not sure what to do with this? Just leave the defaults the system suggests in place, and the payors will be associated with the claim based on how they are configured in the patient's demographic record.

Lastly, you will see authorization code fields next to each of the three payors. Any authorization you attach to the secondary/tertiary payor will flow through to the claim, and will be included when creating a paper or electronic claim. The Claim Detail form within BillingTracker has been updated to show this information within the Claim-Specific Insurance information section. This will eliminate the need to manually go into the claim and update the authorization code before sending it to a non-primary payor.

To use the new Coverage Type feature, go to: Patients > Patient Contacts and go to the Billing Details section. You will see three Payor dropdowns, Authorization Code fields, and Coverage Type dropdowns.

These changes are available in ClinicTracker and are coming soon to the Staff Portal.

Please see the explanatory video below:

We are happy to meet with you directly to discuss this change and help you streamline your billing practices. Please reach out to our BillingTracker Product Expert team via our support portal at any time.
Misc
New Feature

Prevent Transitioning Old Appointments. Amber, owner, of our longstanding partner clinics in Maine, asked us for a way to prevent transitioning appointments for a given insurer that are older than a certain number of days. A new setting, "Prevent Transition After X Days", has been added to the Insurer Plans setup form. To configure this setting, go to: BillingTracker > File > Setup > Insurer plans > Requirements tab.
BillingTracker
New Feature

Two-Factor Authentication in Patient Portal - Send SMS. Peter, from one of our partner clinics in Tennessee, asked us to be able to send SMS for Two-Factor Authentication in the Patient Portal. With this feedback, we have now added the ability for Administrative users in ClinicTracker to enable an Options setting for sending SMS two-factor authentication. To adjust this setting go to: Admin Config > Options > Security: Security > Allow Two-Factor Authentication within Patient Portal. When patients click the cog wheel icon on the top right corner of the Portal, they can then click Two-Factor Authentication, and choose to send by SMS. Thanks so much, Peter, for your feedback on this feature, and we hope this will improve your patient collaboration and engagement!
Patient Portal
New Feature

Apply Overrides in Claim Management. For some billing scenarios, you may need to submit a claim to the primary insurer, and then it goes to a secondary insurer that enforces different rules. For example, you may submit service code 1 to the Primary but the Secondary only accepts service code 2. As a solution, the Claim Management screen has a newly added "Apply Overrides" feature, which will let you apply the overrides after the point of transition based on the current payor (even if it's a secondary). This new feature will allow you to apply the following automations in order:
  • Service Override
  • Billing Location Override
  • Billing Clinician Override
  • Modifier Rules
To apply these overrides for billing scenarios like this, go to: BillingTracker > Claim Management, select the relevant transactions, and click Apply Overrides
BillingTracker
New Feature

New ERA Setting for Transaction Status. Thanks again to Jenny, one of our valued partners. When applying an ERA payment in which the next payor receiving the remaining balance is the same as the current payor being applied, you may want the resulting transaction to be set to Pending Status (rather than Queued). Now, you can! Find this new setting at: BillingTracker > Settings -> Insurer Plans > EClaims(2) Tab > ERA Open Balance Same as Next Payor > Mark as Pending. We are grateful for your ideas Jenny... keep them coming!
ERA (835)
New Feature

Prevent Auto-Creation of Linked Appointments. Jennifer, from a clinic in Pennsylvania, needed a way to prevent the automatic creation of linked appointments when the scheduled Event Type is set to "cancellation". The 'Auto-Create Linked Appointment' setting has been added to the Scheduled Event Type Input form in the Maintenance Menu. To prevent the appointment auto-creation, leave this box unchecked in the Scheduled Event Type Input. For appointment auto-creation to work, there are several settings that need to be configured.
  1. The first setting needed is The Default Auto-Create Linked Appointment for New Services options setting in Admin Config > Options > Admin > Scheduling.
  2. Additionally, the Service Input and Scheduled Event Type Input need to have the Auto-Create Linked Appointment setting enabled. To locate this new setting, go to: Utilities > Maintenance > Scheduled Event Type Input.
Thanks very much to Jennifer for this helpful suggestion! Please reach out to our support team if you would like any assistance in enabling this helpful automation for your clinic.
Scheduler
Minor Update

View Display in High Contrast Mode. For some of our users, colorized objects in software can cause difficulty in viewing text. The ClinicTracker team created a per-user setting in the Staff Info form that will lock the forecolor to black to make the text easier on the eyes and distinguish it from the background. To enable this new setting go to: Staff > Staff Info (or Profile > My Profile) > Personal tab > High Contrast Mode.
Staff Info
Minor Update

Filter by Status and Total Balance. We added new filters to the ERA form to save you time. You can now filter by status and the total balance columns. To use these new filters go to: BillingTracker > Payments > Electronic Remittance Advice (835) > Show Filters, and click the filter icons next to the Status and Total Balance columns (or right-click on the columns and choose Configure Filter).
ERA (835)
Minor Update

Remark and Adjustment Codes Added to Billing Notes. To help ensure complete detailed billing notes, we have added remark and adjustment codes. When Automatic Detailed Billing Notes are enabled in BillingTracker, you will see these two new values displayed when applying or resubmitting payments. To use these new enhancements, first ensure that Automatic Detailed Billing Notes are enabled by going to: BillingTracker > Settings > Billing: ERA Settings > Enable Automatic Detailed Billing Note. Special thanks to Jenny, a leader and expert in Revenue Cycle Management from our long-standing partner clinic in Maryland, for this great suggestion!
ERA (835)
Minor Update

New Formula Sample Strings. To assist with building formulas in Form Builder, we have added new formula samples to the Strings section. These include Starts With, Ends With, and Contains. For example, if you want to find data that starts with ABC, you would choose: Starts With ("ABCDEF" LIKE "ABC%"). To use these formula sample strings, go to: Utilities > Form Builder > Formula Settings > Custom Formula tab, go to the Formula Samples section, and expand the "Strings" section.
Form Builder new to you? No problem! Our Form Building experts would welcome the opportunity to work with you on your specific needs. Reach out to us and we will get you connected!
Form Builder
Minor Update

Prevent Locking Diagnosis Assignment for Other Users. If you choose to Load Diagnosis Information from a previous assignment, the system will auto-select the Assigning Staff based on the Latest Diagnosis Assignment. Should you want to prevent this, a new Options setting has been added that will only allow the user set as the Assigning Staff to lock the Diagnosis Assignment. Check this option to prevent one user from marking a Diagnosis Assignment as locked when someone else is set as the Assigning Provider. To enable this setting, an Administrator can go to: Admin Config > Options > General > Clinic Information > Allow Only the Assigning Staff to Lock Diagnosis Assignment. With this setting enabled, other staff members will be prompted to set themselves as the Assigning Staff when locking the Diagnosis Assignments. This feature is available in both ClinicTracker and Staff Portal.
ClinicTracker
Minor Update

Prevent Disabling Patient Portal Forms. To ensure active form requests for Patient Portal users aren't inadvertently disabled, we now enforce that users are not able to remove Form Request rights from Patient Portal Accounts if there is an active form request. If there is an active form request and you go to Patients > Patient Dashboard > Patient Portal > Configure Account and try to remove access to forms a prompt will display saying, "You cannot disallow access to Form Requests while there are pending forms requested for the patient. Please wait until the patient has submitted the requested forms, or remove the request."
Patient Portal
Minor Update

Update Reference Numbers and Bulk Add Detailed Billing Notes. For efficiency and time-saving while you are billing, new updates and bulk actions in the ERA (835) module have been added. On the right side of the ERA form, click the Actions button, and you will be presented with the option to update the associated Reference Number. We have also added a bulk action for detailed billing notes. Once you've selected entries in the grid, click the Bulk Actions button. You will see the option to "Add Billing Notes (Automatic)."
ERA (835)
Minor Update

Delete Patient Portal Form Requests in bulk. Monet, Director of Clinical Services with one of our valued partner clinics in Tennessee, provided impactful feedback that it would be helpful to be able to delete portal form requests in bulk from the Patient Portal Form Request screen. Based on her input, you now have the ability to delete Patient Portal Form Requests in bulk by highlighting multiple entries in the list of existing requests and clicking the delete button. Thank you, Monet!
Patient Portal
Minor Update

Close Active Diagnosis When Staff Deactivated. Casey from Maryland requested that when a staff member is disabled in ClinicTracker, the system also closes any open Diagnosis Assignments created by that staff member. Based on this request, when a staff member is set to Inactive in Staff Info, a prompt will display asking "Would you like to end all active diagnosis assignments associated with this user as of today?" Thanks so much, Casey, for this suggestion!
Staff Info
Minor Update

Updates to Schedule Availability: Real-Time Changes. When you make updates to your Schedule Availability, it will now reflect on the Scheduler immediately. Previously, you would need to restart ClinicTracker to see the changes take effect, but not anymore! Try this change out by updating your Schedule Availability at: Scheduler > File > Set Scheduling Availability (or Staff > Staff Info > Additional Options tab). After making an update to your availability, you will see it reflected in the Scheduler immediately. Thank you, Laura, from a clinic in Texas, for the feedback on this feature!
Scheduler
Minor Update

Mark Lab Notifications as Read/Unread or Deleted. For some added flexibility and assistance with organization, you are now able to mark lab notifications as read/unread or deleted in My Messages. To mark the lab notifications, go to: My Messages > Click the LR radio button > Right-click the Lab Results messages. A menu will load and provide the options to mark the message Read, Unread, or Delete. Thank you Laura from a clinic in Texas for this feedback on this feature!
Lab Orders/Results
Minor Update

Patient Contacts: View Linked Claims. To view linked claims on a Patient Contacts record, there are now multiple options available. In addition to clicking the Claim status bar, there is now a new View Linked Claim button located in the Billing Details section of the Patient Contact Record. To access this button and view linked claims, go to Patients > Patient Contacts and look at the Billing Details section. Simply click on the magnifying glass button to navigate to the associated claim.
ClinicTracker
Minor Update

Update Payment Comments in Bulk. A new bulk action has been added for updating payment comments in the ERA (835) module. When using this time-saving enhancement, you will be prompted to enter a Payment Comment that will be applied for all selected line items. To use this bulk action go to: BillingTracker > Payments > Electronic Remittance Advice (835) > Click the checkboxes next to the payment lines > Bulk Actions > Update Comment.
ERA (835)
Enhancement

Modify Fields With Reference Control Relationships. We have updated Form Builder so that you can modify fields used in Repeating Lists involved in Reference Control relationships (as long as structural changes are made consistently between the two locations). Now, when using a form, if you try to access a repeating list that is structurally mismatched with a referenced/referencing control, you will get a detailed explanation of what is causing the mismatch with proper guidance on how to correct the situation. In Form Builder, you will be able to access and update the sub-items of a repeating list that references another control. This will allow you to create formulas as necessary in the referencing controls. Thank you to Matt from California for providing your feedback on this item!
Form Builder
Enhancement

Billing Dashboard Redesign. The Billing Dashboard has been redesigned for an enhanced user experience, including the ability to filter your search results by Billing Location. To use this newly redesigned dashboard, go to: BillingTracker > Billing Dashboard. Many thanks to the teammates from our clinic partner in Maryland (Casey, Ken, and Jenny) from all of us at ClinicTracker for your collaboration on this redesign.
BillingTracker
Redesign

Redesigned Insurer Plan Setup Form. The Insurer Plan Setup form has been redesigned. This new design will provide a clean new look for ease of use, enhance searching, and make it easier to organize your Insurer Plans. These new changes will include:
  • The insurer list will appear on the left side of the Insurer Plans form
  • There's a search bar
  • A color legend will distinguish between enabled (green) and disabled (red) entries, and allow you to focus on only the active items.
To view these new changes, navigate to: BillingTracker > File > Setup > Insurer Plan Setup. We look forward to your feedback.
BillingTracker
Redesign

New Design: Maintenance Menu. The Maintenance Menu items have been redesigned with a clean new look and helpful features added. The new design includes:
  • Newly designed Maintenance forms with color coding and a legend.
  • The bottom of the Maintenance forms will provide a color key indicating the enabled and disabled items, with the ability to filter out disabled entries.
  • Search filters were added so you can limit items in the Maintenance Menu to make them easier to find. These filters can also be pinned while you search so that the filter stays on the screen even when you interact with the form.
To view these new changes users with access to Maintenance can go to: Utilities > Maintenance.
For our longstanding clinic partners: Has it been a while since visiting the Maintenance menu (perhaps since initial ClinicTracker onboarding)? Please reach out. Our dedicated Customer Experience and Implementation teams would love to review items that may be impactful to you and your organization as the years have passed.
ClinicTracker
Redesign

Service Input: Redesigned. The Service Input form has been redesigned! In addition to the new look, ability to search, and color coding, it now also supports an unlimited price history (which was previously limited to 6 entries). To use the redesigned Service Input form, go to: Utilities > Maintenance > Service Input.
ClinicTracker
Redesign

New Controls Layout in Form Builder. We redesigned the layout of the controls in the left panel of Form Builder by grouping similar controls together. This has been applied to:
  • Textbox Controls
  • Single-Column/Multi-Column Listbox
  • Timer/Counter controls
  • Staff Signatures
You will see dropdown menus on the right side of each button that will provide access to the related control types.
Form Builder
Redesign

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Update #1008
Released: 07/28/2023
Version: 8.03.047
Details
Module
Type

 

Medication Refill Request Distribution List. Patients will now see a new mailbox when sending a secure Patient Portal message for “Medication Refill Request.” To add a staff member to this distribution list, go to: Staff > Staff Info > Basic Info tab > Patient Portal Messaging section > Refill Request Recipient. This mailbox will only be available as an option to patients if there is at least one staff member added to the group. Our thanks to Bailey from a clinic in Missouri for this helpful suggestion!
Patient Portal
New Feature

Override Services in BillingTracker. This new override allows for automatically adjusting one service to another based on a variety of factors, such as: payor, patient group, and location. Unlike the CPT override that simply adjusts the CPT code at the point of claim creation, this override will be applied at the time of transition, allowing the substituted service to be used for fee schedules, modifier rules, and other adjustments applied at transition or claim creation. To access this feature, go to: BillingTracker > File > Setup > Overrides > Service Overrides. Thank you, Francesca, from Pennsylvania, for your feedback on this feature!
BillingTracker
New Feature

Send Two-Factor Codes by SMS. Previously, two-factor codes could only be sent via email. Now, you have the option of receiving the code through text message. To select your preference, go to Staff Info > Additional Options. As a reminder, Two-Factor Authentication can be enabled using the Options form setting “Two-Factor Authentication Option”. SMS will only be available if you participate in the Appointment Reminder service (and will be billed according to your messaging plan). Please reach out via the support portal for further assistance. Should your practice administrators want to prevent SMS as an option, you can enable the setting "Two-Factor Authentication: Prevent SMS" in the Options form. Thanks to Peter, a valued partner of ours in Nashville, for encouraging us to include this capability.
ClinicTracker
New Feature

View Appointment Info From the Progress Notes. When writing your progress note, if you wanted to view or change details of the appointment (such as the time or diagnosis), you previously needed to close your note, return to the appointment, make the adjustment, and then return to the note. You can now click a new toolbar icon for “Appointment Info” which will let you see and update that information without ever leaving the note. Many thanks to Kim and Ken from our partner clinic in Maryland for this suggestion!
ClinicTracker
New Feature

Updated Duplication Check in Workflow Builder. The Duplication Check is now able to prevent a duplicate task from being triggered, based on both the individual record and the patient as a whole. For example, you can make rules that say:
  • When I save changes to a Treatment Plan, notify the clinic director, but not if they’ve already been notified about this specific record.
  • When I create an assessment, send out a notification message, but not if a message has already been sent out for this patient previously.
You can view all the available options by going to: Utilities > Workflow Builder > Duplication Check section > Edit. Thank you, Bailey, from one of our longstanding partner clinics in Missouri for the feedback on this item!
Workflow Builder
New Feature

Assign External Staff Assignments. Ken, from our partner clinic in Maryland, needed a way to create Staff Assignments for individuals that were not employees of his organization. A new checkbox on the Staff Assignment Type Input maintenance form has been added, to indicate that an assignment type is only for external users. When creating Staff Assignments for a patient, selecting an “external” Staff Assignment Type will restrict you to selecting only users that have been assigned a “Limited License” in their Staff Info record.
ClinicTracker
New Feature

End Recurrences for Workflow Tasks. In both the Staff Task Dashboard and the Patient Task Dashboard, you can now end recurring Workflow items whenever needed. To do this in the Staff Task Dashboard (available in the Staff menu), locate the task you want to end in the search results, right-click on the Workflow line item, and select "End Recurrence Here." For the Patient Task Dashboard, locate the Workflow Task in the right pane, and click the "End Recurrence Here" button.
Workflow Builder
New Feature

Filter Based on Payment Type. The Patient Dashboard’s Financial tab now accommodates filtering based on payment type (payment, adjustment, or both). We appreciate the feedback on this item from Casey and Ken from one of our partner clinics in Maryland!
ClinicTracker
Minor Update

Distinguish Between Payments and Adjustments. The Balance Assignment tab of the patient’s Billing Account previously included both payments and adjustments in a single column. We have separated these into two columns.
BillingTracker
Minor Update

New Modifiers Column Added to Claim Management. In BillingTracker, a new column for modifiers has been added to Claim Management. To view this new Modifiers column, go to BillingTracker > Claim Management > Modifiers column.
BillingTracker
Minor Update

Search for Preferred Name in Advanced Search. Users will be able to search for Patients by Preferred Name on the Find Form in Advanced Search. From the Patient Find form, click the button in the top menu for Advanced Search and select the Preferred Name filter in the dropdown. We appreciate this suggestion from Kim in Maryland!
ClinicTracker
Minor Update

Link Group Appointments from Staff Portal Scheduler. We have added the functionality to link and view Group Appointments in the Staff Portal Scheduler. These options will be available in the Event Detail form and right-click menu on a scheduler event.
Staff Portal
Minor Update

View Assigned Workflow History. You can now view the history of Workflow assignments from Workflow Builder using a new “View Assigned Workflows” button. The Assigned Workflows form will have a dropdown to filter the results by status and date. The Workflow assignments form will display the Patient Name, Date Workflow Assigned, Date Workflow Completed, and if the Workflow is active or not.
Workflow Builder
Minor Update

SmartFlow Form Request Notification Options in Workflow Builder. Workflow Builder will now accommodate a SmartFlow to send form requests without notifying a patient. This can be helpful if you want to create a document to start working on before notifying the patient. In the SmartFlow dropdown, you will see that there are Form Request options that will say "with notification" or "without notification". To use these SmartFlow options, go to Utilities > Maintenance > Workflow Builder > Step 2 > Add Task to Complete > Click the SmartFlow radio button and select from the dropdown.
Workflow Builder
Minor Update

Initial Contact Method Field Update. The Initial Contact Method field, located on the Intake tab of the Demographics form, can now accept user-entered values, making this a more flexible option for tracking this information. To configure new Contact Method options, go to: Utilities > Maintenance > Contact Method.
Demographic Form
Minor Update

Filter Patient Registrations by Pending Status. When reviewing Patient Registrations in the Staff Portal, you can now limit to showing only Pending registrations (registrations that were started, but never submitted). If accepting online registrations, you will find this available at: Staff Portal > Patient > Patient Registrations in the status filter dropdown. Thanks so much, Rachelle, from a clinic in New York, for your feedback on this feature!
Patient Portal
Misc

Customize Column Display Width. In Form Builder, you now have the ability to customize and control the width of columns displayed in data grids. To use this new setting, go to: Utilities > Form Builder, add a List Box control, set the “Show as Table” feature to “Yes”, and click to adjust the data source. When using a Data Source, you will see a field for the “Primary Field Width %”, and you will see a new “Column Width %” column that can be adjusted from the default of all columns being equal width. If using List Values, you will see a new button on the right side that will let you make this same type of adjustment. This great suggestion came from Matt at one of our longstanding partner clinics in California!
Form Builder
Enhancement

New ERA Enhancements. The ERA (835) module has been updated with enhancements to support efficiency and save you time.
  • New columns to distinguish between the total amount paid (Cur Paid $), and claim adjustments (Cur Adj $). Originally the full total (payments and adjustments) was included in a single column.
  • A toggle button for showing and hiding filters in the column headers (previously you would always see the filter buttons at the top of the screen).
  • Right-click a column header to access the option for sorting and filtering.
  • Moved the Split Payment functionality within the new Actions button on the right side of the row.
  • You can now filter for the adjustment codes (column name 'Adj Codes').
  • You can toggle the color coding of the ERA grid on or off by clicking the Color Key header.
You can access these new time-saving enhancements by navigating to BillingTracker > Payments > Electronic Remittance Advice (835).
ERA (835)
Redesign

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