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Re: [Gnumed-devel] Introducing myself and questions on billing/accountin


From: Jim Busser
Subject: Re: [Gnumed-devel] Introducing myself and questions on billing/accounting
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 14:24:03 -0700

On 2011-05-18, at 8:52 AM, Chris Travers wrote:

> 1)  I'd look at what needed to be minimally extended in GNUmed in
> order to designate what was billable and how.
> 2)  I'd set up GNUmed and LedgerSMB into separate schemas with a third
> import schema.
> 3)  I'd use triggers to replicate the interesting subset of data from
> GNUmed into the import schema, and stored procedures run, say, nightly
> to import data into LedgerSMB.  All mapping of how something is billed
> would occur in that import schema.
> 4)  All invoices would come in as sales orders, could be reviewed by
> the billing department and adjustments made as necessary prior to
> posting as invoices.
> 5)  Longer run, would extend one or both programs to include more mapping 
> info.

hello Chris,

I think it's simplest to say that GNUmed does not currently "do" any billing. I 
do not personally "count" as billing the mere saving of a template which 
contains patient demographics,  which a person then opens (e.g. in Open Office) 
to input the charges.

I would rather say that GNUmed is ready to have billing "added".

When I say "ready" I mean things like
- has a schema to which billing-related columns and tables can be added
- has existing methods (procedures) by which to automate (hooks) and to export 
/ import information

We did already, as Karsten points out, do some conceptualizing and even table 
musing on what GNUmed may want/need.

It is maybe helpful to think in terms of some fundamental, foundational 
"atomic" unit of billing inside GNUmed. For that, we came upon the term 
"billable item".

What GNUmed should next need is

- a table which can hold billable items

- for each record in the table

        1) use-cases for when they would be created; options for
                automatic creation upon certain encounter types
                manual creation, with any encounter
                manual creation even when there is no encounter 

        2) data content specification
                patient identifiers
                practitioner identifiers
                service identifiers
                who is paying (who is to be billed)
                other
                - partly achievable with triggers

        3) workflows for creation / populating / resolving

The above needs a combination of
        A. columns to be added to existing and new tables
        B. GNUmed plugin
        C. script or daemon to further handle the billed item

The last-named (script or daemon, "C") would overlap the proposed gateway. If 
Chris is interested to lead development of a GNUmed plugin "B" (helped by 
whatever explanations or debugging help he might need) then I can surely 
together with Karsten and any others interested provide

        1, 2, 3
        "A"

Whereas if Chris only becomes interested at "C" then we will be in limbo until 
someone else has sufficient need to develop or to support to get developed "B".

-- Jim


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