Re: [Gnumed-devel] GNUmed billing 2011 - thread 2

[Jim Busser]

On 2011-05-20, at 3:40 AM, Karsten Hilbert wrote:

> IMO rows containing:
> 
> - identifier for item to be billed for
> - provider
> - patient
> - timestamp of when effected
> - number times item is to be billed
> - comment

I would also suggest that it makes sense for the doctor who is creating the 
billable to be able to suggest -- if applicable -- who is going to pay the bill 
when this would deviate from "normal" for this patient:

> - bill to

For the first iteration the "bill to" can be as simple as a comment field, null 
by default, and which will assume that the bill will be paid according to 
whatever / whoever is that patient's "normal" payor and method – as makes 
better sense to configure and store in the *billing / accounting* program for 
example

        Self
        Father (name)
        Mother (name)
        Other individual (name)
        Corporation (name)
        Insurer (name)

                Insurers:
                        Medicare equivalent-in-country (name)
                        Private insurer (name)

Why specify *from* the EMR? Well, there can be situations where a patient 
either knows that whatever is "normal" for them will not work (maybe they know 
their policy ran out and will be refused until they fix something) OR which 
they do not wish to have paid in the normal way, because it would cause them 
some kind of problem (say, privacy breach). Think the teenager's pregnancy 
assessment visit which they want to pay themselves.

Therefore I think it is important that this kind of instruction -- it is really 
after all only one extra comment field "bill to" -- be made available in 
first-iteration even if 99% of the time it is blank… there is not really a cost 
to it. Unless there's big disagreement on the point?

-- Jim