Lesson 2: Epic CHECK IN

Epic CHECK IN In this lesson you will learn how to: Sign a patient in Cancel a sign in Identify where check in can be accomplished Access information contained within the DAR Navigate within the Check In window Collect co-pays Navigate the activity toolbar Reprint receipts

Epic Check In: DAR – Sign In Signing in a patient when they arrive for their appointment instead of checking in lets the clinical staff know that the patient has arrived but has not yet gone through the Check-in process. This provides the front desk staff with additional time to work on processing all incoming patients while letting the clinical staff be aware of patient’s status. You can add a column to your DAR to display the sign in time.

Epic Check In: DAR – Sign In When a patient arrives for an appointment, you can sign him/her in directly from the Appointment Desk by clicking the Sign In button at the bottom of the screen by right clicking on the appointment itself and selecting the Sign In option from the menu from the Department Appointments Report (DAR).

Epic Check In: Department Appointments Report (DAR) Utilizing the DAR is more efficient for signing in or checking in patients. It replaces searching for every single patient on an individual level from the Appointments Desk. Patients with scheduled appointments for that date will be on the DAR based on the criteria for the report. You can quickly view the report to locate the appropriate patient.

Epic Check In: Department Appointments Report (DAR) Selecting the “Sign In” option will automatically display a message stating that the patient has been signed in. The DAR will then reflect this on the status column as the patient being “Present” and the “Sign In” time column will be populated if on the DAR.

Epic Check In: Canceling the Sign In Canceling the Sign In can only be accomplished within the patient’s appointment desk. If you are on the DAR: Highlight the patient Click on the Appt Desk button on the Activity toolbar. This returns you to the patient’s appointment desk. From the Appt Desk, right-click on the appointment: select “Cancel Sign In” from the menu or click the Cncl SgnIn button on the bottom toolbar. Your appointment status will return to being ‘Scheduled’ on the DAR.

Epic Check In: DAR – Checking In You can check in the patient directly from the Appointment Desk or DAR window by clicking a Sign In button or using a right-click option.

Epic Check In: DAR – Checking In Checking in a patient from the DAR when they arrive for their appointment is far more efficient than checking in every single patient from the Appointment Desk. It eliminates the need to conduct a patient search for all patients. Patients with scheduled appointments for that specific date will be on the DAR. If you cannot find the patient, use the “Appts” button to locate the patient’s appointment desk where all future and past appointments can be viewed. You can also click on the Epic button and select Scheduling/Appts.

Epic Check In: DAR – Checking In The Department Appointments report will display based on the criteria entered. Information on this report will differ by site. Information contained on this report may include the following: Time of the appointment Sign In time Cerner # (Visit in PowerChart) HMRN (Hospital ID #) Patient Information Appointment Type Appointment Provider Appointment Status Appointment Notes TPO Status

Epic Check In: DAR – Checking In To check a patient in, select the appropriate patient by clicking once on their appointment slot to highlight, then click on the Check In button on your activity toolbar. You can, also, right click and select “Check In” from the drop down menu.

Epic Check In: DAR – Checking In Depending on your department setup, there are rules that check for required information at checkin. If the information is not in the record, you will see a pop up warning or error message and the screen will force you to registration. Review the record and update the information as needed. When done, click Continue Check In.

Epic Check In: DAR – Checking In When you return to check in, the Check In window will be open to the Questionnaire form. The form will differ by location. Complete the questions following your office workflows. You can open the Demographics form to update the patient demographics as needed.

DAR – Check In Window As part of the Check In process, you must select the visit account and coverage (if the patient does have coverage) for the visit being “Checked In”. A patient must have an Account listed in ordered to be Checked In. Without an Account, a patient cannot be Checked In. The only exceptions are the CHKD service area departments such as Radiology, Therapy, EEG, etc. If the patient has multiple accounts, the accounts are displayed in a list. Click the appropriate account to select it. The corresponding coverage is displayed below the visit account table.

DAR – Check In Window If the patient has multiple coverages for a given account, all of the coverages are displayed in a list. Click the appropriate coverage to select. Unless otherwise specified, the coverage selected should be the first one on the list and the patient’s primary coverage. The coverage with the red check mark is going to be the visit coverage for this appointment.

DAR – Check In Window Copay Due Copays due are based on benefits. Verify the amount by viewing the patient’s insurance card. Edit the copay amount as needed. The“default” copay due will be $27.00. Copay Paid Record the copay amount paid if you are collecting the copay at Check In. The “Copay paid” amount recorded can never be greater than the amount displayed as the Copay due.

DAR – Check In Window Copay Type Optional field that refers to the visit type. Payment Source Forms of payment, such as cash, check or charge. Reference Free text field used to record payment reference information such as a check number, or type of credit card used (Master Card, Visa)

DAR – Check In Window Referral Source Identify the referring source to your specialty area. If there is a referral attached to the visit, the referred by provider name will default in this field. If your office has a scheduling questionnaire that asks for the Referring Provider and it is entered at the time of scheduling, it will default in this field.

DAR – Check In Buttons Reg Click Reg to jump to Registration (user must have access to Registration). When you are done, you will return to the Check In/Out activity. Other Pmt Appears only if Resolute is installed and you are using the Resolute Copay form. Click Other Pmt to open the File Other Payments form and record any additional payments, for example, for previous outstanding balances. More details follow. You may also refer to the Resolute Self Payment Posting Non-Billing Staff Manual on KDnet for more information.

DAR – Check In Buttons Claim Info The Claim Info button appears if you are using either the Resolute or Prelude Copay form. Click Claim Info to create or edit the visit claim. The most useful information that could be obtained at time of scheduling would the “Authorization Number” if one is not already entered in a Referral associated with the visit.  Refer to the Account Maintenance Manual on KDnet for more information related to adding claim information records. 

DAR – Check In Buttons PCP Click PCP to bring up the PCP History form, from which you can edit the patient’s Primary Care Provider (PCP) information. Undo Click Undo to erase any changes you have made on the form

DAR – Check In Buttons Referrals If you need to create a referral, click Referrals. This will take you to the Referral activity where you can create, edit, or unassign a referral. In order to access this activity, you need referral access security. Medicare Secondary Payor (MSP) Questionnaire If the patient has Medicare coverage a MSPQ is required at check in. The answers to the MSP are tracked over time. They are specific to each visit. You can update the information from the button.

DAR – Check In Buttons Documents Click to view/enter the TPO, Privacy Notice or any other document needed for the patient. Refer to the Epic Registration Manual for more detailed instructions on document entry Edit Copay Click the Edit Copay button to adjust the copay amount when applicable without going to the registration record. Coverage Scan Click to view/scan insurance cards. Ent Guar Info Click to view Enterprise Guarantor Summary and review the guarantor account including any account notes. This field is accessible only if you have the proper security.

DAR – Check In Buttons From the Check In/Copay screen users with access to Account Inquiry will be able to view detailed account information such as balances and account notes. When the Ent Guar Info button is selected the report will display with two tabs. The button may be located on the “More” Button for some users.

DAR – Check In Buttons When the Demog/Balances tab is selected the screen displays information in four categories: guarantor demographics, balances, professional visits and payments. There will be no information listed under hospital. This section is reserved for inpatient charges.

DAR – Check In Buttons More: When the Notes tab is selected, a summary list of the account note entries will display. Selection of the located to the left of the entry will display account note detail.

DAR – Check In Buttons The correct copay amount found on the patient’s insurance card should be entered in the Patient’s Registration record. . Editing the copay amount is completed in two steps: Select the Copay Category field and choose the appropriate category type. Select the Amount field and enter the copay amount found on the patient’s insurance card. When copay information is entered during the Check In process, the correct copay amount will display on the Charges tab in the Check Out window.

DAR – Check In Follow your practice policies on procedures for checking patients in. If you are required to jump into the patient’s Registration record for updating Account and Coverage information, select “Reg” from the activity toolbar. Once completed, “Finish” the Registration record to return to the Check In window. Note: To edit Registration, you must have taken Epic Registration classroom training in order to gain access to registration functions.

DAR – Check In The Referral Source identifies the referring source to your specialty area. Use completion matching to locate the appropriate physician. If the referring provider is not listed in Epic, a Referring Provider Request form found on KDnet should be completed for Information Services. Once the provider has been added to Epic, the requestor will be notified and the user should be update the visit to reflect the “Referred By” provider’s name.

DAR – Check In Click on the “Accept” button to complete the Check In process.

DAR – Check In If a copay was collected, the Options form will have a “1” in the Receipt box. You can select any other items to print as needed. Many departments are set up to automatically print labels and encounter forms. You don’t have to click on Options each time. If you don’t have require any other forms, Epic automatically displays a “Print Receipt” window as soon as you click Accept. Enter a printer ID if one doesn’t default in.Click Accept to print.

DAR – Check In The patient’s appointment slot now displays “Arrived” within the Appointment Status Column.

Cancel Erroneous Check In on the DAR DAR – Check In Cancel Erroneous Check In on the DAR If the patient was checked in in error, click Canc ChkIn from the “More” button. You can also right-click on the appointment slot and select Canc ChkIn from the dropdown menu. This will change the appointment status back to “Scheduled”.

Epic Scheduling Printing Copies of Receipts

Epic Scheduling – Printing Copies of Receipts After Check-In, if the parent requests another receipt, you can obtain a copy from the main Epic buttonby selecting Tools>Billing Tools>Receipt Reprint option. This is also available from the patient’s Appointment Desk.

Epic Scheduling – Printing Copies of Receipts When printing a receipt from the Appointment Desk, the receipt will reprint to the original printer and a message in the bottom left corner of the reprinted receipt will indicate the message *** THIS IS A COPY***.

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