Self-Check-In Prerequisite - Paywall

A setting in Persons & Institutions | Practice | Patient Portal called "Require Payment for Self-Check-In" (Paywall) allows practices to require patients to meet their patient responsibility (eg. copay/co-insurance; or appointment charge if the patient is self pay and has no insurance) before checking in for an appointment through MYIO. The patient will be able to check in if there is a credit on file greater than the copay or appointment charge. If the patient responsibility for the appointment is greater than the patient credit on file, the patient will be required to pay the difference before checking in.

The “Self-Check-In" feature allows patients to notify providers when they are ready to join a telehealth session. The “Paywall” feature will help practices collect the patient responsibility for an appointment before it has occurred. 

Users can check the box by "Require Payment for Self-Check-In" in Persons & Institutions | Practice | Patient Portal tab.  This is available to all customers with the Patient Portal and when turned on is active practice-wide for all patients. 

Configuration 

In Persons & Institutions | Practice | Patient Portal tab make sure both of the Self-Check-In settings are enabled. 

• Appointment Self-Check-In. 
• Require Payment for Self-Check-In.

In Persons & Institutions | Practice | Preferences tab updated header

If practice uses Receipt Book, "Appointment Payments" options are available

• Do not automatically apply to charge: payment will need to be manually applied to charge
• Apply entire payment amount to charge: total amount will be automatically applied to charge, even if more than the required payment amount
• Do not apply overpayments: if the payment is the required amount, the payment will be automatically applied to charge; if the payment is more than the required amount, the payment will be left as unapplied and will need to be manually applied to charge

If practice does not use Receipt Book and has Patient Portal and Integrated Credit Card, "Portal Appointment Payments" options are available

• Do not automatically apply to charge: payment will need to be manually applied to charge
• Apply entire payment amount to charge: total amount will be automatically applied to charge, even if more than the required payment amount
• Do not apply overpayments: if the payment is the required amount, the payment will be automatically applied to charge; if the payment is more than the required amount, the payment will be left as unapplied and will need to be manually applied to charge 

 Patient steps and view: 

1. Log into MYIO
2. Click the “Check-In” button for the appointment
3. If there is a dollar sign icon, clicking the Check-In box will open the automated payment processing window. 
4. Enter payment information and click Submit. 
5. Successful submission of payment will check in the patient and notify the provider.

Notes:

• MYIO only shows appointments for today and the future. 
• The “Check-In” button only appears for today’s appointments.

Provider steps: 

1. Receive notification that patient has successfully checked in. 
2. Click “Initiate Telehealth” in the check-in notification or by right-clicking on the appointment in the Scheduler.

FAQs: 

What is the patient financial responsibility for the appointment? 

If the patient has active Insurance 1, the patient responsibility is the copay. This is displayed in the appointment hovertip or the patient tab within the appointment. 

If the patient does not have active insurance, the patient responsibility is the full appointment fee. 

How do I override the paywall for a patient?

If a patient is trying to check in but is blocked by paywall, and is unable to make a payment, then a staff or provider has to check them in through the Calendar.

Where do I see if the patient has an unapplied payment? 

The information can be found in any or all of these locations.

• Total patient balance (should not be negative). Billing | View / Edit Charges 
• Prepayment. Billing | Prepayment History 
• Unapplied Portal Payments. Billing | Apply Portal Payment 
• Receipt Book. Billing | Receipt Book 

I’ve checked the “Require Payment” setting and my patient has a copay – why are they able to check in without making payment? 

The patient may have a payment on file that meets their appointment responsibility. Check the prepayment page, unapplied portal payments page, or the Receipt Book (if this is enabled for your practice) to see if payments need to be applied to the patient’s balance. 

If there is a copay exception built that overrides the default copay listed in Persons & Institutions | Patients that amount can be different than the original copay. 

If the appointment has no associated treatment code, there is no payment requirement.