What’s New March 2007
	Some exciting new features this month so please take advantage of them by doing an update, even if you have done one very recently. You will have to do an "admin" login to to run the update for the first time. In a networked envronment this only applies to the first person doing the update.
	Everybody should have their npi's by now and be filing new CMS-1500 forms ready for the April 1 cutoff of the old forms. Preparing the new claims correctly is the best preparation for filing valid EDI claims, which is really the way to go. Even if you do not file insurance claims , the npi is required for the statement of service that the program prints. In case you are confused here is a link to Aetna that we were sent that will make you completely despair of any sense or rationality in this transition (or non-transition) (aetna.com).
	Major new features this month include speeded up options to order billing records by DOS or by post-date, and faster printing of bills and claims, customization of all the grids, and exporting the contents of any grid to a spreadsheet. Special features for mental health clinicians working with groups are group booking and entering a common medical record for all members of a group. The registration method has been changed to accomodate the new Vista PCs. Your existing registration will be seamlessly changed to the new methodology when you first log in with the new update. You also now have the option of changing and using your full name that appears at the Login Screen by editing the file "Practicename.txt" in the TheraManager folder.
	Please read this email and pass it on to your staff and associates. We find a significant number of offices where new features are not being recognized. The emails are available on the website.
Appointments Screen
	The popular zoom feature on the Appointments Calendar did not work when there was a holiday or vacation in the week. This has been partially fixed. Holidays are no longer a problem and if vacations are booked in 1 day intervals, they are not a problem but we are obviously looking for a better solution. Zooming is also inhibited by placing "reminders" at the top of the screen. These could be placed in the Tasks Screen.
	The Encounter Form for booking and posting multiple CPT codes recently developed an independent streak. If this form appears and you do not want it then click the Disable option on the form or the popup menu.
	This is a reminder about reminders. Each booked appointment can be designated with a specific reminder method Telephone, Letter, Emaiil, Autocall and Autoemail. The Auto functionality is provided by a program that we resell that does automated dialling. To collect reminders open the Tasks Screen and click one of the sub-menu items for Get Appointment Reminders for. This will import the reminders into the Tasks Screen. Click on each reminder to select the name and phone numbers of the patient for manual dialling (use the autodialler if you have a phone modem). Letters or emails can either be batch printed or sent using the appropriate sub-menu item
Posting Appointments
	Please be careful when posting appointments for a new patient. Remember to enter the insurance information. Is the provider in-network? Are the Plans deductible, copay, variable rate copay etc entered correctly? At the Posting Screen be careful to select the correct type of billing, Estimated, Deferred, Assignment etc. Once set up at the first posting, this information is remembered for subsequent posting and is used to make the automatic adjustments when insurance payments/non-payments are entered. Not having the provider designated as in-network is particularly important in generating the correct adjustment .
Grids
	Each grid can not only be customized but that customization can now be remembered. There are several ways of using this capability. If the Open Screens with Customized Grid Checkbox at User Settings is checked then any customization is remembered and applied to the grid when it is reopened. There are also popup menu items that allow a custom view and in some cases a second custom view for printing to be saved and reloaded. If the Customization Checkbox is not checked then the as-designed view can be saved and reloaded to temporarily override any customization. Customization includes arrangement, width, sorting, grouping and visibility of the columns.
	Each grid now also has popup menu items that allows exporting the contents of the grid either to a spreadsheet (Excel in .xls format) or to an HTML file.This makes it easy to manipulate and to do customized prints of the data.
Groups
	Groups of patients can now be booked in one click into an Other Special/Group appointment.
	A common note can be entered for members of the group at the EMR Sceen from the Group List.
Expenses and Taxes
	Income, Refunds and Expenses can all be totalled at the Reports Screen and exported to your tax program if you are a Schedule "C" filer.
	For the current year we have added an additional column to the Expenses Grid for sub-categories of the major Tax Categories. The sub-categories can be enetered at the bottom of the screen and will be learnt in the drop-down list. The dollars can be summed by grouping by Category and then Sub-Category.
Accounting and Printing Bills
	The option to order by DOS or by Date of Posting (the norm until now) is available at both the Accounts Billing Screen and the Batch Screen has been speeded up. If you check the All Patients Checkbox at the Accounts Screen or the Order by DOS Checkbox at the Batch Screen, the whole set of billing records will be checked, aged and ordered and in a large database can take several minutes.
	Aging to 120 days has been added and an additional "dunning" message can be added at the Customization Screen
	Remember to check the Use New 1500 Checkbox on the Batch Screen before printing any 1500 forms on which you want your newly entered npi's to show
Unintended Consequences
	We modified two save procedures recently: one at the Diagnosis Screen and one on the Patients/Clients Screen that affected the order. In case you were affected by this there is a Save Alland All Buttonrespectively on these screen that can be clicked once.
EDIs
	We have the capability of parsing and entering the information in the electronic remittance advice (ERA or 835 transaction) that can be returned by the payer or clearing house. This will eliminate the tedious job of entering the insurance payments at the Insurance Screen. However we want to test this before releasing it. If anybody is using EDI and would like to sign up for the ERA and let us have their data we would like to work with you.
	If you have suggestions or need support please contact support@theramanager.com or call 908-508-8900.
	If you have never downloaded TheraManager, go to our website, download the FREE Trial, and call 800-913-4294 to request an on-line demo. If an earlier trial has expired, or you had problems running it, please call and we can get you going again. Our customers have converted from many other programs and we can make the switch easy for you with an import of your existing patient demographic data.