Navigating in Practice Express Once you log into Practice Express you are presented with the Alpha Inquiry window. You will notice several ways to navigate within the system. Drop-downs. Users who prefer to use a mouse may choose to utilize the drop-down menus at the top of the window. They are 1-Modules and 2-Commands (displayed here). Buttons. The mouse can also be used to execute frequently used commands via buttons located at the bottom of the window. Keyboard. Users who prefer to use the keyboard can key a command in the Command field located on the left, below the row of buttons. A command is the one or two letter combination shown in front of a function chosen from the Commands drop down window. Such as C Change Existing Patient. The C can be entered in the Command field to execute the Change Existing Patient function. Navigating 1
ALT key. The ALT key is used in combination with any underscored letter on a button or drop down menu to execute the command. Such as ALT O for Notes Entry (the letter o is underscored), ALT T for Charge Entry (the letter t is underscored). F5 (Backup/Cancel key). F5 is used to backup from a field to the previous field. It also functions as a cancel key to cancel out of a command. F2 (Lookup). Pressing F2 within a field will display a lookup window of valid choices for that field. F1 (Help). Pressing F1 within a field will display help text (where available) about that field. Tab. The TAB key is used to move forward from field to field. Drop-down Menus To utilize any of the drop-down menus (Modules, Commands, Last Menu), click on the selected menu. This action will cause the menu to drop down displaying contained functions. An arrow (>) to the right of any item indicates more options available. To display these additional options, move the mouse to the primary item. As before, this action will open up another drop down menu, listing available options. To make your selection, point your mouse to it and click. 1-Modules All of the Modules available in Practice Express are located in this menu. To access one of these modules, point to the desired module. This action will cause the menu to drop down displaying functions contained within that module. Once you have decided which function you want to access, point the mouse to it and click. Within the 1-Modules drop down menu, access is provided to these modules: Transaction Processing Statement Process Insurance Billing Reporting Collections Appointments Practice Analysis Managed Care System Management 2-Commands In the 2-Commands drop-down menu, similar functions are grouped together to make navigating in Practice Express easier. Once you have decided which command you want to access, point the mouse to it and click. The following commands are available under the 2-Commands drop-down window: Check-In IS Information Sheet C Change Existing Patient Navigating 2
Scheduling Registration Insurance Authorizations W Schedule Work-In IP Insurance Policy Maintenance PC Co-Pay Payments Entry LB Print Chart Label PS Patient Signature Dates L Lookup Patient Appointments M Maintain Doctor s Schedule S Schedule Appointments (Type) W Work In Ticket Create/Print DR Display Doctor s Schedule SN Schedule New Patients A Add a New Patient C Change Existing Patient F Family Display G Patient Balances K Print Patient Registration N Notes Entry CA Change Account Number IP Insurance Policy Maintenance IS Print Info Sheet With Notes LO Log Off Practice Express NP Print Patient Notes RO Rolodex Patients Lookup RP Retired Policy Maintenance UB UB92 Information XP Delete One Patient I Insurance Identification AD Admit Patient to Hospital DI Print Demand Insurance Forms DS Discharge Pat from Hospital GA Ambulance Certification Reco (Record) IL Update Date of Same Illness ID Update Date Last Seen IP Insurance Policy Maintenance RP Retired Policy Maintenance AP Assign Prior Authorizations PA Display Prior Authorizations Navigating 3
Transactions D Demand Statement O Open Item History Display P Payments/Adjustments Entry T Transaction Entry CM Collection Memos Entry DA Debit Adjustment Entry IM Display/Print Immunizations PC Copay Payments Entry PI Insurance Payments Entry RC Reconcile Unapplied Credits RV Reversals Entry SD Set Patient Diagnosis Codes TM Transactions Maintenance Account Info Labels Buttons B Display Balance by Doctor H History Display DH Print Demand History HP Display Purged History IB Display Balance by Ins Co PH Print Purged History LA Address Labels (2-up) LB Chart Labels (3-up) LC Fold Over Labels (2-up) LD Chart Labels (2-up) LP Address Labels (1-up) Patient Tracking CI Patient Tracking Check-in CO Patient Tracking Check-out PT Patient Tracking Display Sixteen (16) frequently used functions may be accessed via buttons located at the bottom of the window. To execute programs called by these buttons, point your mouse to it and click, or, press ALT plus the underscored letter. Find Pat (Find a Patient) Sched Appt (Schedule an Appointment) New Pat (Schedule and Add a New Patient) Lookup Appt (Lookup a Patient s Appointment) Add Pat (Add a Patient) Change Pat (Change a Patient) Notes Entry (Enter Notes in a Patient s Account) Navigating 4
Info Sheet (Print an Info Sheet for a Patient s Account) Charge Entry (Enter Charges) Paymnt Entry (Enter Payments) Demand Stmt (Print a Demand Statement) Hist Disply (Display a Patient s History) Ins Policy (Display Insurance Identification Information) Scan Image (Scan an Image) Demand Ins (Demand charges to file insurance) Paymnt Insur (Enter Insurance Payments) Fields In addition to the mouse-driven selections using drop-down menus and buttons, commands may be manually entered via 3 blocks located at the bottom of the Alpha Inquiry window, below the row of buttons. Command As described in the remainder of the Alpha Inquiry manual, Practice Express offers many different one-character and two-character commands used to enter, manipulate and report information. Any and all of these commands can be entered in the Command field. To utilize this field, click the field so the cursor now appears within the block, enter the command and then press TAB. Account If you want to access a specific patient s account, enter the account number in the Account field and then press TAB. This field, used in conjunction with the Command field, will directly display information related to a specific patient account. For example, to see the history display for patient 12345, key 12345 in the Account field and press TAB. Now enter H in the Command field and press TAB once more to execute the command. Notice that the cursor automatically went to the Command field from the Account field. Ticket# If you want to access a specific patient s account using their assigned ticket number, enter the ticket number in the Ticket# (Ticket Number) field and then press TAB. This field, used in conjunction with the Command field, will directly display information related to a specific patient account. For example, to see the history display for a patient with ticket 67890, enter 67890 in the Ticket field. Click the mouse in the Command field (or TAB to it) and key H. Press TAB once more to execute the command. Navigating 5
Find Patient The Find Patient function offers several methods to lookup a patient account. Choose this button or press ALT F. The following window appears: The various methods of searching for a patient are: Name DOB SSN Acct # Ticket # Chart # This is the default lookup option. You can do a full name lookup or a partial lookup based upon one or more letters of the name. Lookup by patient s Date of Birth. Select this option and the Birth Date field becomes available. Key the date in MMDDCCYY format. Example: 11121959 for 11/12/1959. Lookup by patient s social security #. Select this option and the Social Security Number field becomes available. Key the social security without the dashes. Lookup by the patient s account number. Select this option and the Account Number field becomes available. Lookup patient s account by the Ticket number on the Encounter Form. Select this option and the Ticket Number field becomes available. Key the entire ticket number including the dash or just the last 4 digits of the number. Lookup patient s account by the Alternate Chart Number. Select this option and the Alternate Chart Number field becomes available. Additional options displayed in this window: Find Clear Find the patient based on the lookup method chosen. A window will appear displaying a list of possible patients. If the window is empty, no match was found. You may want to try again using a different method. Clear the current lookup option and start again. Navigating 6
Cancel Help Cancel the Find Patient function and return to Alpha Inquiry. Online help. Navigating 7