User Guide — Daily Best Practice Tasks

On the Main Menu, click Claims and then click Workflow Dashboard > Hold column

The Hold queue can be accessed from the Workflow Dashboard Hold column. This queue should be worked daily, primarily by the front desk, charge entry, or office administrative staff. The claims that fall into this work queue will have less complex problems than the MrgHold queue and will not require extensive billing knowledge to resolve. This queue may consist of the following claim examples: claims holding for patient insurance ID number incorrect, procedure code bundling, invalid place of service.

Best practice: Resolve within 2 days

On the Main Menu, click Claims and then click Workflow Dashboard > MgrHold column

The MgrHold queue can be accessed from the Workflow Dashboard MgrHold column. This queue should be worked daily. The MgrHold queue can be worked primarily by billing or office managers. The claims that fall into this queue will have slightly more complex problems than the Hold queue and may require more extensive billing knowledge. This queue may consist of the following claim examples: complex denials, provider number issues, denials requiring a policy decision (such as a denial for medical necessity).

Best practice: Resolve within 6 days

On the Main Menu, click Claims and then click Workflow Dashboard > Appts to Resched column

The Appointments to Reschedule queue can be accessed from the Workflow Dashboard Appts to Resched column. The appointments to reschedule worklist should be worked daily. This worklist contains appointments that have been marked as requiring cancellation and rescheduling due to a change in the provider's schedule.

On the Main Menu, click Claims and then click Workflow Dashboard > Missing Slips column

The Missing Slips queue can be accessed from the Workflow Dashboard Missing Slips column. Charges should be entered daily after services are performed. The Missing Slips worklist on the Workflow Dashboard can be used to monitor charges that have not yet been entered.

Best practice: Enter charges daily (within 3 days of service)

On the Workflow Dashboard, click a non-zero total in the Eligibility column, in the row for the desired department (the Eligibility Worklist appears in the Task Bar)

The Eligibility queue can be accessed from the Workflow Dashboard Eligibility column. The Eligibility Worklist should be worked daily to confirm eligibility, or insurance coverage, for patients who have appointments in the next three days. At a minimum, eligibility should be confirmed for patients who have appointments the next day.

Best practice: Resolve prior to the patient's arrival

On the Main Menu, click Financials. Under PAYMENTS, click Unpostables. In the left menu, under UNPOSTABLE REMITTANCE, click Unpostables Dashboard

The Unpostables Dashboard should be worked daily. The dashboard is separated into Practice and Athena responsible unpostables. Your practice is responsible for resolving unpostables in the "Practice" column. The Unpostables Dashboard may contain the following examples: No Matching Charge/Patient, Balance Forward, or Old Date of Service.

On the Main Menu, click Financials. Under PAYMENTS, click Unpostables. In the left menu, under Correspondence, click Correspondence Dashboard

The Correspondence Dashboard should be worked daily. The correspondence dashboard contains any correspondence that has come to your pay-to address. Examples of correspondence include patient letters, insurance company letters, and W-9 requests.

On the Main Menu, click Financials. Under PAYMENTS, click Time-of-Service Money.

When athenaOne users in your practice collect patient payments at the time of service, athenaOne opens time-of-service payment batches automatically. Users should balance and close their payment batches at the end of each day (or at the end of their shifts) via the Reconcile Payments tab on the Manage Time-of-Service Money page.

Each time your practice brings a deposit to the bank, a time-of-service deposit batch should be created using these tabs on the Manage Time-of-Service Money page: Create Deposits - Cash & Checks and Create Deposits - Credit Cards. (Creating deposit batches for TOS money is listed as a daily best practice, but this recommendation may vary for your practice.)

Best practice: Reconcile time-of-service payments daily; create a time-of-service deposit batch for each bank deposit.

On the Main Menu, click Financials. Under MONEY MANAGEMENT, click Begin/End Payment Batch

If any users at your practice open payment posting batches during the day to post transfers, adjustments, or insurance refunds, these batches should be closed at the end of each day.

Note: A nightly script automatically closes manual payment batches with $0 target amounts that are in balance and were opened within the last 30 days. This feature does not apply to time-of-service payment batches.