CareStack has you covered when it comes to collecting payments. If you want to communicate with the patient to pay their dues, you can use our 'Text to Pay' feature.
Text to Pay is a payment method in which a practice sends a bill through a text message, and the patient pays with their mobile device. This technique simplifies the payment process by allowing patients to make payments through a secure payment link on their phones without needing to log in to a separate payment system. The system benefits both practices and patients by reducing the time spent on billing and payments. Text to Pay simplifies transactions by integrating the billing and payment process into a single, mobile-friendly platform.
The Text To Pay button can be accessed from either the Home Dashboard, Ledger, Appointment slide-out, or Financial slide-out. Let's take a deeper look at using this feature.
Topics Covered
Explore this video for an in-depth walkthrough.
Watch this video for a complete understanding.
Text to Pay Process
The process behind the Text-to-Pay functionality is explained below.
- The practice sends a text message to a patient's mobile phone, which informs them that a payment is due.
- The text message consists of a payment link that redirects the patient to a secure payment portal where they can start the payment process.
- The payment page prompts the patient to enter their payment details, such as credit card information, bank account details, etc.
- Once the patient submits the required payment details, the transaction is processed immediately.
Set Permissions for Text to Pay
To set the required permissions to use the Text to Pay feature, perform the steps below.
- Navigate to the System Menu > select Practice Settings > Administration > Profiles.
- Click Manage Permissions on the intended profile.
- Select the Patient Engagement section.
- Select the View Patient Messages and Send Patient Messages permissions under Communication as needed.
- Click Save.
- On the Confirm Action modal that appears, click Yes to proceed.
- A toast notification appears on the top right stating, 'Profile updated successfully'.
Touchpoints for Text to Pay
Let's explore the different touchpoints for Text-to-Pay.
Home Dashboard
Click Text to Pay under the 'Additional Info' section on the Dashboard for all the patients who have an appointment scheduled for that day.
| Tip: Make use of the date filter to see the patients who had their appointments on the nearby dates. |
Patient Ledger
- Select a patient using the Global Search Bar > click Billing > Ledger.
- Click Text to Pay.
| Tip: You can use the Ledger method when the patient does not have an appointment scheduled on any nearby dates. |
Financial Slide-out
- Select a patient using the Global Search Bar > click Billing > Payments.
- Click Text to Pay under the Patient Summary section on the left.
Appointment Slide-out
- Navigate to the Scheduler > click and drag to book an appointment slot.
- This will open up the Appointment slide-out. Select the required patient, if not selected.
- Click Text to Pay on the bottom left.
Using Text to Pay
Once you have clicked on the Text To Pay button, a pop-up will be displayed. Perform the steps below to add a payment request.
- The Phone Number of the patient will be pre-populated if available.
- To change the phone number, click Use New Number.
- Select the country code and enter the new phone number.
- If the patient has no added phone number, you can enter the phone number.
If the patient has linked family members, you can choose to select any of the family member's number including the Responsible Party (RP) from the drop-down.
- You can either select the Pending Dues or Enter a Custom Amount.
- If there are no pending dues, you can only request a custom amount.
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Review the Message Content.
- If you need to edit the message, click Edit Message and make the required change.
- While editing the message, you can add quick links (dynamic data) by clicking '@'.
- Once the editing is done, click Update.
| Note: The edits made on the message from the Text to Pay modal will apply to the selected payment request. To change the default text message, configure it on the Text to Pay Settings slider. |
- Click Send Message.
This will automatically send a message to the patient mentioning the amount you have entered and a link to pay the amount through the Payment Gateway configured by your practice.
| Note: If Payments are configured to be tagged to the Payment Location under Practice Settings > Payments & Billing > Services > External Payments, the user has to select the Location on the Text to Pay modal. |
Tip: When users select the Location, they can see the balance due breakdown across locations on the drop-down menu. You can see a location greyed out if External Payments are disabled for that particular location. |
- To check the history of the text messages, click on the IRIS icon.
- This will open IRIS in a new tab where you will be able to continue the conversation with the patient.
- Additionally, you will be able to see the Text To Pay messages that have been sent from CareStack.
- Once the message is sent, your patient will receive a text message on their phone as shown below.
- Once the patient opens the link they will be redirected to a payment portal.
Text to Pay Control Center
- On the Text to Pay modal, click Manage Payments to open the Text to Pay Control Centre.
OR
- Navigate to the System Menu > Payments.
- Select the Text to Pay Control Center tab.
- On the Text to Pay Control Center grid, you can see all the payment requests sent through Text to Pay.
- You can track more information about the payment requests such as the date the Request was Created On, Status, Expiry Date, Patient Name, Mobile No., Amount Requested, Amount Paid, and Payment Status.
- To quickly narrow down the requests based on the payment and request status, select the quick filters on the top of the grid; All, Inactive and Unpaid, and Active.
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Note: Links will auto-expire and the status will change to Inactive for one of the following scenarios:
Additionally, the payment session expires after 10 minutes, with a countdown timer that resets once the 10 minutes have passed. |
- The four different Payment Statuses are:
- Unpaid: The payments link with no payments made by the patient.
- Underpaid: The amount paid by the patient is lower than the requested amount.
- Paid: The patient has made the whole requested payment amount.
- Overpaid: The patient has made an excess payment of more than the requested amount.
To view the details of a payment request, click View Details on the required line item.
- A slider will be displayed on the left that shows the Request Details.
- You can see the payment link URL on this slider.
- Click on the Open Link Icon to open the payment link in a new tab.
- Click on the Copy Icon to copy the Payment Details.
- To deactivate the link, click Deactivate Link.
- To deactivate an Unpaid and Active payment link, click Deactivate on the required line item.
- Click the Deactivate Link button on the confirmation modal.
- To add a new payment request, click Text to Pay Request.
- Select the required patient from the drop-down menu.
- This will open the Text to Pay modal.
- To configure Text to Pay Settings, click the Settings button on the top right.
- This will open the Configure Text to Pay Settings slider.
- Click Learn more to access the user guide to Text to Pay.
Configure Text to Pay Settings
You can access the Text to Pay Settings slider from the touchpoints below.
From Text to Pay Modal
- Click on the Settings icon.
From Text to Pay Control Center
- Click the Settings button on the right.
From Practice Settings
- Under Payments & Billing > Services > External Payments.
- Click Configure on the Text to Pay section.
On the Configure Text to Pay Settings slider:
- Click Edit on the Settings section to configure.
- Configure the following settings:
- Branding: Branding includes logo, address, name, and phone number based on Account or Location. This will be reflected in the payment form branding and default text template. Choose if you want Branding to be enabled at the Account level or Location level.
- Allow patients to change the amount: Select Yes if you want to provide permission for patients to edit the amount of the payment request.
- Default Text Template: Enter the content for the default text template.
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Note:
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- You can view the Preview of the Text on the right.
- Click Save once the configuration is done.
Note: If the 'Allow patients to change the amount' is disabled, the Change button will not be accessible from existing or newly created payment links at an account level. |
- To access the user guide for Text-to-Pay, click Learn more about Text-to-Pay.
Track Text to Pay Payments
The Text to Pay message heads off through cyberspace to the patient. Even though it is incredibly easy to pay using text, the patient might not do it immediately. They might do it in an hour. They might do it in six hours or six days.
The Payment Log in CareStack's Insights module will help you track when the payments do come in. It is not perfect, but it will get you part way.
- Navigate to the System Menu > select Operational Reports.
Search for the Payment Log report and click on the + button to generate a new payment log report. You can also click Generate Report.
Enter the criteria to find the payments you are looking for.
- Set the View as Collection.
- Choose the required Receipt Locations.
- Select Patient Payment as the Payment Entity.
- Choose Patient Portal for Payment Method.
- For Receipt Action, select Receipt Addition.
- Click Generate Report or Download Report As according to the requirement.
| Note: Payments made via text to pay on the report will have a payment method of 'Payment Portal'. |
Practices can use this resourceful guide to learn all about text to pay and use it efficiently