What is a family account in Canada?
In Canada, a family account allows you to manage the balances of multiple individual patients from a single patient's record - this is ideal for family groups. By linking multiple patients as a family, you can apply a payment to multiple family members' separate invoices at the same time, in a single workflow.
When set up, family accounts can be found alongside an individual patient's account, in the 'Account' tab in the patient record.
In addition to the default account balance displayed in a patient's account, the family account's combined balance will be displayed here:
Family: The total amount a family owes
Insurance: The total amount the family's insurance owes (if a pending payment has been recorded then this number will be in amber)
Balance: The combined total of what the family owes and what is pending from insurance.
📝 Please note: The profile photos/avatars for each patient in a family will be shown here. You can hover over the profile images at the top of the page to see each patient's name. If the family includes more than 5 patients, there will be a count eg +2 to indicate the number of additional members.
What can I do with a family account in Canada?
If a patient has a family account set up, you can complete all the normal actions available on a default 'Account' page, with additional functions specific to families, including:
Taking payments for multiple family members at once.
Filtering invoices by patient.
Filtering payments by payer and by patient.
Including multiple family members when generating a statement of account.
📝 Please note: When you first navigate to the account page for a patient who has a family account set up, it will only show the details for the chosen patient initially, by default. You can toggle which patients are included in the view using the filters.
How do I take a payment for a family account in Canada?
📝 Please note: If you use the 'Take payment' button at the top, this will only take payments for the patient you're on.
First, make sure you have ticked the 'Patients' filter to ensure all family members are shown on the screen.
To take a payment for an individual family member's invoice:
Toggle to the 'Invoices' tab in the 'Account' screen.
Find the invoice for the patient that is being paid.
Click the three dot menu on the far right of the chosen invoice.
To take a payment for multiple family members' invoices at once:
Check the tickbox next to each patient's invoice that you wish to pay.
When you have selected all the required invoices, click 'Take $X'.
For both options, in the window that appears, complete the fields as needed. The 'To pay' field will automatically populate with the patient's outstanding balance, but can be manually changed to any amount.
When you are finished click, 'Save'. The payments will be assigned to all the appropriate invoices as needed, and they will be marked as paid.
📝 Please note: If a patient takes a payment on behalf of family members, they will be listed as the payer for all invoices they paid.
How do I set up a family account?
To create a family account in Canada:
First, link family members in the 'Family' section of the 'Details' screen in the patient record.
Once you have created a family, if you wish to you can add dependents to the parent's insurance policy.
You can then manage the family account from the 'Account' tab in the patient record of any of the family members.