TCMS Version 4.8.1 – What’s New, What’s Fixed, etc

(RE-POST FROM AUGUST 2012)

Collection Module error with Documents is fixed.
Some TCMS users were receiving an “EOF error” under certain conditions while printing Bulk Documents from within the Collection Module. This will no longer happen

Duplicate check number posting errors are now prevented
If two checks containing the same check number were posted, there was a possibility the funds would be drawn from the wrong check, causing a “negative” amount posted from the check.

A database trigger has now been enabled to ensure that this no longer occurs.

New notation added to the Daily Transaction report
Due to the nature of the Daily Transaction Report not showing inactive locations, or the user running the report not having user rights to a given location, we have added a notation at the bottom of the report to reflect the data that is used to generate the report.
The notation reads: “This report does not generate data from transactions performed in inactive locations.
This report will also not display data from transactions performed in locations for which that user does not have rights”.

Institutional Billing now available through TCMS’s Emdeon Claim Center
TCMS now offers Institutional Billing through the Emdeon Clearinghouse.

To accomplish this, place a checkmark on the new option in Practice Defaults Setup screen labeled “Send Institutional Claims to Emdeon”. Then, while creating the EMC file, select the “Institutional” option.

ERx files now save correctly to the intended (temp) folder
ERx files were inadvertently downloaded to the user’s desktop instead of a temp folder. This has been corrected.

A field in the Worker’s Comp HP1 for now populates appropriately
The Workers Comp HP1 form was not populating the “County” fields in all cases. This has now been corrected.

Printed HCFA/CMS-1500 forms will generate all modifiers
CPT/Claims that contained four modifiers were not generating all of the modifiers consistently.
The modifiers on the CMS-1500 form will now fill all the boxes when there are 4 modifiers for a given CPT.

Daily Transaction report with Custom Fields is now optimized
There was an issue with the Daily Transaction report in which the use of Custom Fields would cause the report to slow down. The database elements are now optimized for use with custom fields.

Workflow Queue error addressed
The Workflow Queue had an issue with the List View under some conditions in which it would not display the document, but rather generate and error,
“Archive does not exist”. This problem has now been addressed.

HCFA/CMS-1500 error addressed
Printing a HCFA/CMS-1500 was sometimes generating an error, stating “Error in Execute: 998 Failed to Retrieve Error Message from Print Engine.”
This was related to 5010 requirement changes. A database change has been put in place to ensure the error will no longer display.

835 (ERN) FILES FROM MEDICARE
Have you stopped receiving your 835 ERN files from Medicare? Most of our clients are not experiencing this problem.

If you stopped receiving them, you may have neglected to complete the 5010 production transition agreement. We provided instructions in January and completion was required before July 1st.

If your files have stopped coming, you need to complete the form. CLICK HERE and complete the 5010 Production Transition form online. It can take 5 to 10 business days to process the form. Once it is processed, you will receive a confirmation email from NGS. There is nothing else to set up or do once confirmed and you should start receiving your 835 ERN files thereafter.

Also note that, if you submit to multiple Medicare contractors (i.e., NGS and GHI Medicare), you will need to complete the form once for each contractor.

If you need any assistance completing the form, please feel free to call our Support Services Center at (516) 466-1942, extension 2. We can help complete the form with you.

TCMS Version 4.8.0 – What’s New, What’s Fixed, etc

Electronic Superbills are now removable from the ESB Queue
You can now remove an Electronic Superbill from the queue. There is sometimes a need to remove a claim from the ESB queue because the claim may have already been written manually, or because of a scheduling error that causes the ESB Queue to contain a duplicated claim. If needed, the claim can be removed from the ESB Queue by the user by Right-mouse clicking on the entry.

The Unit Analysis report can now be exported to a CSV/Excel file
There is now an Export feature available on the Unit Analysis Report. This will allow the user to export the data of the report to a CSV/Excel file that contains the data utilized from the database for the report. The exported file is created, by default, to your C drive and users familiar with Microsoft’s Excel software can tailor the data for more customized reporting.

Verbiage changed for an option while generating Electronic Statements
For the sake of clarity, there is a verbiage change in the Electronic Statements module’s selection screen. The second option shown will now state, “Print if (select number) statements have already been printed more that 30 days ago”. There is no change in actual functionality.

Two new fields added to the Electronic Statements EMC Setup
There are 2 changes made in the Setup -> EMC section for the Statements section.
- ANSI Format, where the user can mark it as “Y” if they are going to send ANSI formatted files.
- EMF login and Password fields to allow the user to enter those fields for transmitting those files.

Labeling changed in the Patient Search screen
There is a change in the labeling when searching for a patient (F10). For accuracy, the overall balance indicator’s label will now read “Account Balance” rather than Patient Balance. There is no change in actual functionality.

Time zone adjustments within Appointments properties are now in effect
Based on the settings on your workstation, the “time” utilized within the properties of appointments in the Open Scheduler will be specific to your time zone

Credit card payment processing can now span across services
When a credit card payment is accepted for processing, you can now post the payment to multiple services. To select multiple services, enter a checkmark in the selection boxes on the right-hand side of each service, then right-click over one of the services and process the payment.

To offer an example of how the payment will be posted: if you have four services and each has a balance of $100, and your total payment to be posted is $250; the first service will receive $100, the second service would receive $100, the third service will receive $50. In other words, the payment post to the services selected from the topmost service’s balance to the bottommost service until there are no more funds left to post.

Missing option is now available
A drop down box wherein the user can select between “fax” and “email” was missing on the MG 2 Worker’s Compensation form. It is now available.

Collection claims can now remain in collections when re-billed
In the past, a claim in the Collections module would automatically be removed from Collections when re-billed to a different carrier. The user is now given the option to keep a service in Collections after rebilling the claim to another carrier in the patient’s ledger.

Worker’s Compensation MG1 form now has a “comment” field available
There is a new comment field available for the MG1 form for Worker’s Compensation.

You can now process credit card payments within the Scheduler
There is a new option available while applying a patient’s copay from their appointment in the Scheduler. TCMS has added the ability to Process Credit Card directly from the scheduler

Worker’s comp has a new field available for the HP1 form
There is a new field on the Worker’s Compensation screen to include the name of the physician that rendered the first treatment. The selections available are sourced from the practice's Referring Doctor entries. This physician’s name will appear in the second page of the HP1 form.

Improvement in denoting an overbooked appointment
The Overbook check mark in the properties of an appointment that was overbooked was sometimes inaccurately reflected due to an internal flaw. The internal logic was re-written to ensure accuracy.

Printing error fixed
In previous version of TCMS, an error while printing LABS from the Workflow queue could occur under certain conditions. An internal trigger is now added to ensure against this error.

ASP clients can now improve connectivity

Please make sure your TCMS is on version 4.7.8 or 4.7.9 to improve connectivi​ty to the Cloud.

Look for your current version while logging onto TCMS, or you may go to the "help" menu and select "about" . If you need assistance updating, please file an "eTrack" or call our Support Services team for assistance.

TCMS Version 4.7.9 – What’s New, What’s Fixed, etc

TCMS-to-Go has been revised and enhanced to improve functionality, and is now available in the 4.79 TCMS update. This utility is found in the TCMS menus under Scheduler. If not present, please contact us after updating for activation and use instructions.

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About TCMS-to-Go
When used, it extracts a complete dataset (excluding claim or financials) for each patient within the selection criteria. This extraction includes:
• All scheduled appointments within the selected date span
• Complete Demographics
• Insurance and scanned cards
• All stored documents
• Current Medications that were prescribed within TCMS eRx

Patient’s data can then be reviewed without a connection to a live system. Patients are either selected by their appointments or by searching and selecting their name. The complete content is stored on the local computer from which the utility was executed. The extracted data is password protected and fully encrypted in case the PC’s security is compromised.

What can TCMS-to-Go be used for?
The purpose of the TCMS2Go utility is to have local data viewing access in case of connectivity loss, with an internet based system or if an office based server were to fail. It must be run prior to any system failure. You cannot add to the system when viewing. Walk-in patients will not appear as it is based on scheduled patients only. It can also be used if a provider wished to extract their data for later reference, isolated from the original system.

The extraction utility is currently based on an appointment period only. Either select future period, to guard against connectivity loss or select the historic date span for the installed system for a complete patient population extraction.

Other important notes about TCMS-to-Go
• The process is for viewing data only.
• The longer the query period the longer it will take to run and extract the data.
• The PC will be inoperable for other activity during the extraction process.
• We cannot construct file data from any extracts as this program is for viewing patient data in a secure setting.
• There is no ability to create file data from this extraction.

New options available while exporting TCMS-to-Go
There are new options available in the TCMS-to-Go module while exporting the data, including cutoff dates for documents (base on creation date), and the option to export patient’s insurance cards if they are scanned in.

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TCMS-to-Go exports can now include multiple resources.

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TCMS-to-Go now allows user to search by account or patient’s last name

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A Claim Center’s name was modified
The name of the Claim Center for DME Travelers has been modified to DME MAC to accommodate some recent changes made by the clearinghouse.

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The label for “Scanned Images” in Documents Setup was modified
For clearer understanding, the document type in the Documents Setup section named “Scanned Images” has been modified to read, “TIF – Scanned or Faxed”.

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There are now alternative fields available for “Billing” and “Pay to” addresses
TCMS now offers additional fields in the Provider Number Setup screen that allow for alternative Billing and Pay-to addresses when submitting claims electronically. These fields are available specifically for use with any carrier/payer, provider and location combination. Address-related data in these fields will replace any existing Billing or Pay-to convention.

There is no change or action necessary to continue to bill the way you already are… these fields will serve as alternatives to what you may already be using. Selection of a Practice Default is necessary to activate this new feature.

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Below is a schematic of the scripted building of Billing Address and of the Pay-to Address logic in TCMS. Please call us if you have any questions regarding these additions.

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Bulk Eligibility is now fully functional in 5010 for CheckMedicare and Emdeon

Eligibility check for secondary and tertiary carriers is now available
There is a Practice Default that, when selected, will check a patient’s Secondary and Tertiary Insurances if they exist.

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New Custom Field available for patients with End-Stage Renal Disease
There is a new Patient Custom Field. “Medicare Secondary End-Stage Renal Disease”. Setting this to “Yes” from the Patient’s Demographic screen will result in the building of a value of “13” in loop 2000B SBR.

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TCMS Version 4.7.8 – What’s New, What’s Fixed, etc

A new option that prevents changing a charge amount while updating
Some background:
Prior to this version, when a service line is updated to a different carrier, and the fee schedule for the new carrier has a different charge amount in its fee schedule, the original charge amount changes to the new charge amount, unless:
(1) A payment was previously posted to the service
(2) A write-off was previously applied to the service
(3) The service was performed in a closed month

About this new option:
There is now a new option that the user can select while updating claims: “Do not update charge amount”.
If this new option is selected, and there is a difference between the charge amounts of the two fee schedules utilized, the charge amount of the service will not change when the service is updated to the new insurance profile.

Using the "Repeat Charge" feature with a future service date is now prevented
The "Repeat Charge" feature saves time when the same service needs to be re-written. But writing a service with a future DOS is not usually a desired option, and the “Repeat Charge” feature was inadvertently permitting this if the batch date was set with a date in the future. This is now no longer possible… if the user attempts to write a future service while using the future batch bate option, a message will be generated notifying the user that a future date of service cannot be used.
 
ERN Kicklist now includes Claim Adjustment codes
The ERN Kicklist report is an on-screen display that identifies the payments that were unable to be posted while posting payments automatically from an ERN/ERA. This report will now include the Claim Adjustment codes which can be used to sort/order the results of the report.
 
Unsent No Fault/Worker’s Comp Claims now included in report
The No Fault and Worker’s Compensation Claims now follow the same rules as all other claims when the Unsent Claims report is generated. Claims that have not yet been sent electronically (WC Claims can now be submitted electronically through iHCFA) or printed will appear on the Unsent Claims report.

Eligibility is now available for CheckMedicare as well as Emdeon
The Eligibility feature in TCMS offers eligibility and benefits verification with the largest group of commercial and government payers in the industry through which accurate eligibility information can be verified in real-time or high-volume batches. This feature, while working well using Emdeon, was recently not working with CheckMedicare and is now available .

ASP/Cloud clients can now select a preferred SS# default
There is a Practice Default that was already available to all clients, except for ASP/Cloud clients. The default is specific to retaining patient social security numbers in the patient demographics screens. This default is now also available to ASP clients.

TCMS Version 4.7.7 – What’s New, What’s Fixed, etc

The Collections Module has a handful of new enhancements and modifications:
In the Setup screen for the Collection Module, there are now new options to further define the criteria for moving Insurance-Due claims into Collections. The user is now able to set the minimum number of aging days based on service date in addition to transaction date.

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On the “Move Claims” screen, the user will now be given the option to move claims by calculating the aging date from the service date or from the transaction date as in previous versions of TCMS.

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Additionally, the Agent work screen will now display each individual claim assigned to the selected agent rather than displaying the information on an account level. This allows the agent to work their assigned claims directly from this screen and eliminates the need to switch between screens. The detail grid will now also include the “Transaction Aging Days”, “Service Aging Days”, and “Date Assigned” columns to allow the user further flexibility to sort claims as desired.

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For Assigned and Worked claims, in addition to the existing ledger display at the bottom of the screen, new tabs have been added to give the user access to the Patient’s Demographic and Insurance information without having to switch screens or exit the Collection module.

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If the user ‘Right Mouse’ clicks and selects to jump to the patient’s Ledger from the Agent work screen, it will bring the user to the actual claim. This is a big time saver as the user will not have to search through claims.

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We have also added the “Agent Productivity Report” under the Collection reports menu.

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This Report can be run for selected agents in a selected date span.

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The Report can be run in Summary mode:

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Or in Detail Mode:

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Electronic Worker’s Comp is now updated with new iHCFA requirements
Electronic Worker’s Comp claim submissions, processed through the WCB certified clearinghouse iHCFA, are now updated to the latest compliance requirements.

No Fault claim form data adjustment
The No Fault claim form was only including the first claim modifier and cutting off any other existing modifier codes. The form will no longer cut off secondary modifiers when printed.

Workplace Health Statements now observe Practice PO Box addresses
The Workplace Health Statements will now utilize the Practice’s PO Box Pay-to address (if used for the practice in the Practice Setup screen).

Facilities can now be removed from claims by the user
In prior versions, the user was always able to change a claim’s facility from one to another; but there was a limitation on completely removing a facility altogether. The user can now remove a facility without the need to replace it with another.

The EMC Submissions report has 2 new indicators
The EMC Submissions report will now indicate if a claim has exceeded the Timely Filing Warning level assigned in the Insurance Carrier’s Setup screen; the report will also now indicate if a claim has exceeded the Timely Filing Allowance level, also assigned in the carrier’s setup screen.

A new option to claim acknowledgements
Until now, the user was unable to view the Medicaid 277 report, which offers information on claims that were rejected. There is a menu option available under the ‘Claims’ menu called ‘View Claim Acknowledgement’. Once launched, the user can select from downloaded 999 or 277CA files to view, save, or print.

TCMS Version 4.7.6 – What’s New, What’s Fixed, etc

Introducing the new “Copay Analysis” Report
There is a new report under the “Scheduler Reports” section of TCMS, it is a Copay Analysis Report. The report compares “Copay” payments applied to the accounts of patients that were scheduled (within a specific date or date span) to their expected copay amount in the same patient’s Demographics screen. The report will then identify exact payment matches and payment exceptions (whether the patient paid more or less than the expected amount). The user can opt to only show exceptions, or limit by Resources, and an assortment of other options… including generating a report for a specific patient by account number.

The Unit Analysis Report is now a bit faster
The Unit Analysis report is now faster and offers better response times to accommodate all levels of Oracle databases.

Worker’s Comp Authorizations will all display
When selecting the “Show All” authorizations option in the Worker’s Comp Claim Edit screen, all available authorizations will now display (regardless of which insurance carrier generated the authorization). This is because, unlike medical claim authorizations, WC authorizations are often carried over to other payors and need to be selectable for any claims.

Zero payments will now post from ERN’s
When posting from an ERN, zero-dollar payments will now post to the patient’ claim as long as there is either a copay or deductible applied to the service.

TCMS Version 4.7.4 – What’s New, What’s Fixed, etc

A new Practice Default available for Faxes
Until now, a document could only be faxed if it were digitally signed. We’ve added a new Practice Default that, when it is UNCHECKED, will allow users to fax documents that are not digitally signed.

Claim files removed properly after sending
When electronic claim files (EMC files) are generated for submissions to Emdeon or to McKesson, they are temporarily held in a file and are usually removed after the submission was completed. Recently, however, the files were not disappearing… this problem is now addressed. The EMC files in the folder will now be removed from the folder after they are submitted to the clearinghouse for both Emdeon and McKesson.

New Worker’s Comp form now available
For Workers Compensation, there is a new version of the C 4.3 form. It is identified by (1/12) at the bottom of the form.

* The Worker’s Compensation forms will now adhere to the Pay-To address if it is selected in the Practice Setup screen.

Appointment history will now print
Printing a patient’s appointment history was causing an error when the option to “Show cancelled appointments” was selected. This has now been addressed.

New 64-bit station Installer available
There is a new Installer for users that are utilizing 64-bit workstations that need to send and/or process claims electronically. The new Installer is available in the folder where the TCMS runtimes are located. It is called the “CriterionsEDIDownloaderx64Setup.msi”

TCMS version 4.7.3 - What’s New, What’s Fixed, etc.

TEMPORARILY SUSPEND SENDING BCBS CLAIMS
MedXpress and BCBS were experiencing transmission irregularities for 4010 & 5010 Formats. We all understand the urgency… expect a correction shortly. We can notify all clients instantly through this messaging once this is addressed. Please do not call Criterions support for BCBS claims until there is notification that it has been corrected or we have provided instructions with this type of “Alert”. We will notify all clients when and how to resume BCBS submissions once we get notice from them.


MEDICARE HAS EXTENDED THE 4010 FORMAT THROUGH JAN 31
Although many clients are submitting 5010 Medicare formats without issue we have discovered irregularities related to Windows workstation configuration variables. If you experience 5010 submission errors, you can revert to the 4010 format as a temporary solution as we are working with those clients for a remedy. The selection is found under “File”, “Setup”, “Practice Setup”, “Practice Defaults” and remove the checkmark on the default labeled “Generate 5010 Claims” – this will permit you to generate a file in the older 4010 format.

The 5010 version has been re-released. Version 4.7.3 addresses the following irregularities discovered with the earlier release: Only update if this affects you.

CMS-1500 (HCFA) forms will now generate PO Box info if applicable
Box 33 on the CMS 1500 (HCFA) was not printing the PO BOX PAY TO address when the new PO Box feature became available and selected for the Practice (TCMS was printing the Practice Address). This issue is now addressed. When the PO Box feature in the TCMS Practice Information screen is utilized, TCMS will now print the PO Box “Pay To” address information in Box 33 of the HCFA.

Patient Statements will now generate PO Box info if applicable
Patient Statements were not printing the PO BOX PAY TO address when the new PO Box feature became available and selected for the Practice (TCMS was printing the Practice Address). This issue is now addressed. When the PO Box feature in the TCMS Practice Information screen is utilized, TCMS will now print the PO Box “Pay To” address information under the Practice Name on printed patient statements (both bulk printing and individual printing). This issue is also addressed when Electronic statement files are generated.

Creating an electronic file for individual/selected carriers
Creating a claim file for “Individual Insurance Carriers” was not excluding unselected carriers. This issue is now addressed… only the claims due from selected carriers will be included

Procedure Code Financial Analysis Report sort correction
The Procedure Code Financial Analysis Report was not printing in the correct sort order when a specific combination of selections was selected (include patient name and split by Insurance type/Carrier). The resulting sort order for this specific report was incorrect. This issue is now addressed.

Worker’s Comp “MG-2” form misspelling corrected
There was a misspelling on the MG-2 form that is now corrected.