Relocating your Practice or making significant changes to your Business practices can be challenging enough without adding complications from the software your business uses. Where possible, MedicalDirector Customer Care can assist you to ease the transition. This guide aims to address some common points of change that may need to occur.
If your practice is relocating to a different physical location, there is generally nothing you need to do regarding preparing your financial and/or clinical data, beyond conducting a full backup before the move takes place. Likewise, if your Business has changed hands, and the new Business entity is simply adopting all of the existing financial/clinical heritage and responsibilities, there is nothing you need to do to prepare your data.
Circumstances where this may be different:
o The practice location remains the same, but the Business has changed hands, and the new Business entity wishes to clear the old financials, and start fresh.
o The practice is splitting into two or more completely independent Businesses/Practices. In this instance:
• It is not possible to split financial data i.e. one practice must retain the financial heritage and continue to conduct business with it, and the other practice(s) must start fresh.
• Clinical data can be split into two or more independent patient databases.
If your practice falls into any of these latter scenarios, you must contact MedicalDirector Customer Care for advice and assistance. This assistance may require you sending your patient/practice database to MedicalDirector for analysis/splitting, and this process can take some time. Please contact MedicalDirector several weeks in advance of your change-over date.
A Provider Number is required by each clinician wishing to bill for services, and this number is issued by Medicare. Furthermore, for each location the clinician practices in, they will require a different Provider Number. A location generally means a different physical address, but it can also mean providing a different service at the same physical address, such as when a GP also provides a specialist service in another treatment room.
o A change of business practices (such as when the Business changes hands) does not require a change of Provider Numbers.
o A change of physical location does require that each billing clinician apply for a new Provider Number to replace each number they used.
o If you need to be issued a new Provider Number, contact Medicare on 1800 700 199
o To record a new Provider Number:
• In Helix: via the Doctor's details in User Settings
• In Pracsoft: via Practice Details window
• In Bluechip: via BC Secure. Contact MedicalDirector Customer Care for assistance with this process.
A Payee Provider Number is required for each clinician wishing to bill for services, and this number is issued by Medicare. It is used by Medicare to identify which bank account to make payments into. In most circumstances, the clinician's Payee Provider Number matches their Provider Number i.e. most clinicians require that Medicare payments are made directly to their personal bank accounts, and as such, for simplicity, Medicare issues the same number. However, there may be circumstances where a clinician requires that payments are made into a different clinician's bank account, such as when a Locum provides services on behalf on another clinician. In this case, the Payee Provider Number used will be a different number.
o A change of business practices (such as when the Business changes hands) does not require a change of Payee Provider Numbers.
o A change of physical location does require that each billing clinician apply for a new Payee Provider Number to replace each number they used.
o If you need to be issued a new Payee Provider Number, contact Medicare on 1800 700 199
o To record a new Provider Number:
• In Helix: via the Doctor's details in User Settings
• In Pracsoft: via Practice Details window
• In Bluechip: via BC Secure. Contact MedicalDirector Customer Care for assistance with this process.
The Location ID (also known as a Minor ID) is issued by MedicalDirector. It is bound to your software licence with MedicalDirector, and it also allows Medicare to uniquely-identify your Practice Business.
o It has the format HLXxxxxx (Helix), HSSxxxxx (Pracsoft) or BCPxxxxx (Bluechip).
o A Practice conducting business at one location using one patient database is issued one number.
o A Practice conducting business at multiple locations, but using one patient database (such as when satellite centres connect remotely to a shared server), is also issued one number.
o A Practice conducting business at multiple, independent locations using separate patient databases is issued one number per site.
o This number will not change unless a whole new business is being created that requires completely new licensing from MedicalDirector i.e. unless a new MedicalDirector account is being created, the Minor ID doesn’t change.
o If you are in doubt about your Location ID / Minor ID, contact MedicalDirector Customer Care.
If the business changes hands, new letterheads and account details may be required.
o Helix: Template Management.
• Each template can have a different letterhead.
• Clinical: Letterheads.
• If individual User Letterheads are used, each will need to be modified.
• It is possible that some templates have hard-coded Leatherheads that display the old practice details. These will need to be modified individually.
o Pracsoft:
• Letterheads are created/modified via Setup > Letterheads. Edit or create a new letterhead as required. If a new letterhead is created, ensure that you indicate which practitioners will use it, via Practitioner Details.
• Account Footers are created/modified via Setup > Edit Ancillary Messages > Account Footers or Receipt Footers.
o Bluechip: contact MedicalDirector Customer Care for assistance.
Most business details can be modified as required. However, where elements are inaccessible (greyed-out) you must contact MedicalDirector Sales for assistance.
o Helix:
• Modify Centre Settings.
rh-list_start level="2" class="NumberBulletAlphaBullet" mc="1" ic="1" style="list-style: rh-list; list-style: rh-list;" ?>Clinical:
• Modify User details.
• Modify Practice details.
o Pracsoft:
• Modify Practice details.
o Bluechip: contact MedicalDirector Customer Care for assistance.
o Certificates issued by Medicare do not change unless the Business itself changes its ABN.
o Individual providers may need to be added to the location certificate, and can be updated at Medicare via 1800 700 199.
o Changes to eHealth registered members may need to be updated at NEHTA via 1800 723 471.