Visual Practice XP Edition

HOW-TO Guide Online

Visual Practice HOW-TOs are short documents that explain how to perform certain functions or take advantage of features in Visual Practice. As Visual Practice evolves and users ask more questions, support staff and HOWTO power-user contributors are writing HOW-TO documents. Check the Visual Practice Updates website frequently for new information!

Be sure to read our Welcome!

Indicates that the topic has been updated since the last major release of the program, and you should review it. We especially encourage you to read the new detailed sections on submission and reconciliation.

How to...

...Prepare for Visual Practice
  ...Review your computer requirements
...Command line switches for Visual Practice
  ...Set your display to 800 by 600 and the best color selection
...Use the Visual Practice user interface
  ...Add user/module licenses
...Apply privileges for greater OHIP billing security
  ...Set up a new user
  ...Set up a billing provider (Physician)
  ...Import patient files into Visual Practice

...Log Into and Out of Visual Practice
...Clearing a login failure after reboot
  ...Enter a new patient using the patient registry form
...Store a photo of the patient in the patient registry
  ...Enter a new referring provider (physician)
  ...Associate a referring physician with a patient
  ...Search for a patient
  ...Swipe a patient's Ontario Health Card
...Chart Number options and Features

...Create an OHIP Bill
...Search for OHIP bills
  ...Use billing codes that required hospital (or facility), admit dates and in/outpatient status
  ...Do WSIB (formerly WCB) and RMB (Out-of-Province) billing
  ...Apply premium codes
  ...Technical and professional component billing
...Assistant Surgical Billing
  ...Interpret and use the STATUS column on OHIP bill lines
  ...Interpret the ERR column
...Correct an error and resubmit billing lines to OHIP
...Use the Dept. (department) field to classify your billings
...Use keyboard shortcuts to speed up data entry
...Add or Update New OHIP Codes or Apply Code Changes

...Ontario Ministry of Health MRI/MRO Overview
...MRI diskette submission
...MRI electronic data transfer (EDT) submission
...MRI submission recreation
...Interpreting submission reports
...MRO diskette reconciliation
...Setting up Visual Practice for EDT
...MRO electronic data transfer (EDT) reconciliation
...Cycle your EDT password every 35 days
...Troubleshooting EDT problems
...Interpreting reconciliation reports
...Additional billing/code analysis reports
...Use the OHIP bill inquiry report
...Print today's OHIP billing daysheet
...Use the OHIP transaction inquiry report
...Print billing lines paid or submitted today
...Use the outstanding billing lines report
...Use the income summary by department
...Interpreting FHG RA Reporting
` ...Interpreting AFP RA Reporting

...Health Card Validation (HCV & OBEC) Overview
...Setting up Visual Practice for HCV
...Check the status of a single card (HCV Now)
...Add a patient to the HCV list of patients to be validated, and validate the list
...Validate patient health cards from the patient registry that are marked "Not Validated"
...Cycle your HCV password every 35 days
...Interpreting HCV response codes
...Setting up Visual Practice for OBEC

...Prepare to use Direct Billing
...Set up your taxes
...Set up your item codes
...Set up your insurance companies
...Enter patient's insurance policy and claim information
...Use the Dept. (department) field to classify your billings
...Bill a patient for goods or services and print an invoice or statement
...Bill an insurance company for goods or services and print an invoice or statement
...Print a monthly statement for a patient or insurance company
...Print an annual insurance company statement
...Print an annual patient statement
...Apply a payment from a patient
...Apply a payment from an insurance company
...Report on outstanding debts or credits for patient and insurance company accounts
...Report on payments entered into Visual Practice
...Use the direct transaction inquiry report

...Booking/Scheduling Module Overview
...Schedule a provider's time
...Book a patient appointment
...Copy and paste appointments (or Duplicate an appointment for another day)
...Print a daysheet
...Find a patient's appointment
...Perform HCV for a day's patient bookings
...Quick bill an attended appointment
...Creating, applying and using Schedule Templates

...Use the OHIP Quick Bill List Program & Import of VPL Files
...Format *.vpl files for Visual Practice
...Format *.vpp files for Visual Practice

...Billing Day Sheet Module Overview
...Use basic OHIP billing functions
...Use in combination with the Booking/Scheduling module
...Use in combination with the health card swipe wizard
...Auto-create booking/scheduling day sheet from the health card swipe wizard

...Primary Care/Preventive Care Model Topics
...Using List, Letters and Labels to track Preventive Care Bonuses

...Introduction to Visual Practice Backup and Restore
   ...Administrative considerations
   ...Configuring the backup settings
   ...Performing a backup
   ...Performing an FTP backup
   ...Performing backup media verification
   ...Performing a restore

...Microsoft Office Integration
  ...Use ODBC drivers *
  ...Create a Visual Practice ODBC data source
  ...Link Microsoft Access and Visual Practice
  ...Use Visual Practice Word Merge

...Administrative Issues and Advanced Features
   ...SQL command processor syntax
   ...Configure Visual Practice for network operations
   ...Data connection errors
   ...Printing in Visual Practice
   ...Apply OHIP fee schedule updates
   ...Live update
   ...Database guide
   ...Update Conflicts: What they are and how to resolve them.

...Information for Ministry of Health Helpdesk Staff
...EDT password reset Instructions for Visual Practice
...HCV password reset Instructions for Visual Practice