Overview

Clinics that have integrated merchant services/ payment processors through Cerbo can securely add and save patients' payment information. Saved payment information can be used to process recurring subscriptions or payment plans, as well as take one-off payments via Cerbo.


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Details

You can add a new credit/debit card or, if you are using Propelr or Bluefin, bank account/ ACH information for a patient. 


The payment option may be entered and saved while processing a payment, or it may be added to the patient's chart in advance from the EMR. Additionally, patients can also add their card information in the patient portal. 


If you are adding a card while processing a payment, follow the steps below.


Step 1: To add a payment to a patient's chart, you can either enter it from inside a note (see image on left below) or if the payment is not associated with a note, or otherwise appropriate, you can also add a payment from the yellow billing block (see image on right below). We strongly recommend that you add charges and payments inside the relevant encounter/SOAP note whenever possible.










Step 2: Clicking on the Add Payment button will bring up the following window. Add the relevant details regarding the payment. The card information goes in the highlighted area. Click the green Add Payment button when you're ready. This will process the payment if the entered information was correct and it will automatically save the card information for future use. This card will be listed in the "stored card" section".


To add a payment method to a patient chart in advance, i.e. not at the time of processing a payment, follow the directions below.


Step 1. Go into the patient's chart and edit the patient's information in the sequence indicated in the image below, starting with the edit patient information button (1), click on Billing Info (2) in the subsequent window, and then click on the Add new payment method button (3).


Step 2. In the "Save Credit Card for [Pt Name]" window, add the relevant card details and press the the green Save Credit Card button to complete the process.


The payment information that you enter is securely transmitted to and stored by your merchant services system. For credit cards, the CCV code is not saved, as required by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). This will not interfere with future payments, as credit card transactions can be processed without a CCV code.


Once you've saved a credit card to the patient's account, that credit card (identified only by the last four digits of the card number and the expiration date) or ACH payment method can be used to add payments to the patient's account.


Default Payment Method

You can mark a card as the default/preferred payment option for that patient from the Billing Info tab shown in the preceding image earlier. Simply click on the star icon next to the stored card, as shown in the example below. The starred payment method will be used for any automated recurring payments (like subscriptions or payment plans). 


Patients can Securely Add a Payment Method on the Patient Portal

You can also direct patients to securely add or update their payment method on file on the Invoices & Payments page of the Patient Portal.

  • If you use Stripe, they can be required to enter credit card information in the online New Patient Registration Form.
  • By request, Cerbo can configure your patient portal to prompt patients to add their card information if it's missing. We can also enforce a condition that will prevent patients from requesting appointments unless they have a card on file.

Options to prompt the patient in the patient portal include:

  • Adding a pop up that appears on login to prompt them to add payment information. 
  • Adding an exclamation mark that appears on the Invoices & Payments menu item if they have no payment information on file.

Options to limit patient portal functionality if a payment option is missing may include:

  • Restricting access to appointment requests to those that have a payment method on file.
  • Restricting access to secure messages to those that have a payment method on file.


Note that patients cannot remove a payment method on file via the Patient Portal. That can only be done by clinic staff in the EHR.


If Bills are Paid by Another Patient

If you have designated that a patient's bills are paid by another patient, that makes any saved payment methods in the payor's chart available to add payments in the payee's chart. So if you have specified for a child that "Bills are paid by" their parent, then you can add a payment against the parent's saved credit card directly in the child's chart.