You can bill a patient directly for any service that the patient is responsible for paying, regardless of whether or not they may be reimbursed later. For example, services that are not covered by provincial insurance such as sick notes, or products such as orthopedic implants. For more information on private billing, visit Private Billing.
There are three ways to create a private bill - from within an encounter, from the patient chart outside an encounter, and from the Billing dashboard without opening a patient's chart. Refer to Quick billing from the Billing dashboard for the steps on creating a private bill from the Billing dashboard.
Within an encounter
Steps
Within the Billing Items section of the encounter note, click +Add Private Billing. A New Bill window opens.
The Billing Practitioner defaults to your name if you are logged in as a provider. If necessary, click in the field to search for and select a different billing practitioner.
Add or search for a Code and Description.
📌 Note: Create or edit your own products or non-insurable services list (refer to Adding private billing products and services).
Add a Base Price. If you use a preset list, the Base Price auto-fills.
If the service or product requires taxes, select the tax checkbox, e.g. HST or GST.
💡 Tip: You can configure tax names and rates in Settings > Tax.
⚠️ Important: Tax is calculated on the full amount before any discounts are applied. To have the tax apply to the net amount, manually adjust the base price to incorporate the discount for this patient. Alternatively, create a product for the discount and add that product to the bill as a negative amount (e.g. -10.00).
The Date of Service defaults to the date of service set in the encounter note. If required, click to change it.
Click +Add Diagnosis to search and add a diagnosis code.
📌 Note: Diagnosis codes added to the billing item are saved only in the billing item.
Click Save. The private billing item appears within the encounter.
💡 Tips:
To edit the bill, click it.
To delete the bill, click the trash can icon.
You must sign the encounter for the bill to appear in the Balance Due and Private Billing sections of the patient chart.
Outside an encounter
Steps
From the patient's chart, click Private Billing from the Quick Menu or the Start/Open menu.
The Private Billing section opens. At the top-right, click + Add Item. A New Bill window opens.
The Billing Practitioner defaults to your name if you are logged in as a provider. If necessary, click in the field to search for and select a different billing practitioner.
Add or search for a Code and Description.
📌 Note: Create or edit your own products or non-insurable services list (refer to Adding private billing products and services).
Add a Base Price. If you use a preset list the Base Price auto-fills.
If the service or product requires taxes, select the tax checkbox, e.g. HST or GST.
📌 Note: You can configure tax names and rates in Settings > Tax.
⚠️ Important: Tax is calculated on the full amount before any discounts are applied. To have the tax apply to the net amount, manually adjust the base price to incorporate the discount for this patient. Alternatively, create a product for the discount and add that product to the bill as a negative amount (e.g. -10.00).
The Date of Service defaults to today's date. If required, click to change it.
Click +Add Diagnosis to search for and add a diagnosis code.
Click Save. The bill appears under All Payments and the Balance Due in the patient header is automatically updated.
💡 Tips:
To see the bill details, click Balance Due in the header of the patient chart.
To edit the bill, click it.
To delete the bill, click the trash can icon.
Updated May 24, 2024