CHAPTER 20
whenever you do bookkeeping you do bookkeeping, you should shrive for
100% accuracy
Accounts Payable
Money owed by a business
which federal act states that patients must know ahead of time if credit extension will include interest fess
TLA
Accounting
The process of communicating the income and expenses of a business and its financial health
Cashier's Check
a bank check issued by a bank on bank paper and signed by a bank representative, usually purchased by individuals who don't have checking accounts
Check
a bank draft or order written by a payer that directs the bank to pay a sum of money on demand to the payee
Voucher Check
a business check with an attached stub, which is kept as a receipt
Money Order
a certificate of guaranteed payment, which my be purchased from a bank, post office or some convenience stores
Third party checks
a check made out to one recipient and given in payment to another , as with one made out to a pt rather than the medical practice
Travelers Check
a check purchased and signed at a bank and later signed over to a payee
Limited check
a check that is void after a certain time limit; commonly used for a payroll
which of the following describes a cashier's check
a check written on a bank paper and signed by a bank representative
Credit Bureau
a company that provides information about the creditworthiness of a person seeking credit
Reconciliation
a comparison of the offices financial records with bank records to ensure that they are consistent and accurate, usually done when the monthly checking account statement is received from the bank
ABA Number
a fraction appearing in the upper right corner of all printed checks that identifies the geographic area and the specific bank on which the check is drawn
Write-it-once (pegboard) system
a manual bookkeeping system where the daily log has prepunched holes on the right or left side of the log. Prepunched charge sheets are placed in designated areas on the pegboard. The pt ledger care placed between the day sheet and the charge sheet and an entry is made; it appears on all three documents at the same time
Certified Check
a payers check written and signed by the payer, which is stamped "certified" by the bank. The bank has already drawn money from the payers account to guarantee that the check will be paid
Payer
a person who pays a bill or writes a check
Payee
a person who receives a payment
Skip
a pt who has moved out without leaving a forwarding address and his bill is unpaid
Counter Check
a special bank check that allows a depositor to draw funds from his own account only, as when he has forgotten his checkbook
Statue of limitations
a state law that sets a time limit on when a collection suit on a past due account can legally be filed
Cycle Billing
a system that sends invoices to groups of pts every few days, spreading the work of billing all the pts over the month while billing each pt only once
which of the following checks should not be accepted by the medical office
a third-party check made out to the patient
Disclosure Statement
a written description of agreed terms of payment, aka: a federal truth in lending statement
Truth in Lending Statements
a written description of the agreed terms of payment between the pt and medical practice when payment will be made in more than 4 installments
a disclosure statement is
a written description of the terms of payment
Single entry account
an account that has only one charge, usually for a small amount, for a pt who does not come in regularly
Open book account
an account that is open to charges made occasionally as needed
Written-contract Account
an agreement between the physician and pt stating that the pt will pay a bill in more than four installments
Credit
an extension of time to pay for services, which are provided on trust
fees must be determined in order to create a:
charge slip
most disbursements are made by
check
when reconciling a bank statement, the first thing you should do is
check the closing balance on the previous statement against the opening balance on the new statement
the most commonly used bookkeeping system is the
computerized system
what is a common billing system that bills each patient only once a month but spreads the work of billing over a month
cycle billing
which of the following terms means that a check is accepted as payment
endorsement
Accounts Receivable
income or money owed to a business
an NSF payment is one that
is returned by the bank for nonsufficient funds
what role does the fee schedule play in patient accounts
it determines the amounts you should bill for services
tracking disbursement expenses by category is important because
it helps control expenses
when do many smaller practices send out their bills
just after the end of each month
Negotiable
legally transferable from one person to another
who is responsible for collecting patient payments
medical assistant
which of the following requires a physician to provide care to individuals who need it, regardless of their ability to pay
medical ethics
how often should you reconcile a bank statement
monthly
how often should a patient receive a billing statement
once a month
what happens when a patient moves but does not leave a forwarding address
patient is considered a skip
the purpose of endorsing a check is to
prevent the check from being cashed if lost or stolen
a credit bureau is
responsible for providing creditworthiness of a person seeking credit
Endorsement
signature on the back of a check with the terms for accepting the check as a payment
in what ways do practices approach the task of collection
telephone calls, letters, or statements
a major advantage of a computerized bookkeeping system over a manual one is
the amount of time saved
the most likely reason some deposits are not showing up on the bank statement is
the deposits were not recorded at the time the statement was created
if you are using cycle billing and a patient's last name begins with "D," when will you most likely bill this patient
the fifth of the month
Power of attorney
the legal right to act as the attorney or agent of another person, including handling that person's financial matters
Age analysis
the process of clarifying and reviewing past due accounts by age from the first date of biling
Journalizing
the process of logging charges and receipts in chronological list each day; used in bookkeeping
Guarantor
the pt, caregiver or entity responsible for a payment of the healthcare bill
Cash Flow Statement
the statement that shows the cash on hand at the beginning of a period, the income and disbursements made during the period and the new amount of cash on hand at the end of the period
Bookkeeping
the systematic recording of business transactions
which of the following is true regarding a computerized bookkeeping system
understanding manual bookkeeping tasks is an essential part of managing books on a computer
when performing electronic banking, you should
use a password to access the electronic checkbook register
tracking
watching for changes in spending so as to help control expenses
when can you send a final letter
when an account is 120 days past due
the only time you should accept a check signed by someone other than the payer is
when the person who signed the check has power of attorney
when payment has not been received, the first phone call to the patient should occur
within 30-45 days