How to Set Up Preferences in Practice Mate

Setting up your Preferences in Practice Mate helps streamline workflows by assigning default values for claims, appointments, payments, and more. Preferences control several default values in Practice Mate, saving you time and minimizing errors. Follow the steps below to access and configure your settings. Note: only a user who has administrator rights can access the Preferences.  

Accessing Preferences in Practice Mate Preferences

1. Log into Practice Mate

• Use your Office Ally administrator credentials to access the system.

2. Navigate to the Manage Office Tab

• Located in the top navigation bar.

3. Click Preferences

• Located under the Company Settings section on the left-hand side.

Overview of Preference Sections

Preferences are grouped into several categories. Below is a breakdown of each section and its available settings.

Preferences Sub-Section:

• Default Facility: Select a facility to default to box 32 on the HCFA 1500 claim form. Facilities are managed in the Facilities section under Manage Office.

• Default Billing Provider: Choose the provider for box 33 on the HCFA 1500. Billing Providers are set under Billing Providers in Manage Office.

• Default Rendering Provider: Auto-populates box 24J with the NPI of the selected provider. The user must be listed as a provider among your child users.

• Default Place of Service: Assigns a Place of Service code to box 24B.

• Default Value for Patient Acct. No (Box 26): Choose from Patient ID, Patient Account No, or Visit ID. Visit ID only works if the claim is created from a patient visit.

• Default Payment Account No: Set the default account used when applying payments. Managed under Chart of Accounts in Manage Office.

• Default Adjustment Account No: Default account for payment adjustments. Also managed under Chart of Accounts.

• Auto Submit Claims: Enable this to automatically move claims to Claims Awaiting Batch.

• Patient ID in Reports: Choose whether reports show the Patient ID or Patient Account No.

• Print Payment Receipts per Page: Prints 2 receipt copies by default. Receipts can be printed from Visits, Payment List, or Credit Card Transaction pages.

• Color Theme: Change the background color of Practice Mate for a customized interface.

• Record Level Locking: When enabled, only one user can access a patient record at a time.

Auto Post ERA Settings:

1. Opt in to Auto-Post ERA

• Enables access to the Auto-Post section in the Accounting tab of Practice Mate.

2. Opt in to Auto Insert Checks

• If this feature is enabled, the optional 'Pending' section within Auto-Post is removed, and ERAs will show immediately on the Payment List as soon as they are posted to the account and accessible in Auto-Post.  

User Defined Fields:

This section allows you to create up to six custom demographic fields.

• User Defined Field #: Field number.

• Field Name: Custom label for the field.

• Add Appts: Displays the field on the Add Appointment screen.

• Check In: Displays the field during patient check-in.

• Patient Demo Report: Includes the field in the demographic report.

Other Settings:

1. Default Checkout Screen Elements

• Select default print items for the patient check-out process.

2. Check-Out Status Dropdown Box

• Create custom reasons for why a patient checked out.

• One option must be selected at check-out.

3. Patient Demographic Required Fields

• Click Edit to select which demographic fields are required.

• By default, only First Name, Last Name, and Sex are required.

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