Glossary
This glossary includes a list of key terms and definitions relevant across many features in ICE Health Systems.
Activity
Activities include scheduled appointments and events with an unavailable or busy availability status.
Example
I had one event and one appointment booked at noon today so I received an overbooking warning because I had more than two activities scheduled at the same time.
Ad Hoc Statement
A patient financial summary PDF that displays all transactions in a date range you choose when creating it.
Often used like a receipt or walkout statement so that patients have a complete understanding of their recent treatment and outstanding balances.
Example
I created an ad hoc statement for Jessie after their appointment today. The statement shows all the charges and payments from today and their upcoming scheduled payment plan charges.
Adjustment
An increase or decrease in the amount of a charge or payment.
Example
We offer a family discount for staff so we adjust their family's charges down by 15%.
Administrative Charge
A non-clinical charge. A charge that is not generated from procedures entered in a patient's record.
Example
Marco cancelled his appointment 15 minutes before it started so I added the $50 late cancellation administrative charge to his record.
Batch Payment
A group of payments deposited by a practice.
A batch may contain payments from insurance companies, individual patients, or a combination of both.
Example
We received 15 payments last week through our lockbox at the bank and I entered them as a batch today for allocation.
Batch Summary
A document that describes all of the payments that were deposited into your account as a batch.
Example
We received a batch summary from the bank for last week's deposits and I attached it to the batch payment I entered in Practice > Payments.
Capitation
A type of insurance policy where the practice regularly receives a pre-defined amount from insurance for a patient, even if they do not receive treatment.
If the patient receives treatment above that amount, the difference is written off as a loss instead of charged to the patient.
Example
Our capitation agreement with the LifeCare Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) provides us a yearly amount of $500 per LifeCare patient.
Category Percentage
A type of insurance policy where insurance covers a percentage of costs based on standard categories of treatment.
Example
My insurance policy covers preventative treatments at 80% and restorative at 60%.
Collaboration
An instant messaging conversation inside the system between one or more people.
Example
Dr. Chandra and I messaged back and forth in a collaboration to confirm her most recent patient's special request about anxiety.
Copay
A fixed amount that an insurance policy requires the patient pay when accessing health services.
Example
Corin's insurance policy has a $20 copay that he pays once each visit.
The system adds it to his first billable charge for the day with the note "Copay added:$20.00" and reduces the amount expected from insurance by $20.00.
Dashboard
The starting point for the Practice, Provider, and Patient menus. Dashboards can display different panel views that show information and tools relevant to different job roles.
Example
The front desk staff use their Provider Dashboard to show a list of tasks assigned to them and a list of patient records they've recently viewed.
The clinic manager's Provider Dashboard shows a report with today's appointments grouped by status, so they can monitor whether appointments are being checked in and started on time.
Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA)
An electronic document from an insurance company that explains how much of a claim they paid or why the claim was denied.
Example
I imported the ERA from the clearing house and confirmed why insurance only partially paid for the restoration and how they split the payment across charges submitted on the claim.
Explanation of Benefits (EOB)
A document from an insurance company that explains how much of a claim they paid or why the claim was denied.
Example
I reviewed the EOB to confirm why insurance only partially paid for the restoration and how they split the payment across charges submitted on the claim.
External Provider
A clinician recorded in the system who is not a part of your practice or organization. They cannot login to the system.
Example
I created Dr. Chandra as an External Provider so that we could track her referral request.
Form
A type of document based on a template that can be filled out in the system. Forms can be assigned to providers and patients, as well as validated by supervising staff.
Example
I used a form to capture information about my patient's caries risk. Everyone uses the same form template so it was easy for my supervisor to quickly review and approve my work.
Global Template
A predefined playlist of animations available practice-wide. These templates can be assigned to a patient from their patient education panel.
Example
I assigned the Brushing & Flossing global animation template to my patient today because we have to show them to every patient.
Guarantor
The person responsible for paying a patient's financial balance.
Example
Usually an adult patient is their own guarantor and a child's guarantor is their parent.
Individual
A person created in the system who is not a patient or provider. Often used to record guarantor or emergency contact information.
Example
I created my patient's guardian in the system as an individual so that we can keep better track of their contact and insurance information.
Lockbox
A service where a practice pays for a bank to receive payments on behalf of the practice, often through a PO box.
Terms like "remittance services" or "remittance processing" may also be used to refer to lockbox services.
Example
Patients can send payments to our lockbox at the bank and then the bank processes and deposits them into the practice's account.
Medicaid
A type of insurance policy in the United States of America that provides free or low-cost health coverage to some low-income people. Medicaid programs and coverages vary between states.
Example
Sara qualifies for Medicaid and in her state it covers bridges and crowns with copay.
Panel View
A group of panels displayed on your workspace. You can use multiple panel views to quickly switch between different layouts and groups of panels.
Example
On the Patient Dashboard I have two panel views. A "Front Desk" view with panels for checking patients in and taking payments, and a "Quality Assurance" view when I want to see patient panels with reports, administrative notes, and documents.
Panel
A small window or widget that appears on your workspace. Panels display many types of information and give you access to multiple tools.
Example
My Patient Dashboard always has the Patient Financials panel on it so that I can quickly check the patient's balance and record a payment.
Patient Portal
A website for patients to log into with a username and password to communicate with a clinic securely about appointments, forms, financial balances, and more.
Example
I logged into my patient portal to fill out screening and registration forms shared with me from the clinic before my appointment next week.
Payment Plan
An agreement that spreads the cost of treatment over multiple scheduled payments.
Example
Emilia's orthodontic treatment costs $3000 but we've split the cost into 15 monthly payments of $200.
PPO Percentage
A type of insurance policy where the clinic or provider is a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) and has a contractual agreement with the insurance payer to charge lower fees to that insurance payer's customers. Coverage is determined as a percentage of the PPO fees.
A provider with a PPO agreement with an insurance payer is often referred to as an "in-network provider".
Example
Rochelle has a LifeCare policy so the fee for her crown is $140 less than the standard fee because of our PPO agreement with LifeCare. She only has to pay the "in-network" fee of $600.
Practice Activity Panel
Displays a constantly updated feed of recent audit log activity in the system. Available from Practice > Dashboard.
Example
I used the Practice Activity panel to confirm that the new learners logged into the system. Quality Assurance uses it as an audit tool to check who is editing certain appointments or patients.
Practice Settings
Where administrators can configure and customize numerous settings, permissions, and features in ICE Health Systems. Available from Practice > Practice Settings.
Example
There was a typo in our New Patient Exam progress note template, so the patient care coordinator went into Practice Settings and fixed the template themselves.
Predetermination
A type of insurance claim used to confirm that a procedure is covered by a patient's insurance carrier and how much of the cost they expect to cover.
Example
Dana requested that the clinic submit a predetermination to her insurance before treatment to determine how much she'd expect to pay out of pocket.
Provider
Any person that has the ability to log in and use the system. It is similar to the term "user".
Example
To send a collaboration message to the front desk staff this morning, I searched for their names in the provider field.
Referral
A collection of patient information and documents used to track treatment or evaluation requests outside of your location or speciality.
Example
I created a screening referral so that I could send test screening details to the lab and track when the lab finished processing the results.
Resource
An item that can be viewed and assigned to an appointment in scheduling. Often an exam chair, room, or imaging machine.
Example
My schedule view shows resources and providers so it was easy to know when I could schedule Dr. Chandra in an open chair when the mobile imaging machine wasn't booked.
Schedule View
A combination of people, chairs, or other resources displayed side-by-side on the schedule grid.
Example
I created a schedule view using clinicians and chairs so that I can see availability for both on the same screen.
Screening Lab
A person or team who processes test kits from an office and verifies the results.
Example
The lab processed twenty test kits from the office last week and sent them the results.
Screening Office
A person or team who collects screening details from a patient before sending the details to a lab.
Example
The office processed twenty screenings for staff and patients last week and already received results from the lab.
Screening Patient
A person who is screened or tested by an office and may be asked to fill out forms in their online portal.
Example
The office screens all of their patients for COVID-19 and asks them to fill out forms online before administering the screening.
Screening Test Kit ID
A unique number or description used to identify a specific test specimen or collection kit.
Example
I made sure the Test Kit ID was the same on the specimen and the patient's screening form.
Short Call List
A list of appointments on the clipboard that patients would like to schedule at an earlier time or on short notice.
Example
I use the clipboard to keep track of what patients are on the short call list so I can easily drag and drop their appointments to earlier times.
Task
An instant messaging conversation used to request and track work. Similar to a Collaboration but with due date, and in-progress or complete status options.
Example
I created a task in Collaborations for Alan to call the Nguyen family and remind them by Friday to bring their updated insurance details to the appointments next week.
Transfer
The movement of financial responsibility for an amount from one account to another.
Example
Insurance didn't pay for the full treatment cost so we transferred the outstanding balance from insurance to the patient.
Unscheduled Appointment
An appointment created for a patient without a date and time. Often used to suggest an appointment with all details except a firm date.
Example
This patient already had an unscheduled appointment with the type, provider, and comments entered. To schedule it I just had to drag it from the clipboard to the schedule.