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TASK: Take the old, confusing statements and make them clearer and more informative
For a very long time, the most common piece of feedback we got for billing features at TherapyNotes was that the patient statements were not sufficient for a majority of the practices we serviced. They wanted much more information included on the statement than what was originally included, such as insurance payments and adjustments, write-offs and credits, and patient payments. Our customers also complained frequently that our statements were hard to understand, and they wanted a clearer ledger. Further, our customers also requested that we show payments (from both insurance companies and patients) in accordance with the dates of service that were administered.
Separately, we decided to redesign our Superbills so that they looked more like our patient statements, for consistency across documents; and we introduced a new document type, patient receipts, which gave customers a direct link to the specific payment they want to issue a receipt for.
Redesigning the statements also meant we got to address some aesthetic issues with the existing statement, such as font and font size inconsistencies, creating a more professional look and feel. I used Figma and a PDF frame to design these documents, and I also provided design specs and requirements to our developers to assist them in building the PDF. One of the most challenging problems I faced during the design of the PDF was to ensure that both of the addresses (practice's return address, and patient's address) fit into a number of different sizes and types of envelopes - this was a time when I actually had to get out pencil and paper and draw some things out, cutting up pieces of paper to mimic all the different types of window envelopes that are out there (and there are a lot!!), printing examples of my design, and layering everything together physically to make sure it would all just work!
These new documents received tons of praise and positive feedback when they were released. We were very proud of the success of this multi-year project!
A blog announcing the release of the statements phase of this project was published on 7/31/2023, and a blog announcing the release of the receipts phase of this project was published on 5/2/2023.
Statements - Before
Statements - Before
Open the images above to see some examples of the old patient statements.
Some issues are immediately apparent - like varying font sizes and different fonts altogether. The table borders are harsh, and the ledger is tough to follow. The grey 'hashmarks' (these guide the user where to fold the statement so that the addresses fit into envelope windows) run into the table on the left hand side and can be missed entirely. It's also missing a lot of important information, such as what was billed to the insurance company and what the insurance company paid for a date of service.
Statements - After
Statements - After
Open the images above to see some examples of the redesigned patient statements.
The harsh table has been lightened up. Fonts and font sizes have been standardized. The grey hashmarks were moved into the margins so they could be more easily seen. All information is organized by date of service (appointment) - every transaction that took place for a date of service (patient payments, insurance payments, write-offs, refunds, etc) are all displayed with that specific date of service. The ledger was broken down and provided a balance due for each date so that the patient could easily see what they still owed.
I also originally proposed a payment stub, especially since a lot of our customers were asking for something like that, but we ultimately descoped this idea.
You can see more 'after' scenarios here.
Superbill - Before
Superbill - Before
A superbill is a document that clinicians provide to their patients to submit to their insurance company for reimbursement on a date of service. Superbills are generally used when a patient is out-of-network with a provider, and needs to pay all their costs up front instead of paying a copay. The old superbills had some of the same problems as the old statements - harsh tables, varying fonts and font sizes, etc.
Superbill - After
Superbill - After
For the new superbill, I used the new statement design as a template to try and introduce some consistency across these forms. The table is lighter, I reorganized some of the information, and the fonts and font sizes are standardized.
You can see more 'after' scenarios here.
New Payment Receipt
New Payment Receipt
Believe it or not, TherapyNotes never had a way to provide a patient with a proper payment receipt, until this project came along! Customer success had a workaround - they would have the user create a patient statement, but just for one day - the day the payment was made. But with the old patient statements, there was no way to show the patient how their payment was applied (if, say, they paid a lump sum that was applied to multiple dates of service). The new patient receipt aimed to solve that problem, while using the statement and superbill as templates for consistency. Now, a user can simply navigate to a patient's payment and with the simple click of a link, provide a receipt to the patient for everything their payment went towards.
You can see more receipt scenarios here.
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