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Primary Account Holders

  • Updated

In this article:

In the situation where a patient is not suitable to be their own account holder, Gentu can allow for a number of other persons to be set as an Addressee when invoicing.

This may be required in situations where the patient is a minor or elderly person, or persons requiring a carer/guardian and aren't in a position to make financial decisions.

To ensure that the correct person is set as an account holder when invoicing, Gentu has a Primary Account Holder function, which will allow you to specify which account holder is to be used by default on private invoices.

Adding an Account Holder

The persons available from the list of potential Addressees on an invoice need to first be added as a Patient or Account Holder in your database, then assigned to the the patient in question.

You can add an account holder via the Address Book or the Patient List using the below steps.

Note: Generally you would only add an account holder via the Patient List if they are actually a patient at the practice. Otherwise, add them as an account holder.

Address Book Patient List
  1. Select the Address Book option from within Gentu.
  2. Choose the Account Holder tab.
  3. Search for the required account holder to determine if a record already exists.
  4. If no record exists, choose Add > Account Holder from the top right of the window.
  5. Enter the relevant details into the New Account Holder window. In order to be set in a patient's record, you should leave the Entity Type as Individual.
  6. Select Save to finish adding the record.
  1. Select the Patient List option from within Gentu.
  2. Search for the patient who is required as an account holder.
  3. If no record exists, choose the + New Patient button in the top right of the window.
  4. Enter the relevant details into the new patient record window.
  5. Select Save to finish adding the record.

Setting an Account Holder

After you have ensured that the account holder record exists in your database as an Account Holder or as a Patient, you can set them as the nominated account holder for other patients as required.

  1. Open the relevant patient's record. 
  2. Approximately halfway down the page, locate the Account Holders heading on the right hand side.
  3. If the required Account Holder is not currently listed, click the plus + icon.
  4. When prompted, search for an Account Holder using their first and/or last name.
  5. If the required Account Holder is suggested as a search result, you can click on this person from the list of options. If there is no matching record, you may receive a message advising Sorry, no account holders found.
  6. After selecting an Account Holder, ensure all details are entered correctly.
  7. Tick the Primary Account Holder option if required.
  8. Select Save to close the window, then Save again to save the patient's record.

If the required Account Holder does not have a record in your database, as indicated by the Sorry, no account holders found message, you can add them using the steps outlined above. By default, the patient will be assigned the role of Primary Account Holder, and will be the default person listed on invoices unless otherwise specified.

Removing an Account Holder

Account holders can be removed from a patient's record when necessary. The limitations to this are that the patient themselves cannot be removed as an account holder, and an account holder with a deposit attached to their name cannot be removed as an account holder.

With the implementation of Primary Account Holders, any instances of the patient as an account holder that may have once been unlinked will be returned to the record. The reason for this is to allow for instances where a patient may be a minor, in which case they are likely to eventually take ownership of their own account.

To remove an account holder from a patient's record, please see the steps below.

  1. Navigate to the relevant patient's Patient Details window.
  2. Scroll approximately halfway down the page to locate the Account Holders heading on the right hand side.
  3. Click on the name of the account holder to be removed. 
  4. Select the Unlink button in the bottom right side of the window.

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After selecting Unlink, this person will be removed as an Account Holder. If they were the Primary Account Holder, this role will be set returned to the patient. From an Account Holder window, unticking the Primary Account Holder option at any time will revert this role to the patient until a new person is specified.

Invoicing Alternative Account Holders

To create a Patient Claim invoice for an alternative account holder, you may raise an invoice as normal via the patient's appointment in the Appointment Book, or through the patient's Clinical Record, using the below instructions.

  1. Choose + Add > Invoice.
  2. Set the Provider, Site of Service and Referral as necessary.
  3. Set the Account Type as Self.
  4. The Addressee menu will automatically specify the person marked as Primary Account Holder, however you may choose another account holder when necessary.
  5. Continue the invoice as normal.

In raising the invoice to have an addressee other than the patient, this will ensure that the addressee receives a rebate from Medicare if they have paid in full for services that attract a rebate. This will use the details the addressee has registered with Medicare. For the convenience of the addressee and patient, the claim may be directly transmitted to Medicare using the Pay & Claim button, or by clicking the arrow on this button to select Claim Only.

In the event that you are raising an invoice where the addressee is a patient considered a minor, you may note a comment beneath the Addressee field that advises the patient's age, as demonstrated in the below screenshot. 

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This indication will appear in the following circumstances:

  • The Addressee is younger than 18 years 
  • The Addressee is not the patient, but the patient is age 18 or 19 years

In the first situation, the patient may or may not be correctly set as the addressee. If the patient is less than 13 years of age, you will need to select an alternative person as the account holder in older to transmit the claim electronically to Medicare. From age 13, the patient may be their own account holder however the indication of the patient's age will continue to display until 18 years of age, at which point the patient is less likely to be financially dependent on a parent or guardian. 

In the second situation, in which the patient is age 18 or 19 but has an alternative addressee set when invoicing, the indication of the patient's age will again appear. This is designed to encourage conversation as to whether the patient is to be set as the Primary Account Holder. For patients above 19 years of age, this indication will not be displayed, as this may affect patients that are elderly or disabled.