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Elation partnered with Stripe, a secure, Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant, digital, payment processing platform, to provide you with the ability to collect payments from your patients directly within Elation. Using Elation Patient Payments, your practice can collect payments for any services you offer, at any time during the day, and manage your full transaction history directly within Elation.
Elation Patient Payments provides your patients a secure, digital, self-service way to conveniently pay your practice. This integrated solution will increase your collection rate, provide an easier way for your patients to pay your practice, and save your practice time.
Elation will charge a percentage-based fee for each transaction you collect through the Patient Payment feature. There are no additional startup costs, termination fees, monthly minimums, transactional minimums or any additional fees from credit card companies or Stripe outside of the amount charged by Elation.
If you are interested in using the Patient Payment feature and would like additional details about the rate, using the "I need help" -> "Contact Elation Support" button at the top of your Elation account to reach out to our team for additional details.
- Go to the Settings section of your Elation account and click into the Patient Payments section
- Click “Activate…” to begin the Stripe account set up process
- Next, you will be prompted to enter details about the business and business owner. For more detailed instructions on how to activate your patient payments account, click here.
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Important Note: Make sure you select the appropriate Type of entity and enter the associated bank account details during Stripe registration. If you selected 'Individual, sole proprietor or single-member LLC' under Type of entity then your bank account must also list you as the same entity. If you select 'Company' under Type of entity then your bank account must also list you as a business/company..
- Physical address, contact info and last 4 of SSN of someone who owns 25% or more of the business (to verify your identity, there is a two-factor authentication step where a code will be sent to the mobile phone # provided).
- Individual or business’s physical address and EIN (Tax ID #).
- Banking information so we know where to deposit payments from patients (accounting and routing #).
- If you selected 'Individual, sole proprietor or single-member LLC' under Type of entity then your bank account must also list you as the same entity. If you select 'Company' under Type of entity then your bank account must also list you as a business/company.
Important Note: You cannot connect an existing Stripe account to Elation. You will need to activate a new Stripe account through your Elation Settings page. However, you can connect the same bank account so that funds flow into the same location.
Once registration is complete, it’s time to set up your personalized Payment Site. Your Payment Site is a secure online portal that allows your patients to submit payment to your practice at any time, even if you have not sent them a payment request. Patients do not need a Passport login to use your custom payment site.
- Click ‘Customize’ to update your Payment Site link to something that your patients will more easily recognize - for example, your practice name or the provider’s name.
- Copy and add that link to your business website
Collect payments from your patients
Use Elation Patient Payments to collect payments at any time:
- Before the visit, so you don't need to worry about doing this at the time of the visit. This is popular for practices that charge a set-price up front.
- During the visit, so your patient can pay during the check-in process. This is a popular option for insurance-taking practices who charge copays or coinsurance upon check-in.
- After the visit, if your practice prefers to wait to confirm the full set of services to charge for. This is a popular option for direct pay or cash-based practices.
- Click "Payment" in the toolbar in Practice Home to open the Patient Payment Request window.
- Search for the name of the patient.
- Enter the amount you'd like to charge the patient.
- Select a Payment Reason so the patient knows why they are paying.
- Select a Payment Method.
- Log a cash or check payment by selecting 'Cash/Check' on the Payments toggle (the patient will receive an electronic receipt automatically).
- Charge a card on file by selecting 'Charge...' option from the dropdown.
- Send a payment request by selecting 'Send patient a request' from the dropdown.
- Collect a point of service payment by selecting 'Enter a card' from the dropdown.
After you confirm the payment details and method, a payment request is sent to the patient, a confirmation summary will display. From the confirmation:
- Click "Copy URL" to send the payment request via another route. Examples may include: adding the link to virtual visit instructions or a Patient Letter.
- Click "Go to request" if you'd like to assist the patient in filling out the request.
Patients will receive the payment request or charge notification via email or text message. An electronic receipt will be sent to the patient upon payment completion.
Once you have charged a card on file, the patient will be notified of the pending charge. The charge will automatically be collected within 24hrs. This gives the patient time to update their card-on-file or contact your office with any questions. Once the charge is completed, the patient will receive a receipt via text or email.
Important Note: This option is only available once the patient has a stored card on file. Patients can choose to store a card-on-file for future payments through completing a payment request. They will need to keep the checkbox “Keep this card on file” checked when completing the payment.
Enter a card
After selecting "Enter a card" from the Payment Method dropdown, you will be able to enter card information on behalf of the patient. Card number, expiration date, and CVC are all required fields, and zip code may be required for certain card types.
Important Note: In order to ensure consent has been collected from the patient before storing card on file, the card you enter for this charge will not be stored on file. If you wish to store a card on file for the patient you can collect payment using a payment request instead or you can 'Request card info' from the patient's demographics dialog.
Once you have charged the card you entered, the patient will receive a receipt via text or email. You also have the option to print the receipt if you would like to provide a paper copy for the patient.
Manage cards on file
In a patient's demographics dialog, you can see whether there is a card stored on file under 'Payment Information' under 'Insurance, Payment, & Membership.'
- If there is no card on file, you can click 'Request card info' to send a message to the patient, via SMS or email depending on their preferences, requesting that they enter their card details and save them on file.
- If there is a card on file for the patient, you have the option to remove the card.
With Elation Patient Payments, your practice will have access to its own payment site. The Payment Site is a secure online portal that allows patients to submit payment to your practice at any time, even if you haven’t sent them a payment request. Patients do not need a Passport login to use this site.
Post your Payment Site link by copying the link and including it:
- On your practice website
- In your waiting room
- On any mailed invoices - Update your practice management system invoice template or include a cover letter!
- As part of appointment reminders - Add your payment site link to the appointment’s visit instructions
- In patient letters
How patients use your self-service Payment Site
- Patients can navigate to your Payment Site by clicking on your payment site link or pointing their phone camera at the QR code. Patients will be prompted to enter their First name, Last name, the Amount they want to pay, and their Statement or Invoice or Account #. Patients can also include a note about the details of the payment in the Notes field.
- Patients then enter their billing information and payment information and will automatically receive a receipt after they submit their payment. The transaction will appear in your Patient Payment Report in your Elation account.
For patients who require more detailed invoices for HSA or employer reimbursement, your practice can leverage Elation’s patient invoicing feature.
Once you have activated Elation Patient Payments and have billing invoicing turned on in your settings, your practice's Payment Site will automatically be included on your patient invoices, providing your patients with an easy way to submit payments to your practice in a secure, electronic manner.
Patients can simply point their phone camera at the QR code and will be automatically directed to your practice's Payment Site to submit payment. They can alternatively visit your Payment Site by typing in your Payment Site URL into their browser.
Important Notes:
- If you are running into issues receiving FSA or HSA payments, follow these steps to verify you have the correct 'Industry' selection in your Stripe settings:
- In your Patient Payments settings page in Elation EHR, click on 'Go to Stripe account'.
- Click Edit.
- Update your Industry to 'Doctors and Physicians'.
- Patients are not required to log in to Patient Passport in order to complete payment
For more information on Patient Invoicing, see How to set up Patient Invoicing.
Through the Patient Payments Report, your practice will be able to view all patient payment transactions including completed payments (from a request, charge, or submitted through the payment site), outstanding requests and cash/check collections. This embedded report will allow your practice to manage each of these transactions directly, giving you the ability to
- resend requests
- resend receipts
- mark payments as paid by cash/check
- void transactions
- process refunds
To view your Patient Payment Report:
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From the blue navigation bar click on “Reports” and select “Patient Payment Report”
- Use the available filters to view payments by transaction status or search by patient name.
- Click the “...” next to any transaction to bring up the action menu
Your Stripe funds will be paid out weekly, every Monday on a two day rolling basis. The cutoff for weekly Monday payout is 7pm Pacific the Thursday prior. Therefore, if a payment was made on a Thursday after 7pm Pacific, you will see these funds in two Mondays (9 days later), and not the upcoming Monday. Here is a sample payout schedule for you to reference:
You can view your payout history by going to the Patient Payment Settings page in your Elation account and clicking on “Go to Stripe account”.
Important Note: The payout will show a sum of the total payments received for the previous week minus the transaction fees.
To manage the business name, management and ownership information, payment information and team members tied to your Stripe account
- Go to “Patient Payments” in your Elation Settings page
- Click on “Go to Stripe account”
- Select the “Account”
Important Note: Stripe will re-initiate the business verification process if any business information is changed. And anytime information is edited here, a two-factor authentication code will be sent via text message to the mobile number the account was activated with.
User Tip: You can allow more team members to manage this account information by clicking the Manage button next to Team members.
Next Step
Send a payment request to a patient and start collecting on patient balances!
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