An eStatement is a patient statement sent electronically to a third-party company who then prints and mails the statements to the patients. MacPractice eStatements are sent to a company named DMA. eStatements are a purchased option and enrollment is required. eStatements are generated by using the Statements Manager in MacPractice and clicking the Print eStatements button.
Getting Started
If you are interested in utilizing the eStatements feature through MacPractice, please contact MacPractice Enrollments at enrollment@macpractice.com.
A MacPractice eStatements trainer will then contact the office to go over a brief training and setup. The trainer will help send test eStatements to DMA so that they can generate a sample for the office to approve. DMA samples are typically created within 2-3 days; albeit sometimes sooner.
From here we will review the eStatement sample with the office and make any necessary changes to formatting. Once the sample has been signed and retuned to DMA the office will be able to send statements after 1 business day.
DMA Portal
Clients will have the option of using DMA Portal. The portal allows the office to view images of the statements that were sent to patients and to view a few reports regarding eStatements. This feature will become available (on average) 24 hours after sending statements for the first time. The eStatements trainer will set this up for the office on request and can not be accessed without a username and password that is provided by MacPractice.
Preferences for eStatementsAfter you have purchased the eStatement feature and have gone through the enrollment process, MacPractice Support will assist you in setting up your Preferences.
To upload the eStatements with secure FTP, set the FTP Host to "ftp.datamail.biz" using Port 22 if you are MacOS prior to Sierra. This option is only available in MacPractice version 4.2+.
For MacOS that are Sierra or higher please use the following FTP Host: Ftp.datamail2.biz
The Username and Password will be provided by MacPractice.
How To Send Your eStatements
To generate the statements please view the Statement Manager documentation. This should explain the different filter options in detail. Once the statement filters are set to your preference, click the Apply button to generate statements. To create the batch and send to DMA click the Print eStatement button.
Once the Print eStatements button is clicked, the eStatements will be uploaded to DMA for processing and your account will be charged for this service. When the uploading process has completed, a drop down window will display whether the upload was successful, or if it failed.
Send eStatement As a Test
DMA does not recognize test statements sent with this box checked.
Note: Live statements will be sent regardless if this box is checked or not.
Fast Forward Report/Address Change Service (ACS)
The Fast Forward report is generated about 24 hours after a job is processed so that the client will know what specific addresses were changed due to patients filing official changes with their USPS and they can update their practice management software accordingly. The information on the report comes directly from the USPS database. Any new addresses on this report are printed directly onto the statements themselves and that is why they appear in portal. If there are patients whose address is deemed incorrect and the scrub knows it will not be able to be delivered, it is not printed/sent. The report shows this information as well.
The ACS (Address Change Service) report is an additional report that is issued once a week on Monday. This report represents statements that were mailed to patinets that were either forwarded or marked as undeliverable by the post office. These statements are very rarely returned to the practice with yellow stickers on them. They are shredded at the local facilities and the report is sent instead.
Troubleshooting
If the user receives a Failed notice, check the following before contacting MacPractice Support:
Confirm there is an active internet connection. If a Firewall is enabled, make sure it is configured to allow exporting information. MacPractice cannot assist with setting up your Firewall or any network configuration.
Check Preferences > Abilities and be sure that 'Yes' is listed next to 'eStatements.' If the ability has been added to the account but is not listed as active, please fetch the MacPractice license.
In Preferences > eStatements, click the Fetch From License button to ensure the username and password are correct.
Confirm that port 22 is open on your router.
To verify that statements have uploaded, click ‘View Batch Statements’. In the column labeled ‘Uploaded’ it will display either a ‘Y’ for a successful upload, or ‘Failed’ for a failed upload. On a failed upload there will also be a button for ‘Upload Again’ which allows the user to attempt to upload the same batch of statements without creating and sending a new batch.