Patient Payments Guide - Securely collect payments digitally from patients

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Overview

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What is the Patient Payments feature?

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.

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What are the benefits of using Patient Payments?

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.

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How much does the Patient Payments feature cost?

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, use the I need help -> Contact Elation Support button at the top of your Elation account to reach out to our team for additional details.

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Fees & payouts

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How processing fees work

Elation charges a percentage-based fee on each payment processed through Patient Payments. This fee is deducted from your practice’s payout—not added to the patient’s bill.

• Stripe and card networks do not charge additional fees beyond Elation’s processing fee.
• There is no fee for logging a cash or check payment.
• Elation remits payouts to your practice every Monday, weekly, except on Bank Holidays.

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Example payout calculation

If a patient pays $100 and your contracted processing rate is R$100 − (R% × $100) to your account on the next payout. If you have any questions, use I need help → Contact Elation Support at the top of your Elation account.

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Surcharging (passing fees to patients)

Elation does not support automatically passing processing fees onto patients through Elation. If you are considering adding a separate convenience fee to patient bills, consult your legal counsel about surcharging practices and applicable state regulations.

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Setup

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1. Activating your Elation Patient Payment account via Stripe

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2. Setting up your Elation Payment Site

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.

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Workflow Instructions

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Collecting 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.

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Requesting a payment

1 Open the Patient Payment Request window using one of the following:

• From the Practice Home: clicking Payment in the navigation bar.
• From the patient’s chart: clicking Payment in the navigation bar.
• From the Patient Payment Report: clicking Send payment request.

2 Search for the name of the patient if you’re sending a request from the Practice Home or Patient Payment Report. 3 Enter the amount you’d like to charge the patient.

• The minimum allowed charge amount is $0.50.

4 Select a Payment Reason so the patient knows why they are paying. 5 (Optional) Click Add internal note to record payment details visible only to your practice. 6 (Optional) Click Add patient payment note to share details about the payment with the patient. 7 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 or bank account on file by selecting the Charge… option from the dropdown.
  • If the patient has multiple payment methods on file, the payment method designated as Primary will be automatically selected. Select a different payment method if you do not want to charge the primary.
• Collect a point of service payment by selecting Enter a card from the dropdown.

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  Send a payment request by selectingSend patient a request from the dropdown (includes ACH payments).

  This is the default option if no card or bank account is on file for the patient.

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Managing a payment request

After you confirm the payment details and method, a payment request is sent to the patient, a confirmation summary will display. From the confirmation:

• To send the payment request via another route, click Copy URL. Examples may include: adding the link to virtual visit instructions or a Patient Letter.
• To assist the patient in filling out the request, click Go to request.

Patients will receive the payment request or charge notification via email or text message. Patients can either use a different saved payment method for the payment or enter a new payment method. An electronic receipt will be sent to the patient upon payment completion.

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Charging a payment method on-file

Once you have charged a card or bank account 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 payment details on-file or contact your office with any questions. Once the charge is completed, the patient will receive a receipt via text or email.

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Entering a card for payment

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. 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.

Troubleshooting the Charge Now button

The Charge now button is only enabled when:

• Your Stripe account is fully activated and verified (business details and payouts) AND
• A valid Payment Method is selected or card details are entered

If you are experiencing issues with the Charge now button, use the following troubleshooting steps: Button is greyed out

• Verify that an amount has been entered in the payment request
• Check for missing required fields
• Look for inline validation messages near the amount, patient name, or payment method fields

Button does not respond

• Refresh the page and try again
• Try another browser (Chrome or Firefox recommended)
• Temporarily disable pop-up blockers or browser extensions and retry

Error related to Stripe or payouts Contact Support if the issue persists If errors persist, even after confirming the above, please contact Support using I need help -> Contact Elation Support. When reaching out, include the following details:

• Patient ID example
• Error messages (if applicable)
• Non-PHI screenshots

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Managing cards and accounts on file

In a patient’s demographics dialog, you can see whether there is a card or bank account stored on file under Payment Information under Insurance, Payment, & Membership. 1 If there is no payment method 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 payment details and save them on file. 2 If there is are any payment methods on file for the patient, you’ll have the option to remove each method.

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Enabling self-service patient payments through your Payment Site

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

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How patients use your self-service Payment Site

1 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. 2 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.

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Generating detailed patient invoices for HSA/FSA reimbursement

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. For more information on Patient Invoicing, see How to set up Patient Invoicing.

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Viewing & managing payment transactions

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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Issuing refunds from the Patient Payment Report

Refunds are managed from the Patient Payment Report, not from Billing Home.

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How refunds appear in the report

After processing a refund, the transaction status will update to Refunded in the Patient Payment Report. This indicates the payment was refunded to the original payment method.

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How refunds impact your practice

• Net collected amount: The refund amount will be deducted from your net collected amount in your weekly payout.
• Processing fees: Elation will not charge you for refunding a transaction. However, the processing fee originally charged for the transaction will not be refunded.
• Patient experience: The patient will typically see the refund in approximately 5–10 business days. The refund request is submitted to the card issuer immediately, but processing time varies based on the card issuer and underlying bank.

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Viewing transaction fees

Download the Patient Payment Report to see a breakdown of the payments collected and the transaction fees deducted for each collected payment.

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Managing your Patient Payments account

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Viewing your weekly payout report

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.

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Tax reporting (1099 forms)

Stripe issues 1099 tax forms for payments collected through Patient Payments. You will receive your 1099 via email by January 31st each year. To learn more about 1099 forms, including what to do if you did not receive one, see Patient Payments Guide - Obtaining a 1099 Tax Form for your Stripe account.

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Accessing your account information

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.

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Next Step

Send a payment request to a patient and start collecting on patient balances!

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Related Articles

• How to register for Stripe account with Elation
• Patient Guide to Patient Payments
• Patient Payments Guide - ACH Transactions
• Patient Payments Guide - Frequently Asked Questions
• Patient Payments Guide - Obtaining a 1099 Tax Form for your Stripe account
• How to set up Patient Invoicing
• Introduction to Membership Management with Elation