Check outs

# Patient Checkout Process in Team Care

This guide walks front desk/checkout staff through claiming a checkout in Team Care and presenting a treatment plan to a patient. There are three scenarios depending on what happens at checkout:

- A. Patient schedules treatment for a future date

- B. Patient accepts and completes a same-day treatment plan

- C. Patient defers (declines) treatment

All three start with the same first few steps.

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## Before You Start

The patient's appointment must be marked Complete in your practice management software (PMS) before you claim the checkout in Team Care — Team Care pulls the patient's checkout list from the PMS's appointment status.

> Exception: For a same-day treatment plan (Scenario B), enter the treatment plan into Team Care before marking the appointment complete in the PMS. See Scenario B below.

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## Step 1: Open the Checkouts Queue

1. Log into Team Care.

2. Navigate to Team Ops → Checkouts.

3. All patients scheduled for the day appear in this Checkouts window.

[Add screenshot: Checkouts list with patient rows]

## Step 2: Claim the Checkout

1. Once the appointment is set to Complete in the PMS, find the patient in the Checkouts list.

2. Click Claim Checkout.

Team Care will double-check two things before moving on:

1. Does the patient have a future cleaning appointment?

- If yes, it will already be visible.

- If no, you'll be required to enter a reason why they don't have one scheduled.

2. Click Submit.

## Step 3: Check for Family Members

The next screen shows whether any family members on the patient's family file are due for a cleaning.

1. Review this screen.

2. Click Continue to Treatment Plan.

From here, choose the path that matches what happened at checkout:

- No treatment needed → click Did Not Present, Healthy

- Referred to a specialist → click Referred Out

- Treatment plan wasn't discussed (e.g., patient bypassed the checkout desk) → click Other and use your discretion

- Presenting a treatment plan → continue to the scenarios below

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## Scenario A: Treatment Plan Scheduled for a Later Date

Use this when you present a treatment plan and the patient books it for a future appointment.

1. From the treatment plan screen, choose Manual Entry.

2. Check off the relevant treatment code(s). These populate automatically from the PMS's treatment planning module for that patient.

3. Edit the treatment plan title if needed.

4. Review the Financial Summary — confirm the numbers look correct:

- Add insurance if applicable.

- Add any additional discounts if applicable.

- Adjust the convenience fee if needed.

5. Under Ways to Pay, check off whichever financial agreement options apply for your office.

6. Check Patient Signature if you require a signed insurance estimate.

7. Click Submit Treatment Plan.

8. Team Care shows a preview of the treatment plan. Edit or modify anything as needed, then confirm it looks good.

9. Once the patient books, the treatment plan will show the scheduled date and time.

10. Click I'm Done.

[Add screenshot: Treatment plan preview / scheduled confirmation]

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## Scenario B: Same-Day Treatment Plan

Use this when the patient decides to stay and complete treatment the same day.

Important: Enter the treatment plan into Team Care before marking the appointment complete in the PMS.

1. In Team Care, use the search bar to find the patient by name.

2. Click Add Case → Treatment Plan.

3. Check off the relevant treatment code(s) (e.g., a filling).

4. Note insurance if applicable.

5. Click Create Treatment Plan.

6. Have the financial conversation with the patient. If they agree to stay for treatment, proceed with the procedure.

7. Once treatment is complete, mark the appointment Complete in the PMS.

8. Go back to the Checkouts module in Team Care and click In Progress (or Claim Checkout, depending on status) for that patient.

9. Confirm the future cleaning appointment prompt and click Submit.

10. Continue past the family file check to Continue to Treatment Plan — the treatment plan you already created will already be there.

11. Once the treatment item shows as completed (e.g., "1 of 1 completed"), click Next Step.

12. Confirm all dollar amounts on the treatment plan show as Complete.

13. Click Finish.

[Add screenshot: Same-day treatment plan completed confirmation]

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## Scenario C: Patient Defers Treatment

Use this when the patient does not accept or schedule the treatment plan presented.

1. Click Claim Checkout, confirm the future cleaning appointment prompt, and click Submit.

2. Click Continue to Treatment Plan.

3. Click Create New.

4. Check off the relevant treatment code(s) (e.g., root canal, buildup, crown).

5. Edit the treatment plan title if needed.

6. Enter the estimated insurance portion, if applicable.

7. Click Submit.

8. Review the treatment plan, then click Next Step.

9. Since there's no future treatment appointment on file, Team Care automatically opens the Deferred view.

- If you want to double-check for a scheduled appointment, go to Scheduled and click Refresh.

10. Enter the deferral reason.

11. Click Patient Deferred — the patient will automatically appear on the Unscheduled Treatment list within two days.

12. Click Finish, then I'm Done.

[Add screenshot: Deferral reason entry / Patient Deferred confirmation]

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## Quick Reference

| Scenario | When to use | Key difference |

|---|---|---|

| A. Future date | Patient wants treatment but is booking a later appointment | Standard flow — plan is created and appears with a scheduled date once booked |

| B. Same-day | Patient stays and completes treatment during the same visit | Create the treatment plan in Team Care before marking the PMS appointment complete |

| C. Deferred | Patient declines or doesn't schedule treatment | Enter a deferral reason; patient lands on the Unscheduled Treatment list in 2 days |