Artera Intake collects a patient's demographics, identification, insurance, and forms before or at the point of care and can write structured data directly to the EHR to help keep records up to date. Artera reaches out to the patient by text message, walks them through each step, and hands off anything it cannot finish to your staff.

This article covers what Artera Intake is and what a patient experiences during intake. For what your staff sees and does, click here.

Every organization manages intake differently and Artera configures intake around your workflows. Where something depends on your setup, this article says so.

NOTE: Your organization may not have every capability described in this article. Your Artera representative can confirm your setup.

How Intake Works

• An Appointment Trigger starts intake for a patient with an upcoming appointment. How far before the appointment the intake process starts is set up for each organization. Artera recommends an outreach cadence of 7 days, 3 days, and 1 day prior to the patient’s appointment.
• An Event Message will display in the Patient Channel indicating that the Intake (Appointment) Trigger was sent to the patient and the first text message sent to the patient will display.
• Artera reaches the patient by text message, includes a web link, and collects:

  • Demographics, such as the patient's name, date of birth, address, and contact information.

  • The patient's identification. 

  • Insurance details. 

  • The forms your organization assigns to that patient's appointment.

• Coverage is checked with the payer and the result is returned to Artera.
• Completed information can be written back to your EHR, including identification, insurance, and completed forms. Whether write-back is turned on, which items are sent, and which items your EHR supports all depend on your organization's configuration.
• Anything Artera cannot verify or finish is flagged in Intake Hub for staff to resolve. The Intake Hub gives care teams a real-time view of patient progress, highlighting what’s complete, what’s missing, and who needs follow up.

How Patients Complete Intake

Patients receive a text message with a link to a secure web experience built for your organization. The link is white labeled with your organization's branding. Patients upload images of their ID and insurance card and complete their forms in one place. Patients can stop and come back later as Artera saves their answers and picks up where they left off. The link sent to a patient remains active for 7 days. 

Patients verify their identity before they can open the link. Verification uses the patient's first name, last name, date of birth and a second step sent by text message. If the details do not match what your organization has on file, the patient can try again. Artera recommends allowing five attempts and the number of attempts is set up for your organization. After the last try, the patient is flagged for staff in Intake Hub.

Reading an ID or Insurance Card

Artera reads the images a patient submits using optical character recognition, or OCR. OCR pulls the text out of a photo and turns it into data Artera can use, so the patient does not have to type their member ID, group number, or the details on their identification manually. 

Artera reads both the ID and the insurance card this way. How much the patient is asked to verify depends on your configuration. Some organizations ask the patient to verify each field and others rely on what Artera reads.

NOTE: Artera asks for an ID and insurance card only when your EHR does not already have them on file for the patient. When the information is already there, Artera uses what is in your EHR. If you want Artera to ask every patient, let your Artera representative know.

When a Patient Stops Responding

Artera follows up with the patient a set number of times to complete intake. How many attempts it makes is set up for your organization. After the last attempt, Artera stops reaching out and flags the patient for staff in Intake Hub.

When a Patient Asks for a Person

A patient can ask for a live staff member instead of continuing with the virtual intake process. Artera pauses for that patient and stays paused until a staff member responds. How your staff are notified and who responds is set up for your organization.

What Varies by Configuration

Artera Intake is set up around your organization's workflow, so some of what patients and staff see differs by organization. Click here for a list of what is standard and what is configurable for your organization in one table. Connect with your Artera representative to understand which options apply to you. Which information can be written back to the patient's chart also depends on which EHR your organization uses.