In this issue...

Pre-printed UB-04s Not Lining Up?
The National Uniform Billing Committee (NUBC) reports "some laser printers are having difficulty meeting the print specification of the UB-04 form. The UB-04 form and the UB-92 contain identical margin specifications. Both forms are 82 characters across. To accommodate the 80 character limitation of some laser printers, many users of the UB-92 form developed workarounds that basically "cheated" on the printing layout. This was commonly accomplished by starting in the second position and ending in the 80th position, basically ignoring the first column on the left and the last column on the right. The UB-92 had no critical data elements in these fields."

The NUBC further recommends that "in order to meet the UB-04 print specifications, users should utilize laser printers that have "edge-to-edge" print capability (4 mm margins on the left and right) or wide carriage impact printers (dot-matrix or line printers)." Reportedly, the HP9000 series printers have the ability to Turn On Edge-to-Edge printing (1mm vs. 4mm) margins. This ability comes at a cost of roughly $3,000.

We have adjusted the printing of the UB-04 form on a regular laser printer to the best of our ability to get the information to appear inside the boxes. When not using a printer with margin to margin capability, you'll notice that certain fields on the right side of the form will truncate the last digit - such as box 4 - type of bill, box 41 - value amounts, and boxes 76 & 78 - attending ID and qualifier.

To get proper alignment on a pre-printed color UB-04 form using ULTRACare and a laser printer with edge-to-edge print capability, start by setting the printer device code (in Admissions System Codes) for program ID "PTUB92" to QPQ:53. This tells the printer to ignore software print margins. The 'offset edge printer field' on the printer device code can be used to move the printing to the right by a column or more if necessary. Set that field to 1 to move printing one column to the right, 2 to move two columns to the right, etc. If you use Swiftview, you should set your printer control to LCF:53. Some users have reported successful UB04 lineups on dot matrix printers. The printer device code for PTUB92 must be set to QPQ: for dot matrix printing. Please contact customer support at 800-666-3883 for more help with pre-printed UB04 lineups on your margin to margin laser printers or dot matrix printers.

Back to Top

Fall Classroom Training Dates Announced
The schedule for our Fall Classroom Training sessions is now available and registration is open. These classes are perfect for new staff or those who have "inherited" knowledge from others, but never had ULTRACare product training directly from our staff. All clients with a current SPSA support contract are eligible to send up to 3 people to any class. There is no charge per class, just your own travel expenses.

Clinical:
October 31 - MDS Assessments and related features
November 1 - Advanced Clinical features - Part 1
November 2 - Advanced Clinical features - Part 2

Admissions/Business Office/Billing:
November 13 - Admissions & Resident Information
November 14 - Accounts Receivable & Billing - Part 1
November 15 - Accounst Receivable & Billing - Part 2
November 16 - AR Month End and Reconciliation

For complete information, please visit our website at http://www.mditech.com/training/ultracare.asp#Free.

Back to Top

Make sure your copy of the ULTRACare eNewsletter doesn't get mistakenly blocked by antispam software! Be sure to add julie@mditech.com to your list of allowed senders and contacts.