markthepharaoh wrote on Monday, May 25, 2009:
Hey
How can I remove UPIN number, medicare reject claims because of it among other reasons. When I delete it from the form and save it comes back on. Thanks.
ideaman911 wrote on Wednesday, May 27, 2009:
Mark;
I am unsure exactly what you mean by your statements. However, (assuming you are using 3.0.1) if you look at the …/library/gen_hcfa_1500.inc.php file you should see around line 326 that it shows that it places the referring provider UPIN in field 17a, but only if it is NOT a Medicare B claim form. So I am not sure why it prints in the first place, as I have been unable to duplicate your effect if I use Medicare B, while I can if I select another insurer.
In either case, removing the UPIN should be a simple delete, but you must recognize that it is the UPIN of the REFERRING PROVIDER, not the actual provider of services which is posted there, and their NPI is printed in 17b.
Hope that helps.
Joe Holzer Idea Man
http://www.holzerent.com
markthepharaoh wrote on Wednesday, May 27, 2009:
Joe,
Thank you. I am using 3.0.1 and I am trying to submit an electronic claim. One of the rejection reasons is that UPIN number is not required by medicare and is replaced by the NPI number. My problem is that I have entered the UPIN number in the user screen under the user administration and I can not remove it! Every time I delete it from the designated space and I try to save the user it shows up back in the designated space! I am thinking that because it is associated already with some other patients it can not be deleted. any help is appreciated. Thanks.
Mark
ideaman911 wrote on Wednesday, May 27, 2009:
Mark;
I am unaware of any prior usage limitation to changing or deleting a UPIN, or any other User data. I still believe you are actually posting ANOTHER provider than the one you are changing in that field, and you do not realize it.
The …/library/gen_x12_837.inc.php uses the same logic, and creates the same codes for the same reason, as shown from line 461. You COULD do the obvious "bludgeon" approach of simply commenting out those lines, in which case no UPIN will print in ANY case. But I think you might be FAR better suited to figure out whose UPIN is actually printing where you do not want it, and remove THAT. Note that, as I understand it and which was reinforced by the CMS 1500 form change as of 8/05, the UPIN is no longer needed, as it was essentially replaced by the NPI.
That said, however, I do note that trying to select the entire data field of UPIN and pressing "Delete", which seems to blank the field, then returns the value which was deleted. But try simply selecting the code, then pressing the spacebar, and saving that. My tests show that removes it and removes its printing on the CMS 1500 PDF. I have to assume the same behavior in the X12.
Hope that helps. Let me know.
Joe Holzer Idea Man
http://www.holzerent.com
markthepharaoh wrote on Wednesday, May 27, 2009:
Joe,
Thanks again, I will try the space bar! I just want to tell u that I only have one doctor with one upin number in the data base. But that space bar idea is very new to me!
Mark
tmccormi wrote on Wednesday, May 27, 2009:
I’ve seen that behavior in the User’s admin screen. It’s a bug in the form. I’ve been meaning to isolate it and open a bug report on that. You can go directly into the users table in phpmyadmin and remove it as a fallback.
The insurance company record type (ie: medicare B, etc) should be adequate to control the inclusion unless the carrier giving that reject is NOT Medicare … then we have another bug 
–Tony
ideaman911 wrote on Wednesday, May 27, 2009:
Mark;
I have found that creation of a Patient named Test, System can be useful to verify operations without risking real data, because some of that data CANNOT be removed.
With System Test, you can create an encounter, put a UPIN in your User definition and then print a CMS 1500 or X12 file to verify it is there, then remove it with the spacebar and try again on the same thing.
That’s how I tested your question. Hoep that helps.
Joe Holzer Idea Man
http://www.holzerent.com
markthepharaoh wrote on Thursday, May 28, 2009:
Joe/Tony
I removed the UPIN using the space bar as Joe indicated. I will try to submit the claim and see what will happen. I will let u know. Thanks.
Wouldn’t have done it without your help. Thanks again.
Mark