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MedLook Weekly Tip For 07/19/2007

How To Format Claims Fields   Return to Archive

MedLook allows for formatting the output to the CMS 1500 form (and many other forms) in a most versatile and flexible manner. Some of the more common fields that require special formatting are dates and dollar amounts. The eTip below has been lifted for the most part from the manual with only some minor modifications and additions.

FORMATTING 1500 FIELDS

Formatting the data allows for a great deal of flexibility. Let's look at formatting dates first. Box 3 has a DOB field. The additional field is Format. Normally it would be something like "mm dd yyyy" to print 2-digits for the month and day and 4-digits for the year with a space separating each field. If you needed no spaces and only 2-digits for the year you could use "mmddyy". For a full explanation and examples of formatting dates and times click here.

Formatting phone numbers is very flexible. Typically you may want to have the area code separated by a space followed by the 7-digit local number. You do this simply by setting the Format to "@@@ @@@@@@@". The @ sign is used to print a character in this position starting from the right. Alternatives include, but are by no means limited to:

  • "(@@@)@@@-@@@@"
  • "@@@.@@@.@@@@"
Formatting numeric fields. To provide the greatest flexibility, all numeric fields (box 21 codes, $ fields, etc.) use the same strategy as phone numbers. Here are a few examples of how to format $12345.67:
  • @@@@@@@ gives 1234567 (no spaces or decimals)
  • @@@@@.@@ gives 12345.67 (a decimal/period included)
  • @@@@@ @@ gives 12345 67 (a space included)
Sometimes printing requires filling from the left, not the right, as in printing Box 21 codes. In this case the last character should be an "!". For example, a typical format may be @@@@@@!. Here are a few examples using "@@@@@@!":
  • If the value is 123.00 the output is "12300 "
  • If the value is 123 the output is "123 "
  • If the value is 123.5 the output is "1235 "

Recently it became necessary to include a 2-digit ID number for the provider ids in lines 1 through 6 of box 24, column I. Well, it's necessary for some providers, apparently, but not all (that's how rules work it seems). The 2-digit qualifier is supposed to print in box 24I just above the NPI number. But what if some providers require the 2-digit ID and others don't (remember, these are old, soon to be obsolete IDs replaced by the NPI)? If you add the 2-digit qualifier to the old PINs you have a 12 or 13-digit number for some and 10-digit for others. You would like the 2-digits to print in box 24I and the rest of the number to print in box 24J. If you align the output to fill from the right edge you can accommodate both situations. In this case you would use a format of "@@ @@@@@@@@@@". You may or may not want the space between the 2nd and 3rd "@" character.

For a more thorough explanation and examples of printing numeric data items click here and for more on strings click here.