<P> Once a claim is adjudicated by the payer, some sort of a response is sent to the submitter . This usually comes as a paper Explanation of Benefits (EOB) or an Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA). These describe the actions that the payer took on each claim: amounts paid, denied, adjusted, etc . </P> <P> In cases where a patient did not have proper insurance, or where insurance coverage did not fully pay the charges, the practice will usually send out patient statements . Practice management software often contains a way for a practice to print and mail their own statements (or other correspondence), and may even contain a way to interface to third - party patient statement printing companies . </P> <P> Almost invariably, the process of running a medical practice requires some introspection, and practice management software usually contains reporting capabilities to allow users to extract detailed data on financial performance and patient financial histories . PMS often has both pre-setup reports as well as allow users to design their own, ad - hoc reports . In some cases, the reporting functionality of PMS interfaces with Decision support systems or has similar functionality built - in . </P> <P> Practice management software (PMS) has traditionally been commercial; few viable free practice management systems exist, though a few open source systems are under development . PMS usually costs about $100 to tens of thousands of dollars to license and operate . </P>

What is the most important function of a practice management system (pms)