Q: What file types are accepted?

A: Hint accepts comma-separated values files which can come in the format of .CSV and .TXT file types.

Q: Do you accept EDI 834/837 file types?

A: Not currently. While EDI 834 file types are the standard for communication eligibility with insurance entities, these file types are extremely antiquated and are not human-readable.

Q: Are there any HRIS or benefits admin system that Hint doesn't work with?

A: The only system we have not been able to establish automation with is Employee Navigator. Employer navigator only supports SFTP file drops in EDI 834 format. However, Employer Navigator can produce a .CSV file meeting our spec criteria, it just needs to be manually added to the server or uploaded through Hint.

Q: How should file providers name the file?

A: If we are asked about our preferred file naming format we can suggest they name the file like [company name]_[practice name]_YYYYMMDD.csv

Q: At what cadence should we schedule the file to send?
A: Frequency and day sent is up to the file provider and receiving practice. Most commonly, file providers send files weekly on Tuesdays or Fridays.

Q: What is the difference between the external ID and subscriber ID?

A: One of the tabs on the spec file is an 'example CSV' that helps explain the format for the relationship between the external ID and the subscriber ID. The subscriber ID is the external ID of the primary employee - in the example below, we know Lois Lane is the dependent of Clark Kent because her Subscriber ID = Clark's External ID.

Another way to say this:

The External ID is the unique ID that helps us match each PERSON in the file to a person in Hint regardless of demographic changes. The Subscriber ID helps us identify the relationships between people in the file so we can correctly set up the membership.

E.g.

External ID | Member Type | Subscriber ID | Patient Name

122 | Employee | 122 | Sam Smith

123 | Employee | 123 | Jon Doe

124 | Spouse | 123 | Jane Doe

125 | Child | 123 | James Doe

The system will look at the subscriber ID to know that Jane Doe and James Doe are dependents under Jon Doe because the Subscriber ID matches his External ID.

Q: Can the file provider or Hint client manually create the external IDs?

A: Using 1, 2, 3, 4, etc for assigning external IDs is not possible as this ID needs to remain the same on every file we receive. The patient cannot be external ID 45 on today's file and external ID 72 on next month's file. This is why manually assigning IDs doesn't work.

For example, let's say on today's file, patient Anne Hathaway is assigned External ID #45 and Brad Pitt is assigned External ID # 72. If on tomorrow's file Anne Hathaway is now assigned to External ID #72, we would update the demographics on Brad Pitt's patient account.

However, if the file provider's benefits system cannot generate a unique external ID, we have seen some file providers concatenate first+last+DOB to generate a unique ID. Though this is not a fool-proof method, it is more reliable.

Q: Can I use Social Security Number as the External ID?

A: We highly recommend you do not use SSN as the unique identifier. We have often seen issues arise when the SSN is unknown and populated by a dummy value (e.g. 123456789), or the same SSN is applied to all members in a family.

Q: Can you combine employee ID and dependent code to generate a unique external ID?

A: Yes, Hint has a setting that can combine these two columns during file processing to generate the unique dependent external IDs. This setting is not configurable in the UI and will need to be enabled through the Rangers.

Q: How are patients that already exist in Hint match to patient in an Autosync File?

A: The file will first try to match patients in the file to patients in Hint by looking up existing External IDs. If there is no match, we will then match patients by looking at first name, middle name, last name, and DOB. This has to be an exact match for Hint to know that the two records represent the same person.

Lastly, we will throw a row level error if there is an existing patient with the same Social Security Number in your Hint account. If there is no match, we will create a new patient record in Hint.

For Example:

John A Doe would not match to John A. Doe since they are not an exact match

Q: Does the Autosync file change Phone numbers?

We never delete phone numbers, we only add to it. So if a the patient has Mobile number 415-123-4567 and the file has Mobile number 823-103-2234. We’ll just add the 823-103-2234 to the account. However, if a the patient has Mobile number 415-123-4567 and the file has HOME number 415-123-4567, then we’ll update the Type to Home.

Q: How should I fill in insurance payer field?

For the 'Insurance Payer' field, this field should be populated with the name of the employee's Insurance company, for example 'Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield' or 'Ohio Health Choice PPO'. We do not require a specific structure/naming convention for this.

Q: How are enrolled patients ended on eligibility files?

The autosync does not manage memberships for eligibility files. If the file provider sends us a term date on an eligibility file, we will ignore it. The only way to terminate a membership from an eligibility file is to term by omission.

Q: Can we accept filler termination dates?

Yes, if the practice is sending filler termination dates, the date needs to be more than 5 years in the future this way we process the patient row as null/ignore the termination date.