Research Billing in PennChart
This page provides information related to the financial management of an active clinical research study. Please contact OCR Finance with any questions or request for assistance related to the financial management of your study.
Requesting a Research Billing Number (RBN)
The process of creating a study record in PennChart begins with a study team member submitting a request for a Research Billing Number (RBN) in the Research Billing Application (RBA). In order to create the RBN, OCR Finance will need the following:
- An approved RBN request which contains the following data in the Comments section:
- 24 hour emergency contact number
- Principal Investigator’s phone number
- Name of person(s) conducting Research Billing Review (Note: PennChart-Research Biller OCR Training is a prerequisite for this role. You must be logged in before clicking link)
- Study team’s general number (Optional)
- Your study must be registered in PennCRMS. After finalizing the summary page, please be sure to change the Request ID in the “IRB Number” field to the actual IRB number
- After your RBN request is submitted, send a follow up email to OCR Finance with the current Prospective Reimbursement Analysis (PRA) with Coverage Analysis (CA) attached. In your email include the IRB number, and NCT number (if applicable).
Additional Resources
Professional and Hospital Fees
Professional Charges are defined as time and effort expended by a Physician or Specialist related to patient care.
Hospital Charges encompass all aspects of a patient’s care including the actual test or procedure, supplies, support staff, hospital stay and medications.
PennChart captures all professional charges and hospital charges in a centralized environment called the Research Billing Review Report. The charges will not move forward to billing to either the patient’s insurance or research grant until research teams review and make the necessary adjustments in the report.
A list of CRC training can be found for PennChart Research Coordinator and/or PennChart Research Billers.
Billing Discrepancies
OCR Finance can assist with any billing discrepancies including any professional or hospital charge(s) erroneously billed to the patient’s personal family account (i.e., insurance company). Send a copy of the patient’s bill to OCR Finance at psom-ocrfin@pobox.upenn.edu for immediate resolution. Please include the study Research Billing Number (RBN) and indicate the specific dates and charges that are in dispute.