Finance OPD Discount Rules

OPD Discount Rules

Introduction

OPD discount rules define automatic reductions applied to outpatient bills based on the patient's payment scheme, patient category, membership, or staff status. Discounts can apply to the whole bill or to specific service categories (consultation fee, investigation fee, pharmacy, etc.).

Navigation

Main Menu → Administration → Discount Configuration → OPD Discounts OR Main Menu → Configuration → Finance → Discount Rules

Types of OPD Discounts

Discount Type	How Applied
Patient Category Discount	Applied based on patient type (Staff, VIP, Welfare)
Payment Scheme Discount	Applied when a specific payment scheme is used
Service-Level Discount	Applied to a specific service or item
Membership Discount	Applied when patient has an active membership
Global OPD Discount	Applied to all OPD bills (e.g., facility-wide concession day)

Configuring a Discount Rule

1. Navigate to the discount configuration page.
2. Click New Discount Rule.
3. Fill in:
   • Rule Name — descriptive name
   • Discount Type — category, scheme, or service level
   • Discount Value — percentage (%) or fixed amount (Rs)
   • Applicable Services — All, or select specific item categories
   • Maximum Discount — cap the maximum discount allowed per bill
   • Payment Scheme — restrict rule to specific scheme (optional)
4. Save.

Discount Rule Fields

Field	Description
Rule Name	Internal name for the rule
Type	Percentage or fixed amount
Value	Discount percentage or flat amount
Applies To	All items, or specific categories (Consultation, Lab, Pharmacy)
Patient Category	Staff, Student, VIP, General
Payment Scheme	Scheme that triggers this discount
Active	Whether the rule is currently applied

How Discounts Are Applied at Billing

1. When a cashier creates an OPD bill, the system evaluates all active discount rules.
2. Rules matching the patient's category, scheme, and services are applied automatically.
3. The discount appears as a line in the bill detail.
4. The cashier can see but typically cannot override automatic discounts (unless granted the override privilege).

Manual Discount Override

If a cashier has the discount override privilege:

1. On the billing screen, the discount field is editable.
2. Enter a higher or lower discount.
3. A reason may be required.
4. The override is logged for audit.

Staff Discount Configuration

Staff discounts are configured per staff category in the staff discount master. When a staff member's NIC/ID is linked to the patient record and the billing scheme includes staff discounts, the discount is applied automatically.

Technical Reference

Item	Detail
Entity	DiscountScheme, DiscountSchemeFee
Applied by	PaymentController / billing controller during bill generation
Override privilege	BillDiscount or equivalent
Related	Payment Schemes, Pharmacy Channelling Discount Rules