> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getsolum.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Creating a VOB from Files

You can create a Verification of Benefits (VOB) by uploading files like a referral, insurance card, or intake form. Solum reads the patient and insurance details from the files, then opens the VOB form already filled in with that information.

***

## When to Use It

Use **Start from files** when you have:

* A referral letter or form
* An insurance card (front and back)
* A patient intake form
* Any combination of the above

The patient search remains your default method for creating a VOB. Upload files only when you have them on hand.

***

## Steps

1. Go to **Verification of Benefits** in the left menu.

2. Click **Create VOB**.

3. Above the patient search, click **Start from files** on the "Have a referral or insurance card?" card.

4. Add your files. You can upload:
   * PDFs, JPGs, or PNGs
   * Up to 25 MB each
   * Up to 15 files at a time

5. (Optional) Search for the patient by name. If you skip this, Solum finds the patient from the files or creates them as new.

6. Click **Continue**.

7. Solum reads your documents. This usually takes about a minute. Nothing is created until you confirm.

8. Review the form. Solum has filled in the details it found on the files. Add or correct anything else.

9. Click **Create VOB** (the button reads **Create N VOBs** when several insurances are checked).

After creation, the files Solum used are added to the patient's files, and insurance cards also fill the insurance's card front and back. Files listed as **Not used** are not added.

***

## What Solum Reads

Solum extracts the following information from your files:

| What Solum Reads | Source | Used For |
| - | - | - |
| Patient first name | Referral, intake form, insurance card | Patient record |
| Patient middle name | Referral, intake form | Compared with an existing patient's record |
| Patient last name | Referral, intake form, insurance card | Patient record |
| Patient date of birth | Referral, intake form, insurance card | Patient record |
| Patient state | Referral, intake form | Patient record |
| Insurance company | Insurance card, referral | Matched to your insurance list |
| Member ID | Insurance card | Insurance detail |
| Primary or secondary | Insurance card | Insurance detail |
| Group number, plan name, Medicaid ID, and the policyholder | Insurance card | Saved on an insurance Solum adds from the files, when the files show them (not shown on the form) |
| Which file is the card front/back | Insurance card (Solum tells the front from the back) | The insurance's card front and back |
| Services the referral asks for | Referral | VOB services |
| CPT codes | Referral | VOB service codes |
| ICD-10 diagnosis codes | Referral | VOB service codes |
| Place of service | Referral | VOB service details |

The new-patient form has no middle name field, so a middle name is never saved for a new patient. When Solum matches an existing patient and the files show a different middle name, it appears as a difference you can apply with **Update record**.

The group number, plan name, Medicaid ID, and policyholder are not shown on the form. Solum saves them only on an insurance it adds from the files. An insurance you add yourself with **Add insurance** doesn't get them, and Solum never writes them over an insurance the patient already has.

**Solum never reads the referring doctor's NPI from the files.** Solum always uses your clinic's billing NPI instead.

Any information not on the files is left blank for you to fill in, or uses your clinic's defaults (services, codes, places of service).

***

## What You May See on the Form

### "Filled in from your N files. Check it, then create."

Solum successfully read your files and prefilled the form. Review the details and adjust as needed. The number counts the files Solum used, so files listed as **Not used** are not in it. When Solum used none of them, this line doesn't appear.

### "Not used: `filename`"

This file was skipped because:

* It's for another person (not the patient you're creating a VOB for)
* Solum couldn't open it

The skipped file won't be added to the patient. If you need it, check the file and try again.

### "Couldn't match “\[name]” to one of your insurances. Add it with Add insurance."

Solum found an insurance company on the files, but it isn't in your insurance list. The line names the insurance as it appears on the files.

Two other lines cover the other cases:

* "The files show an insurance that fits more than one of yours. Add the right one with Add insurance." Solum found more than one insurance in your list that could be the one on the files.
* "The files show an insurance that isn't one of yours. Add it with Add insurance." The files show an insurance but no name for it, and none of your insurances matches.

**What to do:** Click **Add insurance**, pick the insurance from your list, then fill in its member ID. An insurance you add after Solum reads the files starts with the services Solum read from the referral, when it read any.

### "Not on the files. Type it, or uncheck this insurance."

Solum found the insurance company but no member ID on the files.

**What to do:** Type the member ID, or uncheck the insurance if the patient doesn't have it.

### "The files show \[field] \[value]. \[Name]'s record says \[value]." with an **Update record** button

Solum found a match for an existing patient, but the files have different information for that field.

**What to do:** Click **Update record** to use the value from the files, or leave it unchanged. Creating the VOB never changes the patient's record automatically—only **Update record** does.

### "Solum couldn't find the patient's name and date of birth in the files."

The files didn't include enough patient information for Solum to find or create a patient.

**What to do:** Fill in the patient's first name, last name, and date of birth on the form before creating the VOB.

### "Solum couldn't find the patient's date of birth in the files."

Solum found the patient's name but no date of birth. Insurance cards rarely print one.

**What to do:** Type the date of birth on the form. If the patient is already on file, Solum then offers **Use this patient**, and reads the files again for that patient so their insurances match the ones on file.

### "Solum couldn't read these files."

Solum's read of the files failed or took too long. This is not an upload failure: a file that doesn't upload shows an error on its own row in the file list, and **Continue** stays disabled until you retry or remove it.

**What to do:** Click **Try again**, or click **Fill in the form instead** to create the VOB without uploading files.

### "None of these files could be opened."

Solum couldn't open any of the files you added, so there was nothing to read.

**What to do:** Check the files: they should be PDF, JPG, or PNG, and not password-protected or damaged. Then click **Add other files** and add them again, or click **Fill in the form instead**.

***

## Limits

* **Files per upload:** Up to 15 at a time
* **File formats:** PDF, JPG, PNG
* **File size:** Up to 25 MB each
* **Patients per upload:** One patient per read. If your files include documents for multiple people, files for other people are skipped.

***

## Back to Patient Search

You can leave Create VOB from files and create your VOB from the patient search without the files:

* On the **Documents** step, and when Solum couldn't read the files, click **Fill in the form instead**.
* While Solum is reading, click **Back to documents** first.
* On the review, click **Change** beside the patient. For a new patient, click **Back to patient search**.


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