How do I merge two records for one patient?

NOTE: This function is usually only available to users with administrator access privileges.

Use the patient merge function to merge two patient records together, in instances where a patient somehow has duplicate records. The information from one record (the source record) is copied into the other (destination) record, leaving the source empty. In case there are any items such as patient x-rays that have not been copied by the merge procedure, it is recommended that the source record is marked as inactive rather than deleted.

In our example below, there is a patient record for Sarah Jones, and another for Sara Jones, both for the same patient.

To merge two records for one patient

1. Open the Patient File.
2. Enter or select the destination patient record; in this case, 'Sarah Jones'. (Note that you could also select the source record, but doing it this way means the correct destination record is defaulted).
3. Click the Merge button in the toolbar.

   The following dialog is displayed:

   

4. In the Source Patient field, enter or select the patient record to merge information from, in this case 'Sara Jones' (JONES S1):

   

5. When you are sure that both the Destination and Source Patient fields are correct, click the button.

   The following dialog is displayed, to allow you to confirm the merge, or cancel it:

   

6. Click the button to merge the records.
7. In the Patient File, select the source record (in this case, 'Sara Jones').
8. Click the checkbox next to the "Inactive" field at the bottom of the window, so that it is ticked, and select an appropriate reason code:

   

Result: There will now be one active record for the patient, which will contain the merged details from the two records. The other (inactive) record is retained in case you should need to access any details such as x-rays that may be still attached to the original patient record.

The following details are merged

Patient fields:

• First name
• Second name
• Last name
• Prefix (Holland only)
• Title
• Also known as (Holland only - creates it if it is not present)
• Initials
• Sex
• Date of birth
• Home address and post code
• Work address and post code
• Home, mobile, and work phone and work phone contact
• Alternative phone number and contact
• Fax number, pager number
• Email addresses
  

Patient records:

• Patient x-rays and video
• Contacts
• Patient notes and dated notes
• Charting
• Appointments
• Perio WHO and BPE (not sure if this includes new Holland perio)
• Transactions and associated invoice lines
• Waitlist entries
• Denplan OHS
• Pathology
• Medical History (just integrated medical history only?)
• Prescriptions
• Recalls
• Smile Surveys
• NHS Pilot Information
• Examine-Pro
• 3rd party link records (but not the actual third party data, which isn't held in our database)
• Custom tabs