A patient record starts with a name and a way to reach them; everything else can wait for the first visit. The one thing to get right on day one is the duplicate check, because two records for one person are a long clean-up later.

Search first

Before adding anyone, type their name or phone number into Search patients on the Patients page with the filter on All, so an archived record shows too. A patient who came years ago and was archived should be unarchived, not added again. Check which location you're viewing if your clinic has more than one; the new patient belongs to the location you're viewing.

Fill in the New patient form

Select New patient. The form is short on purpose; everything else lives on the full record.

1

First name and Last name

Both required. Use the legal name; a preferred name is added on the record afterward.

2

Date of birth

Optional but worth having: it's one of the things that tells two Sarah Khans apart and one of the signals the duplicate check uses.

3

A phone number, with its type, or an email

At least one is required, or the form says so. Both is better: reminders go by SMS to the mobile and by email to the address, according to the patient's communication preferences.

4

Save

One button saves and keeps you on the list; the other saves and opens the record. You'll see Amira Haddad created.

The New patient form with First name, Last name, Date of birth, a phone number with its type, and Email, a note that further details can be completed on the record, and the save buttons.
The New patient form filled in for Amira Haddad with a mobile number and an email.

If a patient with the same name and a matching email, phone number or date of birth already exists, the form refuses: A patient with the same name and a matching email, phone or date of birth already exists. Open that record instead. Two people who share a name and nothing else can both be added.

Finish the record

Open the patient and go through Details for the rest: address, emergency contact, referring doctor, tags, time zone if they live elsewhere, communication preferences and your custom fields; their concession and referral source are on Billing. See Edit a patient's details. Then book them: New appointment on the record header opens the calendar with the patient already chosen.

Patients who book online are created for you with whatever they typed, and a new-patient intake form linked to the appointment type goes out with their confirmation. Patients from another system come in through Data Imports.