Managing patient records efficiently is crucial in providing high-quality healthcare services. This guide will walk you through the process of merging duplicate records when registering a patient with an existing EMIS ID, ensuring a unified and accurate patient database.
Notification: Upon adding an EMIS ID to a patient's profile, the system may alert you to the existence of a duplicate EMIS ID already in the system.
Option to merge: In the event of such an alert, you will be presented with the option to merge the new patient record with the existing duplicate record.
On some occasions we will not be able to match the patient as their EMIS ID will be assigned to another patient already in Hero. This is when you will be asked to merge the two patients. Hero will display the two patient details side by side side for you to review before confirming the merge.
⚠️ Be aware that any patient details not associated with the patient holding an EMIS ID will be lost during the merge. If there are specific details you wish to retain, ensure they are manually copied into the patient's EMIS record before completing the merge.
When the merge is successful, the patient with the existing EMIS (or PDS in an NHS practice) will be preserved.
The merge will include appointments, messages, questionnaires, invoices, prescriptions, and any approved connections to the patient holding the EMIS ID, ensuring a complete and updated patient profile.
For a merge scenario to occur, both patient records must share the same date of birth and EMIS ID. This ensures that conflicting information are against a unique identifier (EMIS ID) and patient identifiable information (Date of birth) to verify that the conflict is a patient that has two records therefore prevents the merging of records for different patients.
