Duplicate patient charts happen more often than most medical offices expect. A patient may already exist in the system, but someone accidentally creates a second chart during registration. Over time, this can create confusion, duplicate records, and reporting issues.
Fortunately, Medisoft now includes a built-in feature that allows you to merge duplicate patient accounts. Instead of leaving unused charts marked as inactive, you can combine the records so that everything lives under the correct patient account.
In the video below, we walk through exactly how the merge process works and what you should know before performing a patient merge in Medisoft.
Watch the Tutorial: How to Merge Duplicate Patient Files in Medisoft
This quick tutorial shows how Medisoft’s patient merge tool works and how it simplifies the process of cleaning up duplicate charts.
Why Duplicate Patient Charts Can Be a Problem
Before the merge feature existed, practices had very limited options when duplicate patient charts appeared.
Most offices would simply mark one of the charts as inactive or rename it to something like “Do Not Use.” The problem is that the duplicate chart still remained in the system, which often times created confusion later.
Duplicate charts can lead to issues such as:
- claims being posted to the wrong patient chart
- incomplete reporting or inaccurate patient counts
- billing history split across multiple accounts
- difficulty locating the correct patient record
Using the patient merge feature allows you to consolidate these records so that everything is stored under a single patient account.
How the Patient Merge Feature Works
The Medisoft patient merge tool allows you to combine two patient accounts into one.
When the merge is completed, the system transfers most of the data from the duplicate account into the correct patient chart.
This transfer of information includes important items such as:
- claims and billing history
- patient statements
- appointments
- AR Tracker items
- transaction entry records
Once the merge finishes, the duplicate account is removed. Leaving all the relevant information to now exist within the primary patient chart.
This makes record management much cleaner and reduces the chance of future confusion.
Important Steps Before Merging Patients
Before performing a patient merge in Medisoft, there are a few important precautions to follow.
Always Perform a Backup First
Once two patient charts are merged, the action cannot be undone. That is why Medisoft displays a large warning message reminding users to perform a backup before proceeding.
Creating a backup ensures that your data can be restored if something unexpected occurs during the merge.
If your office uses a cloud backup system, daily backups may already be running automatically. However, it is still a good idea to perform a fresh backup immediately before merging patient charts.
Make Sure No One Else Is Using the Patient Record
Another recommendation is to ensure that other users are not actively working in the system while the merge is taking place.
Ideally, have all users log out of Medisoft and perform the merge from a single workstation. This prevents conflicts or errors that could occur if someone is editing the same patient record during the process.
Review User Permissions
Newer versions of Medisoft also include permission settings that control which users can access certain tools.
If you want to restrict access to features like patient merging, you can review these settings by navigating to the permissions section under the File menu.
What the Patient Merge Tool Does Not Change
One important detail to understand is that the merge process does not update the patient demographic section.
Medisoft assumes that the destination patient chart already contains the correct demographic information.
This means items like:
- address
- phone number
- demographic details
will remain unchanged in the primary patient account.
All other transactional and billing information from the duplicate chart will move into the main record.
Keeping Your Medisoft Database Clean
Duplicate patient records are a common issue in busy medical offices. Fortunately, the patient merge feature makes it much easier to maintain clean and accurate records.
By merging duplicate charts, practices can keep billing history organized, avoid confusion during claims processing, and ensure that reporting remains accurate.
If you want to learn more on how to clean up your Medisoft Database from incorrect data, read our blog “Clean Up Reports in Medisoft: A Guide to Fixing Bad Data”.
Need More Medisoft Training?
If you want to continue learning ways to get more out of Medisoft, we regularly host FREE Medisoft training webinars.
These sessions cover helpful topics, new features, and workflow tips that can help your practice operate more efficiently. You can see all upcoming webinars by visiting our webinar events page.
Missed a webinar you were excited to see? No worries! You can access all our past webinars on our Medisoft University. If you have questions about Medisoft features, upgrades, or workflow improvements, feel free to contact our team.
About AZCOMP Technologies
AZCOMP Technologies is the #1 Medisoft reseller and support provider in the nation. Since 2000, we’ve been helping independent practices streamline their billing, improve patient collections, and get the most out of their software. From expert Medisoft support and training to full-service revenue cycle solutions, we’re here to make your practice more efficient, profitable, and stress-free.
