How to Add or Edit a Patient Record – Carestream Dental

Patient information, such as contact information, responsible parties, preferences, medical alerts, and more, is stored in the patient record (Patient tab > Patient Record).

When a new patient calls to schedule an appointment, you need to add them to the system to create a new patient record. To add a patient, the first step is to use the Patient Search field to see if the patient is already in the system. When the search returns no matching results, the Create New Patient prompt is displayed. Click this prompt to add the new patient and enter information in their patient record.

See How to Search for a Patient and How to Create a New Patient Appointment for more information.

Tip: When creating or editing a patient record, the titles of the required fields are bold. Select Display required fields only to enter only the required information.

Adding Information to a Patient Record

Next, scroll through each section of the patient record and add any known information. The patient record is comprised of the following sections:

Patient Record Control

In this section, you can:

Change a patient status from Active to Inactive
Manage a patient's Current Ortho Treatment status
Generate (or manually enter) a Patient ID
Enter a Chart ID
Enter a Model Box Number

Note: You can enable a setting to automatically assign Patient IDs to patient records. See How to Automatically Assign Patient IDs for more information.

Personal Information

Sensei Cloud requires you to enter the patient's first and last names, date of birth, and gender. You can also enter additional information as necessary, such as a nickname, title, or ethnicity.

Note: There must be a valid date of birth entered for both the patient and policyholder in order to process insurance claims. If the date of birth is missing or invalid and you try to create an insurance claim, a message is displayed. You need to correct the information before you can proceed. See How to Post Charges and Payments From the Patient Ledger for more information.

Contact Information

Enter the following:

Telephone Number
Note: The default contact method for a patient is Mobile, but you can click Add Phone Number to add another phone number (e.g., Home or Work). See How to Change the Preferred Patient Contact Telephone Number for more information.
SMS Opt Out (select this option to prevent SMS messages from being sent to the mobile number)
Email
Preferred Contact Method (Mail or Email)
Address (this is required for sending insurance claims, billing statements, and correspondence)

Portrait

You can add a portrait for a patient by uploading an image or capturing a new image. For more information, see How to Add a Patient Portrait.

Patient Type (UK Only)

Select a scheme, such as NHS or a private plan, from the drop-down list.

NHS Details (UK Only)

Enter the NHS number, previous surname, and any exemptions for the patient. See the following topics for more information:

Additional Information (US Only)

Use these drop-down lists to select the patient's school or general dentist.
Select a school or general dentist name from the appropriate drop-down list, or begin typing a name and click Create [Name] to create a new option.

Patient Referrals

Click Add Patient Referral to add a referral. See How to Add a Referral Source to a Patient Record for more information.

Click Add to Waiting List to add the patient to a Waiting List to start a referral clock and track the time left until the patient needs to be seen. The referral clock duration is either the amount of time until the patient schedules an appointment or attends an appointment (depending on the Waiting List settings). See How to Set Up Waiting Lists and How to Use Waiting Lists for more information.

Click Add Outside Doctor to add an outside doctor (an external provider) that is part of the patient's care team. The amount of outside doctors that can be added is unlimited. See How to Add an Outside Doctor to a Patient Record for more information.

Responsible Parties

In this section, you can mark the patient as Self-Responsible (select the Is Self-Responsible option at the top) or assign responsible parties.

To add a new responsible party:

Click Add New Responsible Parties.
Begin typing a name in the Search to add responsible party field. If the individual is already a patient in the system, you can click on their name. Otherwise, type the name and click Create [Patient Name]. The responsible party is added to the patient record.
Select a Relationship type from the drop-down list.
Click the green star under the Emergency Contact column to mark a responsible party as the patient's emergency contact. Click the green star in the Guarantor column to mark the responsible party as the patient's guarantor.
Note: The first responsible party that is added is automatically designated as the Guarantor (green star filled in). Click the green star under Guarantor in another responsible party's row to assign them as the patient's guarantor. Self-responsible patients are their own guarantors.
Click Save Patient.
Note: You have the options to Edit or Remove responsible parties from the patient record.

For information on converting a guarantor or responsible party to a patient, see How to Convert a Person to a New Patient.

Insurance Information (US Only)

Add any insurance policies that the patient subscribes to. See How to Add or Update Patient Insurance for more information.

Select Patient is Not Covered by Insurance if the patient does not have any insurance policies.

Note: When this option is selected, the patient's Insurance section on their Home page (Patient > Home) is marked as PRIVATE PAY PATIENT as of [Month]/[Day]/[Year] with the date being the last date that this option was selected in the record. You can select this option at the time of record creation or edit the patient record at any time to select it.

Connected Patients

In this section, you can view and manage connected patients. Connected patients are automatically added to a patient record in some cases, such as when patients share an insurance policy. Click Add New Connection to search for and manually add a connected patient. See How to Define Connected Patients for more information.

Patient Preferences

You can set the patient's preferred language, location, doctor, hygienist, pharmacy, default procedure list / fee schedule, and appointment preferences.

Note: The preferred language, location, doctor, and hygienist are displayed on the Patient Home page. The preferred language field is only displayed if a language has been selected in the patient's record.

Recare / Recall Appointments

If desired, add the patient to the Recare (US) or Recall (UK) List. See How to Set Recare/Recall for a Patient for more information.

Medical Alerts

Add any applicable medical alerts to the patient's record by clicking the medical alert icon next to the patient's name in the Patient Mini Card (which is available when accessing any of the patient-based tabs). You can also access it from the Clinical Chart (EMR). See How to Create a Medical Alert for a Patient for more information.

Notes

If needed, add a note to the patient's record by clicking the Edit (pencil) icon, typing a message, and clicking Save. Once a note is created, you have the option to edit it, or click View Note History to see a history of the patient's notes.

When you have filled out the patient record as completely as you can, click Create to save the new patient in the system.

Editing a Patient Record

You can add more information to a patient record at any time. To edit an existing patient record, navigate to Patient tab > Patient Record, and then click Edit Patient Record in the side panel (or select Patient tab > Home > Update Patient Record).

Tip: To edit an item in a patient record, click Edit Patient Record, and then use the Jump To links to quickly navigate to the desired section. Be sure to click Save Patient after making any changes.