How to Archive a Patient Record

Sensei Cloud enables you to archive patients, removing their records from active parts of the system. Read-only copies of archived patient records are stored in an Archived Patients list, which is accessible from the Dashboard. 

When archived, all aspects of an archived patient's record are erased from every location within Sensei Cloud besides the Archived Patients list, and they are no longer searchable from the Patient Search bar. All line items associated with the patient are removed from all reports and every other screen. Archived patient records can be viewed or printed, but they can no longer be actively used. See Using the Archived Patients List for more information.

Team members must have the Archive Patients setting enabled in their user permissions to have the ability to archive patient records. Administrators are the only users who have this setting enabled by default. See How to Assign Group and User Permissions for more information. 

IMPORTANT: Archiving a patient record is a permanent action. There is no way to reverse this action, so it is crucial to confirm that the patient record needs to be archived before doing so. If you archive a patient in error, the only thing you can do is create a brand new record from scratch.

Patient records must meet certain criteria in order to be archived. When any of the following criteria apply, a patient cannot be archived:

• A non-zero balance exists
• Open or active financial agreement (Payment Plan / Ortho Contract)
• Transactions on an open Financial Daysheet
• Open or outstanding insurance claims
• Transactions posted within the last 2 years

You may also receive a warning if a patient fits any of the following criteria, but you can choose to proceed with archiving the patient record for these scenarios:

• Patient record was created within the last year
• Open treatment plans
• Scheduled Appointments

To archive a patient record that is no longer being used:

1. Navigate to the Patient > Home.
2. Under Actions, click Archive Patient. The Archive Patient Record Readiness Check is performed.
   
   Note: 
   -- This window informs you whether or not the patient record is eligible to be archived. 
   -- When the patient record does not meet any criteria that may indicate it is still active, the Archive Patient Record Disclaimer & Acknowledgement window is displayed immediately.
   -- When the patient record meets certain conditions that may indicate it is still an active record, these conditions are listed for your review. Some of these conditions affect your ability to proceed with archiving the record, but others are more informational and you are allowed to proceed. 
   -- When the patient record is not able to be archived, the window informs you that the record does not meet the requirements to be archived at this time, and there is not an option available to proceed. You must click Cancel and wait for the patient to be eligible for archival. 
   
3. Click Proceed to Archive. The Archive Patient Record Disclaimer & Acknowledgement window is displayed. 
   
4. Review the disclaimer, and then select the checkbox, and click Proceed to Archive. The Archive Patient window is displayed.
5. Select a Reason for archiving the patient. 
   
6. Enter information in the Notes field as needed. When Other is selected as the reason, you are required to enter a comment in the Notes field.
7. Click Archive. The Last Chance window is displayed, prompting you to confirm if you are absolutely certain that you want to proceed with archiving the patient record.
   Important: This action is permanent and cannot be undone. This is your last chance to cancel and maintain the patient record as is. 
   
8. Click Yes, Archive. The patient record is removed from the active system and can only be viewed as a read-only copy from the Archived Patients list (Dashboard > Archived Patients).

Using the Archived Patients List

Archived patient records are stored and available for viewing and printing from the Archived Patients List. 

Note: Patient images and files are not retained.

To view an archived patient record:

1. From the Dashboard tab, select Archived Patients.
2. Enter known information in the Filter List fields to search for an archived patient record. 
   Note: You can add information in as many of the fields as needed to locate the desired record. For example, if you have several John Doe's, in addition to typing in the name fields, you could also fill out the date of birth or phone number fields to narrow the search results to the intended record. 
3. Click Apply Filter. A list of up to five results is displayed in the left side panel.
4. Select a record to open it.
   Note: The top of the record includes the archive details, such as the team member who performed the archival, the date/time that the archival occurred, and the reasoning. 
5. Click on the menu headings and subheadings to expand the record details. 

Click the Printer icon in the upper right to create a PDF of the record which you can adjust as needed and print. All sections within the record are automatically expanded in the PDF.