Keywords: add patient, new patient, sibling, adult patient, responsible party, duplicate, lookup tool
Summary
This article covers how to add patients in Cloud 9, including new patients, siblings of existing patients, adult patients, and existing person records that need to become a patient. It also covers required fields, the lookup tool, and what to do if you run into errors when saving a new patient.
Adding Patients Into Cloud 9
The Add Patient functionality is used to add patients to your Cloud 9 URL. There are several scenarios to take into account when adding new patients including:
• New Patients and Responsible Party
• Siblings of a current or previous patient
• Adult patients
• Existing persons in Cloud 9 who become a patient
To add a new patient click Home> Add.
The screen is divided into two components: Patient (left-hand side) and Financially Responsible (right-hand side), both shown in the screenshot below.
Before adding a patient into Cloud 9, utilize the Lookup Tool to make sure the person is not already in the system. This can be done from the Patient side or the Financially Responsible side by clicking the magnifying glass icon. Always check for duplicates before adding any new patient or responsible party, (this applies to every scenario covered in this article.)
Adding a New Patient and Responsible Party
1. Select the Home menu.
2. Select Add under Patient. The Add Patient window displays.
3. Use the magnifying glass for the lookup tool to make sure no duplicate patient or person record already exists.
4. All required fields are displayed in bold on the Add Patient screen. The default required fields for the Patient side are: First Name, Last Name, Birthdate, Contact Info, Provider, and Location. For the Financially Responsible side: Relationship Type, First Name, Last Name, and Contact Information. Your practice may have additional required fields configured, (more information about those requirements can be found at the bottom of this article.)
5. If you choose to add a Professional/Referral, you MUST add a relationship type as well. Failing to do so can cause the error, 'An Unexpected Error has Occurred' if that field is left missing and you try to save the patient record. Screenshot below showing required relationship field filled out.
6. Enter any additional information. Note: If the patient lives with the responsible party, click Sharing Options in the Addresses section and select Share Address. Depending on your next task for the patient, select one of green save buttons in the upper right: Schedule, Edit, or Close.
Adding a Sibling of a Current or Previous Patient
When adding a sibling of a current or previous patient, start entering information on the financially responsible (right side) of the Add Patient window. Since the financially responsible party is already in your database, you can look them up and all information is entered automatically.
1. Select the Home menu.
2. Select Add under Patient. The Add Patient window displays.
3. On the Financially Responsible side of the window, magnifying glass for the lookup tool to find the existing Responsible Party.
4. From the Lookup Person box, enter the last name first name and click Search. The matching results display.
5. Select the appropriate responsible party and click Select. The financially responsible party’s information displays. Warning: If you change any information on the Financially Responsible side — such as address or contact info — it will update across all related patient records. Make sure you have the correct individual selected before making any changes.
6. Complete the Patient side of the window. Note: Since there are people related to the added patient, all related people display in a dialog box.
7. Depending on your next task for the patient, select one of green save buttons in the upper right: Schedule, Edit, or Close.
Adding an Adult Patient
1. Select the Home menu.
2. Select Add under Patient. The Add Patient window displays.
3. On the Patient side, enter patient data, including the required fields: First Name, Last Name, Orthodontist, Location. If you choose to add a professional to the patient information, the relationship type for that professional MUST be added.
4. On the Financially Responsible side, select Self from the Relationship Type dropdown. This tells Cloud 9 that the patient is their own responsible party, and their information will automatically carry over from the Patient side.
5. Depending on your next task for the patient, select one of green save buttons in the upper right: Schedule, Edit, or Close.
Turning an existing Person Record in Cloud9 into a Patient
1. Select the Home menu
2. Select Add under patient. The Add Patient window displays.
3. If the existing person is currently listed as a related party on another patient, use the lookup tool on the Patient side (left) to find them. If they are currently listed as a financially responsible party on another patient, use the lookup tool on the Financially Responsible side (right). In both cases, set the Relationship Type to Self and their information will populate automatically.
4. Depending on your next task for the patient, select one of green save buttons in the upper right: Schedule, Edit, or Close.
Required Fields when adding a new patient
Your required field settings are located in Edit > Practice Information > Add Patient. This screen has a side for the Patient and a side for the Responsible Party, and the fields can be customized to fit your practice's needs. We recommend familiarizing your staff with these settings since they may look different from practice to practice. (Screenshot below.)
Are you getting an Error when you add a patient?
Are you getting an error every time you add a patient? There are a couple of likely culprits you can look to in order to resolve the issue.
Firstly, ensure that you are not saving any special characters in any name or address fields in Cloud 9. Special characters can cause an error to occur. For more information see THIS ARTICLE.
Also, be sure that if you select a Professional or Referral when adding the patient, the relationship is filled out. Leaving the relationship blank can also cause the error to occur. All relationships should always be filled out for relatives, responsible parties, referrals, or professionals.
Lastly, if your practice has the Patient Portal Invitations set to send automatically when adding a new patient, there might be a problem with your email settings. To fix this, go into Edit > Practice Information > Email Server Tab or Edit > Setup > Location > Email Server tab and check your email settings. You can also reach out to Support and we will be happy to assist.
If you run into any other issues adding patients, please contact Support, we are happy to assist!
As always, if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to reach out to Cloud 9 Support by emailing us at cloud9support@planetdds.com, or chatting us online using the chat bubble on the lower right at https://cloud9support.planetdds.com/hc/en-us, or giving us a call during our business hours of 8:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST at the 1.800.394.6050 option 2.