Merging Duplicate Patients

PatientsTenant adminLast updated:

This action is available to tenant administrators.

When to Merge Patients

Duplicate patient records occur when the same person is entered more than once — commonly because a new insurance member ID suffix was issued, or because a patient was imported from multiple sources. Merging combines all clinical data, tasks, documents, and workflows from the duplicate onto the surviving record and removes the duplicate.

Merge only records that represent the same person. The merge panel warns you if the two records appear to have different names, dates of birth, or member IDs.

Step 1 — Locate the Duplicate Pair

  1. Open the Patients list from the left navigation.
  2. Enable Show patients without current insurance to surface stale or inactive duplicate records that would otherwise be hidden.
  3. Search for the patient name to find both records.

Step 2 — Select the Two Records

The patient list shows a checkbox column on the left side for administrators.

  1. Check the checkbox on the first record.
  2. Check the checkbox on the second record.

A merge toolbar appears above the table showing 2 selected and the button Merge selected (2/2). The button is disabled until exactly 2 records are selected.

Step 3 — Open the Merge Panel

Select Merge selected (2/2). The Merge Patients panel opens on the right side.

The panel displays a summary message:

Choose which record to keep. All tasks, evaluations, documents, medications, and other data from the duplicate will move to the survivor.

If the two records look noticeably different (different name, DOB, or member ID), a warning banner appears. Review it carefully before continuing.

Step 4 — Choose the Surviving Record

Under Keep this patient (survivor), select the radio button next to the record you want to preserve. The other record becomes the duplicate and will be merged in.

Step 5 — Review the Record Comparison

A Record comparison table shows all fields side by side — Survivor (keep) and Duplicate (merge in). Rows where the values differ are highlighted.

For each differing field that can be overridden, a toggle appears with two options: Survivor and Duplicate. Select which value you want on the merged record. Fields that are combined automatically (such as insurance records) show an informational chip instead of a toggle.

The Insurance start and Insurance end rows follow your choice in the Insurance key row. When you choose Duplicate for the insurance key, both date rows switch to Duplicate too, so the merged record keeps that member’s coverage dates. You can still choose Survivor on either date row afterward, and the merged record keeps the value each toggle shows.

Step 6 — Review the Merge Inventory

The Merge inventory section lists everything that will be combined on the survivor:

  • Survivor chart — existing chart data that stays; data from the duplicate is added to it.
  • Duplicate chart — chart items from the duplicate that will be merged in.
  • Workflows — tasks and prior authorization records on the duplicate that will be repointed to the survivor.

All data is merged together — there is no per-item opt-out.

Step 7 — Preview the Merge

Select Preview at the bottom of the panel. A Server preview (no changes written) box appears. Nothing is saved yet.

The preview starts with two lines about insurance:

  • Current insurance after the merge. Every insurance policy from both records stays on the merged chart, including ended ones. One policy becomes the current insurance. If the survivor’s current insurance (or the value you chose in the Insurance key row) still covers today, it stays current. Otherwise the policy that covers today with the latest start date becomes current. The line names that member, and names the previous member when it changes. If no policy covers today, the line says so and the current insurance stays as it is.
  • Other current members. The line lists any other members whose policy also covers today. They stay on the chart. If PharmPix reports that the current member has no active insurance, these members are tried next, in the order shown.

Below those lines, the preview shows how many tasks, evaluations, documents, and other items will move from the duplicate.

If you change the survivor or a Keep choice, select Preview again to see the updated result.

Step 8 — Confirm the Merge

Select Merge at the bottom of the panel, then select Merge again in the Confirm merge dialog. The duplicate record is removed and all associated data moves to the surviving record, with the current insurance set as the preview showed. You are taken to the surviving patient’s chart.

This action cannot be undone. Verify your selection carefully before confirming.