Following up with inactive patients

At least once a year, you may want to follow up with inactive patients to see if you can bring any of them back into active status. Patients who have moved, cannot be reached, or are no longer going to be patients can have their status set to inactive or archived.

Important: Archiving a patient should be considered a permanent action, as this will significantly change their data in the database, and some data cannot be easily restored later. Archive patients only when you are certain that they will not be returning to active patient status (if, for example, they are now deceased).

To follow up on inactive patients

1.   In the Reports module, print the  Inactive Patient List.

2.   Merge your inactive patient information with Inactive Patient Letters and send letters to your inactive patients.

3.   After determining that a patient will not be returning to your office, decide whether you want to archive the patient.

Note:

·        All recall, employer, insurance, and referral information is moved to Patient Notes. You can view this information after the patient is archived.

·        Address, procedures, insurance claims, payments, adjustments, medical alerts, prescriptions, patient questionnaires, and perio exams all remain intact in case you reactivate the patient in the future.