When existing Patients Book Online and input slightly different details to what is recorded in the original Patient Profile this can cause the creation of a duplicate Patient Profile.
The fields Nookal uses to match a Patient record in the Legacy Online Bookings portal are Name, Email Address, Mobile Number, DOB, Street Address, City/Town, State and Postcode.
The fields Nookal uses to match a Patient record in the New Online Bookings portal are Name, Email Address, Mobile Number, and DOB.
If the Patient inputs different data for any of these listed fields in the Online Bookings portal compared to what is saved on their Patient Profile, or any additional data, this can create a duplicate Patient Profile.
It is not uncommon for practices to have Patients that share the same First and Last Name, and we do not want even the smallest chance that these unique Patients get merged together.
The next sections outline ways to overcome the creation of duplicate Patient Profiles.
Online Booking Code
To help mitigate the creation of a duplicate Patient Profile the Patient is emailed a unique Online Booking Code after they make their first Online Booking. They can then use this code to make future Online Bookings instead of re-entering their personal details again, which means there is no chance of a duplicate Patient Profile being created.
Using the Online Booking Code also has the added benefit of speeding up the Online Booking process for the Patient. This code can also be located via Patients > Profile > Settings > Online Bookings.
Confirm the Patient's Details
We recommend confirming a Patient's personal details with them at the time of the appointment to avoid having a duplicate Patient Profile created. The Patient can also be provided with their Online Booking Code at this time.
Block New Patients from using Online Bookings
Additionally, there is a method to completely block the possibility of a duplicate Patient Profile being created via Online Bookings. This involves turning off the ability for new Patients to make Online Bookings (and therefore, no duplicate Patient Profiles can be created).
To enable this option navigate to Setup > Extensions > Online Bookings > (choose your location) > Registration > Select the 'Blocked' checkbox > Save Changes.
When this option is enabled, if a new Patient (or a Patient entering data that doesn't exactly match an existing Patient Profile) attempts to make an Online Booking, they will receive an error stating that they need to call the practice to make a booking.
Merging Patient Profiles
Lastly, if a duplicate Patient Profile is created, this can be merged into the original Patient Profile by following the steps outlined here.