> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.elationhealth.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# 2026-09-23

This release adds two columns to `patient`: the reason a chart went inactive, and the note recorded alongside a patient's status. Both come from [Patient Status](/articles/Patient-Status) in the chart.

## Schema Changes

| Table | Column | Change |
| - | - | - |
| patient | `inactive_reason` | New — the reason a chart went inactive |
| patient | `patient_status_notes` | New — free-text note recorded against the patient's status |

***

## Release Highlights

**inactive\_reason**

`patient_status` already told you that a chart went inactive and `last_patient_status_change` told you when. This tells you why, so you can separate patients who moved away from those the practice discharged, and track the mix over time.

Elation fills it in wherever `patient_status` is `inactive`, using the labels shown in the chart: `Patient Left on Good Terms`, `Patient Left on Bad Terms`, `Practice Ended Relationship`, `Other`, and `Unknown`. A few older charts carry a free-text reason predating that list, and Elation publishes those values as entered, so match against the five labels rather than expecting an exact set.

**patient\_status\_notes**

The free-text note a practice records against a patient's status, and often the place the specific reason for a departure appears when the reason itself is `Other` or `Unknown`. Read the two columns together:

```sql theme={null}
select id, patient_status, inactive_reason, patient_status_notes, last_patient_status_change
from patient
where patient_status = 'inactive'
order by last_patient_status_change desc
```

It is a separate column from `patient.notes`, the chart-level note, which this release leaves alone.

**Working with these columns**

* Coverage follows how a practice uses the chart. Where charts are not marked inactive, both columns are empty.
* Filter on `patient_status` rather than `inactive_reason is not null` when you want the inactive population, so reactivated charts carrying an older note stay out of the result.

The new columns are described in the [Hosted Database schema](/articles/hdb/schema).

*If you have any questions about this topic please reach out to [Elation Support Portal](/articles/support-portal-introduction) with the subject line HDB - \<your\_question>*