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How does chart duplication occur?

Chart duplication can occur for a few reasons:
  • a duplicate chart was accidentally created by a member of your practice
  • a duplicate chart was created due to an integration
  • a duplicate chart was created from a Letter from another Elation EHR provider via the Letters & Referrals feature
Integrations and Letters/Referrals take into account the patient’s first name, last name, date of birth and gender to find a direct patient match. If a direct match is not found, a duplicate chart will be created.

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Why should I merge duplicate charts?

The patient’s chart is the source of truth for patient information. Having multiple patient charts means the patient’s information is dispersed amongst more than one source of data which may affect your ability to make accurate healthcare recommendations. Duplicate charts should always be merged so that each patient only has one chart in your EHR.

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Identifying duplicate charts

Most duplicate charts will have a pink banner at the top of the patient’s chart to signify the chart might be a duplicate. Any chart that is created by an integration or Elation feature will automatically have this pink banner. Pink duplicate chart banner on patient chart for Lenny Smith, showing "This chart was created automatically and may be a duplicate" with Merge Chart and Dismiss buttons highlighted.
  • Click Merge Chart to merge the duplicate version of the chart into the original chart
  • Click Dismiss if the chart is not a duplicate chart to dismiss the banner.

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Before you merge

Before you click Merge Chart, confirm the following:
  • The two charts belong to the same patient. Check that the patient’s name, date of birth, and sex match on both charts.
  • You’ve decided which chart to keep as the Winning Chart and which to remove as the Losing Chart.
  • Any demographics information you want to keep is already entered in the Winning Chart. Demographic information and credit cards on file in the Losing Chart are deleted during the merge and do not transfer to the Winning Chart.
  • If the duplicate chart was created by an integration, keep the chart connected to that integration as the Winning Chart. Check the integration’s guide for how to identify the connected chart.

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Merging duplicate charts

To merge duplicate patient charts, take the following steps:
  1. Go to the duplicate patient chart you would like removed (we will call this the Losing Chart), click on the patient’s name to access the patient’s demographics and click on the Merge Chart button under Notes & Chart Management(OR click the Merge Chart button in the pink banner)
Lenny Smith's patient demographics dialog open to Notes & Chart Management tab, with arrows highlighting the Merge Chart button inside the dialog and the Merge Chart button in the pink duplicate chart banner.
  1. Enter in the name of the original patient chart you want the duplicate chart to merge into (we will call this the Winning Chart), and click Merge Chart.
  • All signed documents, orders, messages, appointments, and Clinical Profile items in the Losing Chart transfer to the Winning Chart, along with historical and pending patient payment records and membership subscriptions. Demographic information and credit cards on file in the Losing Chart are deleted and do not transfer to the Winning Chart. Confirm the Winning Chart has the correct demographics and any other information you want to keep before you merge.If the patient doesn’t already have Passport access to the Winning Chart, merging ends their portal access — send them a new Passport invitation from the Winning Chart afterward. See What happens to the Losing Chart’s Patient Passport account after a merge? below for details.
Patient Chart Merge dialog showing "Merge This Chart Into" field populated with "Smith, Leonard" (highlighted with dashed red border), with the Merge Chart button outlined in red, ready to confirm the merge.
  1. Review the confirmation screen, which shows the data in both charts, then click Yes, merge charts to complete the merge, or No to cancel and make changes first.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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I see a duplicate chart but I do not see the pink banner. What happened?

Any chart that is created by an integration or Elation feature will automatically have a pink banner. If you do not see a pink banner at the top of the duplicate chart, it means:
  1. someone in your practice dismissed the pink banner
  2. the duplicate chart was not created by an integration or Elation feature
Follow the merge instructions t o merge the duplicate charts.

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I do not see the “Merge Chart” banner. How do I merge charts?

Follow the merge instructions t o merge the duplicate charts from the patient demographics window.

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What happens to the Losing Chart’s Patient Passport account after a merge?

Whether you need to resend an invitation depends on whether the patient already has Passport access to the Winning Chart:
  • They already have Passport access to the Winning Chart: Nothing to do. That access is unaffected by the merge and now covers the merged-in data too.
  • They don’t have Passport access to the Winning Chart (their only Passport access was through the Losing Chart, or they had a pending invitation for it): The merge ends that access and cancels the pending invitation. Send them a new Passport invitation from the Winning Chart to restore portal access.
In either case, the patient’s Passport login (their email and password) is never disabled or changed by the merge — only which chart it can access changes. If you need to undo the merge instead of re-inviting, see I accidentally merged two charts that belong to two different patients below — Passport access from before the merge can be restored using that process.

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What happens if I choose the wrong chart as the Winning Chart?

If you keep the wrong chart from the same patient, undo the merge using the same options described below. Demographic information and credit cards on file in the Losing Chart are deleted during the merge, so review the confirmation screen and confirm the correct Winning Chart before you complete the merge — see Before you merge.

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I accidentally merged two charts that belong to two different patients. What should I do?

If your practice has the Restore a deleted chart option, you can undo the merge yourself:
  1. Click I need help → Restore a deleted chart
  2. Find the patient in the list and click Undo Merge
See Patient Chart Guide- Recovering deleted charts for the full steps, along with what to check afterward — such as reconnecting Patient Passport and reviewing integrations. If your practice does not have this option, unmerge charts using the User Activity Log instead:
  1. Go to Reports > User Activity Log
  2. Filter by the patient or by the “Merge” action to find the merge event
  3. Click the Restore button next to the merge action to unmerge the charts
The User Activity Log only contains data from January 1, 2023 to present. If the merge occurred before this date, or if extensive changes have been made to the Winning Chart since the merge, contact Elation Support instead of using either self-service option above.
If two charts belonging to different patients were merged together, click I need help → Contact Elation Support and check the Urgent box right away. Include the patient names involved and the approximate date and time of the merge so Support can locate it quickly.
For Providers & Admins Only To submit an urgent request, you must have Provider Level User account or have administrator (Admin) level privileges. If you do not see the ** ** Urgent** checkbox after clicking ** Contact Elation Support**, then you are not a Provider or an Admin. To become an Admin, you must ask an existing Admin level user in your practice (most likely a primary provider level account holder) to grant you privileges via this Manage Accounts Settings page .