Purpose Statement
Use Merge Patient to combine duplicate patient records into a single Primary EMS Patient ID (GUID) so the patient’s full incident history appears under one unified record.
Background Information
Duplicate patient records can occur when names are entered differently (e.g., “Nicholas” vs “Nick”) or due to data entry errors. When duplicates exist, incidents are split across multiple EMS Patient IDs, making it harder to review a patient’s complete history.
What merging does
Reassigns incidents from Secondary patient records to the Primary EMS Patient ID (GUID)
Sets Secondary patient records to Inactive
Preserves historical incident documentation (no other incident fields are edited)
What merging does not do
Does not edit narrative, assessments, treatments, vitals, billing, timestamps, or any other incident content
Does not delete patient records (secondary records are inactivated)
Required Permissions
To access this feature, a user must have the permission:
Merge Patient Records
Users without this permission will not see the merge selection/action controls.
Video
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Open Patient Record Management
Navigate to Incident Documentation → Patient Record Management.
Locate the patient records you believe are duplicates.
Step 2: Select records to merge
Use the checkboxes in the Patient Record Management list to select two (2) or more patient records (EMS Patient IDs).
Confirm the Merge Patient action becomes visible/enabled.
If 0 or 1 record is selected, the Merge action remains hidden/disabled.
Step 3: Review the Merge modal
Click Merge Patient.
In the modal, review each selected patient record’s key details:
Name
DOB
Gender
EMS Patient ID
# of associated incidents
Confirm which record is marked Primary and which are Secondary.
Step 4: Choose the Primary patient record
If needed, change the Primary record selection before continuing.
Verify you are keeping the record you want to remain the active, unified patient record.
Step 5: Confirm merge impact
Read the confirmation warning message:
“This action will update [X] incidents and inactivate [Y] patient records. This cannot be undone.”
If a conflict warning appears (e.g., different DOB and/or gender), review the details and acknowledge the warning.
Step 6: Complete the merge
Click Merge Patients.
The system will:
Update incident.EMSPatientID for all incidents tied to Secondary records to match the Primary EMS Patient ID (GUID)
Set all Secondary patient records to Inactive
Create a Merge Audit Log entry (user, date/time, primary ID, secondary IDs, incidents affected)
Review the success message confirming how many incidents were merged.
Best Practices
Verify duplicates carefully before merging—especially when patients share common names.
Prefer selecting a Primary record that:
Has the most complete demographics
Is already referenced by the majority of incidents
Review DOB and Gender across records prior to merge to reduce conflict warnings.
Use merge as a cleanup workflow after QA (e.g., weekly/monthly data integrity review).
Avoid merging during active high-volume operations unless your team has a clear verification process.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
The “Merge Patient” button isn’t available
Cause: You selected fewer than 2 records, or you lack permissions.
Fix:
Select 2+ patient records using checkboxes
Confirm you have Merge Patient Records permission
I’m seeing a warning about conflicting DOB or Gender
Why it happens: The selected records contain mismatched DOB and/or Gender.
What to do:
Re-check whether the records truly belong to the same patient
If they do, you may acknowledge the warning and proceed, or cancel to avoid an incorrect merge
Did the merge change my incident documentation?
No. Only the EMS Patient ID reference on incidents is updated. All historical incident data remains unchanged.
Where did the secondary records go?
Secondary records are set to Inactive and will not appear in default Patient Record Management searches/lists. (Depending on your configuration, you may need an “Include Inactive” filter to view them.)
What if an error occurs mid-merge?
If a database/system error occurs, the system should display an error message. The merge should run as a transaction so it can rollback if it does not complete successfully.