A practice may want to require additional fields to be captured when adding or editing client and patient records. To add additional client and patient required fields and client key fields follow the instructions below:
- Menu > Settings > Practice Setup > System Defaults.
- Here, you can configure additional client and/or patient Required Fields, and client Key Fields.
Client/Patient Required Fields
For patients, the Name, Sex, Species, Breed, and Status are already the required system defaults.
The additional patient fields that can be required include Color, Date of Birth, Weight, Rabies Tag, Microchip, Alerts, Allergies, Authorized to Initiate Care.
For clients, the First and Last Name are the required system defaults.
The additional client fields that can be required include Login, Status, Email, Referral, Address, Phone Number, Classification, Clinic Referral.
To configure required fields:
- Select the Required Fields multi-select drop-down list in the Patients > Profile section and/or the Clients > Profile section in the System Defaults page and click Save.
- The additional required fields will be denoted with a red asterisk in the client and patient records, and you will not be able to save unless they are populated.
Quick Add Key Fields
The client Key Fields does a check to see if a client already exists at your practice based on an exact data match when creating a new client.
By default, the system key fields include the client First Name and Last Name. Additional Key Fields include the client Email, Address, and Phone Number.
To configure additional key fields:
- Select the Key Fields multi-select drop-down list in the Clients > Profile section in the System Defaults page and click Save.
- When adding a new client, a warning message displays alerting you a client already exists when the system finds a duplicate.
- You will have the option to cancel creating the new client record or proceed with creating the new client.
NOTE: When adding a new client and patient directly from the calendar only First Name, Last Name, Email, and Phone Number are required for the client and Patient Name, Sex, Species, and Breed for the patient. Therefore, if you select that Address is required in System Defaults, you will not be able to use the quick add feature directly on the calendar to add new clients. You will need to go to the Client Management section and add the new client and patient there: Adding a New Client.