The Merge Patients tool can be used to merge duplicate patient accounts into one. Patient first name, last name, and birthdate do not need to match.

1. In the Main Menu, click Tools, Misc Tools, Merge Patients.
   
2. Patient to merge into: Click Change to select the patient accounts that will remain. If you bridge to an imaging software, the patient account linked to the images should be retained.
3. Patient to merge from: Click Change to select the patient accounts that will be merged into the top patient.
4. Click Merge. A message will show when the merge is successful.
5. If the patient first name, last name, and birthdate do not match, a warning message will pop up. Click Yes to merge the patients anyway, or No to cancel.

After the merge:

• The status of the merged from patient will change to Archived. The patient can still be accessed via the Select Patient window by selecting Show Archived/Deceased and Show Merged Patients. They will also still show in the in the Family module, Family Member list.
• Duplicate information (e.g. insurance, recall) will need manual cleanup.
• If user attempts to schedule an appointment for the merged from patient, he will be prompted to switch patients.
• History for both the merge from and to patient can be viewed in the Audit Trail.
• As a second step, consider deleting the patient in the Family module.