IWeb User Guide

Search for Patients

There are two types of searches for patients - Simple and Advanced.  Simple searches are most frequently used by application View(ers).

The system administrator sets up a default search type when user IDs are created. However, each individual user can change this default by changing the Settings > Personal > User Preferences > Default Patient Search Version setting. Default search types can also be overridden on the Patient Search page.

Both search types try to locate an exact match unless one of the wildcard characters is used in the search criteria. The wildcard characters (% and _) and their differences are:

• Percent (%) - Useful when you are unsure how a name is spelled. The percent sign is used to indicate multiple letters.
  
  For example, we are unsure if the name is Janet or Janice. We can enter Jan% for the first name (and either a name or wildcard for the last name) and click Search to locate all patients with first names that begin with JAN.
• Underscore (_) - Useful when you are unsure how a name is spelled, but know it is a single letter.
  
  For example, we are unsure if the first name is Diane or Diana. We can enter Dian_ for the first name (and either a name or wildcard for the last name) and click Search to locate all patients with first names that begin with DIAN.

The search results appear in the lower half of the page, along with the original search criteria. The total results that can be returned are 250 records. If there are more than 250 records, a message appears to indicate the search needs to be limited (narrowed) by adding additional search criteria.

Simple and Advanced Patient Search

To conduct a patient search, click Patient > Search/Add from the menu. If a search has been conducted previously during the session, the previous search results still display on the page.

To switch from a Simple search to an Advanced search (or vice versa), click "here" in the Click here to use the 'advanced' search (or Click here to use the 'simple' search) link in the Patient Search header area at the top of the page.

To use the Advanced search type, you must know one of the following about the patient:  First Name, Last Name, Birth Date, or Guardian First Name and Guardian Last Name. Advanced searches are useful when you are:

• Positive about how a name or alias is spelled (Exact).
• Unsure of how a name or alias is spelled (Like). Used with wildcard symbols. A percent sign (%) is used to indicate multiple letters; an underscore (_) is used for a single letter.
• Unsure of how a name or alias is spelled, but know what it sounds like (Phonetic).

The following fields are available for Simple and Advanced searches:

With advanced searches, you have the options of Edit or view only, and Add/Edit/View.  For Simple Searches, the only option is Edit or view only.

For quick searches, enter the search criteria in the fields using any of these combinations and click Search:

• First Initial, Birth Date
• Last Initial, Birth Date
• Social Security Number
• Birth Date
• Phone Number

Other searches can be conducted with these single fields or combinations:

• Guardian
• Birth File Number
• Medicaid Number
• Chart Number
• PASPORT ID (Louisiana)
• SIIS Patient ID
• Association
• Mother's Maiden Name
• Guardian First Name, Birth Date

When searching for first and last names, select one of these search options:

• First Name (includes alias)
• First Name and Last Name (FN & LN)
• Last Name (includes alias)

And one of these search types:

• Exact - You are positive about how the name is spelled.
• Like (use % or _ as wildcard characters) - You are unsure of how the name is spelled.
• Phonetic (search by sound of word) - You are unsure about how the name is spelled, but you know what it sounds like.

After entering the search criteria, click one of the available buttons (displayed depending on user access level, user permissions, and application configuration):

• Add Anonymous - This is a state-configurable button that allows a patient to be added with minimal demographic information. Birth Date is a required field; VFC Status, Medicaid Number, and Inactive status are optional fields. After an anonymous patient is added, the Patient Demographic page opens with the First Name and Last Name as Anonymous## (## represents a sequential number).
• Clear - Erases any newly entered text from all fields. Only the input fields clear; any previous search criteria remains.
• Reset - Repopulates the fields to what they contained before the Clear button was clicked.
• Report Duplicates - This is a state-configurable button to identify patient records that appear to be duplicates. See Report Duplicate Patient Records below.
• Capture Barcode - The actual text for this button is configured in the Administration > Settings > Properties > Patient Settings > Patient Search Barcode Button Text setting.  Click this button to display the Patient Search - Capture Barcode field in order to use a barcode scanner to capture a patient's demographics (for example, from a barcode on a driver's license). After clicking the Capture Barcode (or related) button, scan the barcode and click Enter Patient Data to save the barcode to the database. Click Run Search to copy the barcode and display the Patient Search Results page.
• Search - Starts the search and displays the search results in that section of the page.

The Patient Search Results section contains the following columns - click the column header to sort (ascending or descending) by that column:

• First Name
• Middle Name
• Last Name
• Birth Date
• SIIS Patient ID (or City, depending on configuration settings)
• Guardian First Name
• Guardian Last Name

Patients that have opted out of the registry are displayed in red text. Only the owner (IRMS or provider) of the record and Registry Client users can select patients that have opted out. Owning and Registry Clint users can edit and add shots.

If the patient appears in the search results, click on the row to display their information in the Patient Demographics page. Registry Clients can view the patient's address history at the bottom of the Patient Demographics page. For the fields and descriptions on this page, see Add a New Patient Record (Simple Method).

If the patient is not found, he or she can be added by authorized users. See Add/Edit Patient Records.

Patient Search with Barcode Scanner

To search for a patient using a barcode scanner, the scanner must be installed and configured and a printed document containing the patient ID in barcode format must be available. The barcode document can be scanned from a Patient Record Report, an Immunization Record Card, or a Reminder Recall Postcard.

Place the cursor in the SIIS Patient ID / Bar Code field (the radio button automatically selects). Simultaneously do the following:

• Aim at the center of the barcode while holding the scanner 0-1 inches above the barcode, and
• Press the button (usually located on the underside of the scanner).

The scanner beeps and displays a green LED light, and the Patient Search Results list appears.

Patient Demographics

After clicking on a patient name/row in the Patient Search Results section of the Patient Search page, the Patient Demographics page opens. The editable fields are detailed in the Add/Edit Patient Records topic, but these are the read-only fields displayed at the top of the page:

Field	Description
SIIS Patient ID	The patient's assigned SIIS ID number.
Organization (IRMS) Owner	The patient's owning organization, if applicable. A patient can be owned by an organization/facility if it does not have Automatic Ownership Block enabled and it either creates the new patient and/or vaccinates the patient.
Facility Owner	The patient's owning facility, if applicable. A patient can be owned by an organization/facility if it does not have Automatic Ownership Block enabled and it either creates the new patient and/or vaccinates the patient.
Entry Date	The date and time the patient was first entered into the system.
Entered By	The username of the person who first entered the new patient.
Last Update	The date and time the patient's record was last updated.
Last Updated By	The username of the person who last updated the patient's record.

Report Duplicate Patient Records

The Report Duplicates button is a state-configurable option that is useful for identifying and reporting (to the System Administrator) patient records that appear to be duplicates. (The Administration > Settings > Properties > Deduplication > Allow Providers to Manually Deduplicate option must be enabled.) Authorized users can perform a manual deduplication with this button.

Click the button to report a suspected duplicate patient, after which the Report Duplicate Patients page opens. Select a valid reason for deduplication from the drop-down list.  (The System Administrator creates the reasons that appear in the list.) Select two or more records to be merged and then click Report Duplicates. The Patient Set merge page opens.

At the top of the Patient Set Merge page are two or more radio buttons, each with the master record information for one of the patients you selected. Select the radio button that you want the records to be merged into.  Enter any comments about the merge into the comments box.  Click Merge to merge the displayed records into the selected master record.

Related topics:

• Patients
• Add/Edit Patient Records
• Edit Programs and High Risk Categories
• Waiting Room
• School Nurse Module Patient Detail
• Child Care Module
• 402P Form
• Remote Registry
• Insurance Information
• Patient Encounter Information