Open Dental Forum

So what exactly is the difference between a patient who has been marked "Inactive" vs. "Archived?"

We use INACTIVE as not being seen in a given time frame (1yr, 2yrs, etc).
ARCHIVE for patients that have moved and will not be back.

Sorry, pretty vague, but a small distinction between the 2.

Jim

It would seem to me that for those who still have written records

Inactive are those who are not expected to return but whose file is still stored in the main record store

archived are those whose records have been removed from the main record store and are now reside in the basement.

steve

Inactive will show by default in the select patient window. Archived will not. So if you archive them, then you are pretty much assuming that you will be creating a duplicate chart if they call back again at some point in the future. Archive can be handy for offices that truly will never see the patient again. For example, a pedo office.

Sorry to necro old threads, but why would you need to create a duplicate chart for an archived patient? Why not just unarchive?

Mahalo
Ben

Inactive will show by default in the select patient window. Archived will not. So they appear to be new patient to the office so a new chart would be made. unless the patient inform the office that they are returning to the office letting the front desk know to look in the archived patient files.