Patient intake and consent

Every patient has a patient number, display name, birth date, contact phone and an assigned dentist. The patient record also shows an overall consent status of pending, active or withdrawn, so the front desk can review it alongside consent for the intended care.

Consent itself is recorded per purpose. A consent names its purpose, such as general treatment, sedation, orthodontic records or sharing records with a specialist, the version of the form, when it was signed, when it expires and the signed document. Each consent is pending until the patient signs, then signed; it can later be withdrawn or expire. Because consent is kept per purpose and version, the practice can review the signed evidence for the intended care and retain each form version as a separate consent record.

The clinical coordinator registers patients and prepares the consents a visit needs; the licensed clinician can record consent taken in the chair. The practice tests clinician access with an ordinary account before using patient assignments in daily work.

The clinical coordinator owns registration; clinicians record consent taken during care.

• One record per patient. Patient number, contact and assigned dentist.
• Consent per purpose and version. Signed date, expiry and document on each.
• Withdrawal kept. A withdrawn or expired consent stays on the record.

List the consent purposes your practice uses and the current form version for each. Agree how long each consent is valid and who renews it, how the overall consent status on the patient is kept in line with the individual consents, and what happens when a patient withdraws consent mid-treatment. Decide how existing paper consents are scanned and attached. Prepare examples of a new patient, a patient who signs sedation consent on the day and a patient whose consent has expired.

A new patient books a check-up and cleaning. The coordinator registers her with the agreed patient number, assigns Dr Lim and prepares general treatment consent. She signs it at the front desk on arrival; the coordinator attaches the signed form and the consent moves to signed.

At the visit Dr Lim recommends an extraction under sedation. The clinician prepares a sedation consent for the new purpose, the patient signs it in the chair and it is recorded with today’s date and an expiry six months out. At the next sedation appointment, the consent follow-up list shows the record when its status is marked Expired.

• Patients pending consent — Patients whose overall consent is still pending, for the front desk.
• Consent follow-up — Consents pending, withdrawn or expired, with purpose and patient.

• Intake to review: From registration to a reviewed visit.

Check the data model before importing patients.