Sometimes when the automation tries to match a patient with spine, there might be more than one result or some conflicting details. That’s when it’s time to put your investigator hat on! 🕵️♀️ You’ll need to check what the patient has entered on their registration form to help us match everything up correctly and keep things running smoothly.
First, check the 📄 Internal admin notes:
If we haven’t been able to immediately process a registration, the first thing you should do is check the 📄 Internal admin notes. These notes will explain why automation couldn’t be completed right away. Once you have the context, you'll be in a better position to make an informed decision about the registration!
💡Pro tip #1: Leave your own admin notes!
Whenever you try to contact a patient (like if they didn’t pick up the phone and so you left a voicemail), be sure to leave an admin note. It’s a great way to keep track of everything and know exactly what’s been done and by whom. Plus, it's the perfect place to share important info and collaborate with your teammates.
Just a heads up – we don’t monitor or review the admin notes, so make sure to use the actions panel to let us know what needs to happen next with a registration.
💪 Actions panel: there's a few options you can take here
Save and automate, with the NHS number you've found on the spine.
Request a new NHS number, patient doesn't have an NHS number and needs a new one.
I don't want to automate this registration, you would like to manually register or ignore this registration.
I've manually registered this patient, manually register the patient on your end directly onto EMIS/ S1.
Ignore this registration, you do not want this patient to be registered with your practice.
[1] Save and automate, with the NHS number you've found on the spine
You can update the patient's NHS number, title, first name, middle name, last name, gender, or date of birth. Under the 'Edit more fields' you can also update the patients birth country, place of birth, contact details and address.
* You’ll usually be updating the gender or date of birth to match the Spine record. We will not change gender or date of birth on the patient’s record if they already have an NHS number.
For child registrations (under 16s), under the 'Edit more fields' option, you'll also be able to update the guardian details provided on the registration form 👇
💡Pro tip #2: Make the most of spine!
It's a good idea to log into spine separately to check the full details of a patient's record. Spine gives you access to historical changes, such as previous addresses, NHS number assignments, and any name changes. If you spot any discrepancies, you can reach out to the patient for clarification!
[2] Request a new NHS number, patient doesn't have an NHS number and needs a new one
You can create a new NHS number if the patient hasn't been registered with the NHS in England before.
💡Pro tip #3: Blue text means it’s hyperlinked!
If you see any word written in blue, that means it’s a hyperlink! You can click on it to get more information.
What if I make a mistake?
Once you click ⚡️ Save and Automate, the registration will move to the ⏱️ Pending Automation tab. All registrations here are on our todo list and will be processed within 48 working hours 🏃♀️.
If you make a mistake, click the patient to view their registration form. Then choose Cancel automation. This will return the patient to the 🚨 Patients to Register > Automation unsuccessful tab.
Why can't I use the save and automate button?
In about 5% of cases, registrations can't be automated. These patients will need to be registered manually into the clinical system. If you save and automate and the automation still can't register the patient, the registration will show as 'needs attention'.
In these cases, you won’t be able to send the registration back to us again. Instead, you'll need to manually register the patient on your end and mark the form as 'I've manually registered this patient'. This lets us know so we can send the patient their welcome notification and move the registration out of your Patients to Register folder.