Hi, please i would like to customize the patient ID using my own syntax exemple SUD folow with numbers SUD123. Is it possible ?
Thank you.
Hi @Jessica -
Yes, a custom patient ID is possible in OpenEMR, and here’s the wiki article about how to create and use one:
https://www.open-emr.org/wiki/index.php/Quickie_External_ID_Mask_Tutorial
Please note that the External ID is a different thing from the PID: the PID is an identifier maintained by the system that is used by default as the patient’s ID if no external ID is specified. But if you do have an external ID the PID will still be kept internally, just not displayed to the user.
Also, it’s best to be consistent in using an external ID: decide which mask you want and stick with it. Changing it or reverting to the PID can get really confusing for the users.
Good luck!
- Harley
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@htuck thank you, with the external ID i can see it is manually not automatically. I need ID generated by the system automatically with my own syntax exemple SUD123.
Hi @Jessica
Ok, I see what you mean.
Gotta say, though, that would be really tricky to code, because the ID value would have to increment for each new pt. So when the numeric portion of the ExtID reached its limit, how would the EMR know how to increment it? In your example, what would the next ID be once it reached SUD999 ? And what about practices who want the ExtID to end with the Pt’s last name?
The way it is, you can enter whatever ID you want. And if you have the browser auto-complete feature turned on, when you reach the ExtID text area, you’ll see what it has been previously. So you can click the most recent value (per the pic) increment the last number and save the new value.
Best- Harley
@htuck when i created this external ID, what i noticed is that when i do not enter a value it generate an ID. Normally the purpose to create this ID is to be able to make a difference with some patients, the patients with this ID are from a certain category but now they all have an external ID. I do not know if you understand what i mean, if i want a list of patient that is not part of SUD, refer to a certain caterogy patients who are not part of SUDxxxx
Hi @Jessica
I played with the OpenEMR public demo and found that the wiki tutorial I wrote about ext ID masks (linked in previous post) was not clear. The mask simply enforces the use of a specific format in the ext ID. It does not increment any numeric values, but leaves it to you to do that manually. And if you do not enter an ext ID the system will use the PID that is automatically created by the system for all patients.
In this picture I created an ext ID mask of @@@### and made 3 new patient records.
For A and B I used the same ext ID and the EMR did not cause an error, it merely made sure I used the proper format when entering it into the ’ Search or Add Patient’ dialog.
For C, I did not specify an ext ID and it used the new pt’s PID.
Are you trying to use your ext ID ‘SUDxxx’ for some patients and a different Ext ID, or the regular PID for others? It appears that you can do that, if you ensure that the different ext IDs you use conform to the mask format.
I’m hope that addressed your question?
Best- Harley
