Open Dental Forum

We have instances of patients with the same name, and can't tell by looking at the list which one is on the recall lists or unscheduled lists. Is there any way for us to modify the lists so that, say, patient number also shows?

When using the user query in Open Dental it automatically converts columns with PatNum to the patient's name. Probably the easiest way to distinguish between patients would be to add a column for birthdate. If you need help with that, feel free to post the query here and I'll be able to show you how.

I wasn't using a user query...I was using, from the appointment page, clicking on appointment lists > unscheduled appointments: or appointment lists > recall. The confirmations list, for example, does provide enough information to distinguish between patients of the same names, like their ages, so you have half a chance to figure things out. But no hint on the unscheduled list or the recall list.

I don't pretend to be adept enough to be writing a query for this, but would hope that the information would be available on the list already built into the program. But its not.

If someone out there has a query for this, I'd love to see it, greedy guy that I am

Which version are you using? For me, using 14.2.37, the recall list includes age. Also, on the bottom of the list is a "Go to Family" button, which will allow you see who it is. For the unscheduled list, if you click on the patient then close the list you'll have that patient actively selected. So, click Family and you'll see which patient it is.

That said, queries can be made to do almost anything you can think of. Our office doesn't use the built in recall as we've got our own system setup. And we completely ignore the unscheduled list, which just reflects poorly on us I think.

sam-I-am wrote:The confirmations list, for example, does provide enough information to distinguish between patients of the same names, like their ages...

The recall list can show the age much like KevinRossen mentioned. You decide what columns you see and what order they are in with the RecallList display fields:
http://www.opendental.com/manual/displayfields.html

But not the unscheduled list, or am I missing something?

Correct, not the unscheduled list. That list needs a makeover pretty bad. I added a comment regarding discerning patients with the same name on the feature request #3097

In the meantime, you could request/write a custom query to show everything the unscheduled list does, but also shows PatNum or other fields. See this page for more info: http://www.opendental.com/manual/queryoverview.html. However, custom reports aren't quite as easy to use and nice looking as our internal lists and reports like the Unscheduled list so it always good to vote on those feature requests you want to see so they get more attention.