To create a new Patient Record click on the 'New PX' button next to the Patient Search bar at the bottom left of the screen.

This will create a new blank Patient Record as shown below.

The ideal way to complete a new Patient Record is by using the tab button on the keyboard to move through the fields in order.

Enter the Title first and then click tab. This will move the cursor to the First Name field. Enter the First Name and then click tab to move to the Surname. Because this is an unsaved Patient Record, i-Clarity will auto-capitalise the name feilds as you tab out of them.

This auto-capitalisation is disabled once the Patient Record has been saved.

I-Clarity now auto-populates the Salutation field based on the Title and Surname entered into the Patient Record. This can be changed by typing the Salutation the patient prefers into the Salutation field, or clicking the arrow button next to it to bring up a list of possible salutations based on the patient's name.

i-Clarity will change the gender drop-down of the Patient Record to match the Title you have entered. You will need to check this and may need to amend this if a non-gender specific title has been entered such as Dr or Prof.

If you enter the Title 'Mx', i-Clarity will auto-select 'Non-binary' from the gender drop-down list.

Click tab to enter the Date of Birth field.

If you enter the Date of Birth of a patient who is under 16, the background of the Date of Birth field will go yellow to signify that this patient should ideally have an adult present with them in the practice.

Communication

Press tab on the keyboard to move through the telephone number fields, entering the telephone number/s of the patient where relevant.

If you enter a mobile number for the patient, it is important you check and possibly amend the communication preference for the patient's mobile number.

In the drop-down selection box below the mobile number and email address, you have the following options.

1. Contact by SMS Personal + Marketing - this means that the patient is happy to receive all types of communcation by SMS, including communications that are personal to them e.g. 'your specs are ready to collect' and non-individual SMS communications such as marketing.
2. Contact by SMS Personal Only - this means that the patient is happy to receive SMS messages but only those that are personal to them such as 'you are due an appointment' or 'your contact lenses are ready for collection'. The system will not include the patient in any marketing communications sent by SMS from the system.
3. Contact by SMS Phone Only - this means that the patient is only happy to receive phone calls on their mobile. The system will not send the patient any SMS messages.

Next to the mobile number field there is a tick box labelled 'Smart Phone'. If this box is ticked, then i-Clarity registers this patient as having a mobile phone that can receive emails. When you send the confirmation reminders of booked appointments to patients, any patients with a smart phone will be defaulted to receive an email rather than an SMS message.

It can be useful to be aware that you can write text into any of the phone fields including the Mobile field. For example, if this is a child's record, you may wish to write the owner of the mobile number you have recorded e.g. Mum/Dad.

If you enter an email address for the patient, it is important to check and possibly amend the patient communication preference for email.

In the Contact by Email drop-down, the options are as follows:

1. Contact by Email Personal + Marketing - this means that the patient is happy to receive all types of communcation by email, including communications that are personal to them e.g. 'your specs are ready to collect' and non-individual SMS communications such as marketing.
2. Contact by Email Personal Only - this means that the patient is happy to receive email messages but only those that are personal to them such as 'you are due an appointment' or 'your contact lenses are ready for collection'. The system will not include the patient in any marketing communications sent by email from the system.
3. Contact by Email - Declined - this means that the patient does not wish to receive any communications at all by email.

NHS Eligibility and Vouchers

The next three fields are NHS Number, NI Number and NHS Reasons.

Any relevant NHS Reasons that a patient has are highlighted in yellow on the Patient Record. A patient who is Private will not have any NHS Reasons highlighted yellow.

i-Clarity will automatically highlight Over 60 when you enter the Date of Birth of the patient and also whenever the patient turns 60. Also, if you enter the Date of Birth of a patient that is under 16, the Under 16 NHS Reason will be highlighted yellow. It is important to note that when a patient turns 16, the Under 16 NHS Reason will no longer be highlighted, but 16 to Under 19 in FTE will not be highlighted unless it is selected as once a patient is 16, this is not the only possible NHS Reason.

We advise that the NHS Reason for a patient is checked every time before booking an appointment because there are certain functions within i-Clarity that are affected by this field, such as Fee Selection.

Address

When entering the address for a patient, we advise that you enter the postcode for the patient first and then click Enter on your keyboard. If the 'Lookup' button is ticked, this will look up the patient's address. The cursor will move to Address 1 so that you can enter the house number.

If the patient has a house name or you need to enter a flat number, you can click the down arrow to move all the address lines down so you have the space to enter this information.

Once you have looked up the patient's address, the tick box next to the postcode is unticked. This deactivates the postcode lookup facility so that the patient's address cannot be accidentally overwritten. If, in the future, you need to change a patient's address, tick the Lookup box first and then enter the new postcode and click Enter on the keyboard.

GP

The next field to be completed is the patient's GP details. Click on the drop-down arrow in this field to dislay the possible GPs you can choose from.

The list of available GPs comes from within the Maintenance section of i-Clarity. Depending on the set up of your i-Clarity, you may or may not be able to edit the GPs.

Clicking on the Information button on the right of the GP to bring up a pop-up with the GP details, such as address and phone number.

Corporate

The next to be completed is to be used if the patient is part of a corporate scheme, has an employer that has arranged for their examination or spectacles, or is entitled to a local scheme.

Save

Once you have completed all the necessary fields for that patient click 'Save'.

Once the Patient Record is saved, it will be given a Patient Identifier number. You will be able to seach for the Patient Record using this identifier number.

Now that the Patient Record has been saved, you can now add additional details such as Patient Source, Occupation, Ethnicity, Primary Language or Analysis Codes.