Why doesn't patient search work when legal and preferred names differ

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Why this happens

In some clinics, a patient's preferred name is stored in one system, while their legal name is stored in another. For example, Elation may show "Robert Smith," while Spruce shows "Bobby Smith."

Because Tabflows matches patients by first and last name in each system, searching for one version of the name may not surface tasks created under the other. Hard-linking charts won't change this behavior.

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Quick checks

• Compare the name stored in each system.
• Confirm whether the last name matches.
• Remember that linking profiles does not rewrite names stored by either system.

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Find the patient's tasks

1. Open Tasks in Tabflows.
2. In the search bar, open the left dropdown and select Patient.
3. Search using the patient's last name.
4. You'll see tasks tied to the patient under that last name, regardless of which first name was used
5. Review the matching results and confirm the correct patient.

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Confirm it worked

The expected Task appears under the last-name search and the selected patient matches the intended record.

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