How to Batch Update Your Patients
In this tutorial, you will learn how to batch-update patient records.
Use the batch updating feature with caution! It requires attention to detail!
What is Batch Updating?
Batch updating refers to a simultaneous update of a group of records. While it can save time, especially if you are monitoring herd health in a group of patients, please understand that batch updating can be a dangerous tool within WRMD. Failure to pay close attention to who you are batch updating and what data you are inputting can result in all the wrong patients having all the wrong information. You may not recognize your error until it is too late, and the only way to repair this is to change the data in each record. What saved you time, ends up being more time-consuming. However, if you are careful, batch updating is a great time-saving tool.
Step 1
Visit https://www.wrmd.org/signin and log into your account using the username and password that you registered with.
Step 2
Designate the patients you wish to batch update by either performing a patient search or utilizing the list patient feature on the dashboard. These features are available in two different sections on the dashboard.
Step 3
Once your list is generated, click the checkboxes next to the patients whose records you want to include in your update. If the patient list spans several pages, click on the page advance buttons at the bottom of the page. You will not lose any of your checkmarks. Then click Actions and then from the dropdown Batch Update Selected Patients.
If you need to clear your search at any point, click the Actions link, and from the dropdown menu, select the red-colored text: Unselect All Patients. This will remove all of the patients you have selected to do batch updating and you can start a new search.
Double and triple-check that you have chosen the correct patients to update. Failure to pay close attention can result in all the wrong patients having all the wrong information. You may not recognize your error until it is too late, and the only way to repair this is to change the data in each record.
Step 4
At the top of the new screen, WRMD will indicate which of the records are being batch-updated. Please ensure you verify that the displayed patient numbers are accurate. Additionally, WRMD provides a gentle reminder to input values for the field you intend to update, as blank values cannot be batch-updated. You will have the following two options on how to work with text values:
- delete existing text field values and write my new values in their place.
- keep existing text field values and add my new values by comma separation.
Step 5
Click on the green Batch Update Patient button when you are ready.
Step 6
Go to the actual patient records and double-check that they have been updated correctly.
Step 7
Always clear the previous search by clicking Unselect All Patients (1) once you finished with your batch update and (2) especially before batch updating a new group of patients. Failing to do so may combine your old list of patients with the new search, leading to unintended updates. Clearing your search is essential to avoid any errors during batch updating (and become a headache to fix).
Clear previous searches every single time you batch update.
