When you create a new client and Noted recognises them as a potential duplicate, a pop-up will appear asking you to select an existing match or mark as a new client to proceed.
There are situations where duplicates can still slip through, for example, different spelling, or not enough details to trigger the pop-up. Organisation administrators have the ability to merge duplicate clients at any time in the Administration → Clients → Merge duplicates screen.
What is considered a potential duplicate?
Noted flags two clients as potential duplicates if any one of the following matches:
NHI numbers are equal
Emails and First names are equal
First and Last names are equal
Last name and DOB are equal
Source vs. Target: What merging actually does
Before you merge, it helps to know what these two roles mean:
Source client - The client record that will be merged. After the merge, it becomes flagged as inactive ensuring the client is hidden from search results by default (unless 'include inactive clients' option is ticked at search).
Target client - The client record that will continue to be used going forward. The Source client's form data will move here, unless they are tracking forms already in use on the Target client. (See step 4 below.)
Merging cannot be undone. Some information does not transfer automatically. You'll need to migrate it manually afterwards (see the pop-up in step 4, and the following section for more info). Because of this, choose your Target client carefully - In general, pick whichever client has the more complete or up-to-date information.
How to merge duplicate clients
On the Merge duplicates screen, click a client to open the compare view. This client is listed as the Source client.
Select a client from the Target client drop-down.
Review the comparison. If you picked the wrong one, click Swap clients (top left) to switch which record is Source and which is Target.
Click Merge clients and read the pop-up carefully - It outlines what will merge automatically and what you'll need to migrate manually
Once all information needed is on the Target client, we recommend deleting the Source client.
What information gets moved automatically?
The following are moved automatically to the Target client:
✅ Records and the documents attached within them
✅ Tracking forms not already in use by the Target client
✅ Group memberships
✅ Group sessions
✅ Whanaunga Āwhina memberships
✅ Whanaunga Āwhina sessions
These are not moved automatically from the Source client:
✕ Documents uploaded via Client Documents
✕ Client information*
✕ ACC billing items and purchase orders
✕ Whanaunga Āwhina primary contact**
*Client information refers to the sections you see when you Add/Edit client i.e. Personal details, Team access, Ethnicity, Emergency contact, GP / Primary health provider, Addresses, Key workers, Medical History, Current medications, Tags, Relationships, Alerts, Allergies, Goals etc.
**Watch for: if the Source client is the primary contact for a whanaunga āwhina, that role does not transfer to the Target client - It stays with the now-inactive Source. You'll need to reassign the primary contact manually.
Marking clients as not duplicate
Sometimes two clients flagged as potential duplicates are actually different people. In this case, mark them as not duplicate from the compare view, and they won't appear in the potential duplicates list again.
