Purge clients and patients

• The patient’s record was not created after the specified purge date.
• The patient is not checked in.
• The patient does not have any of the following:
  • Future appointment or boarding reservation.
  • Open/saved exam. ² Note: These would be listed under the Exam tab on the Daily Planner.
  • Transactions on an open invoice. ²
  • Any account transactions after the purge date. This includes charges on the Patient Visit List (PVL). ²
  • A controlled substance in its history for at least two years. ²

Note: If a patient is deceased, Cornerstone will only verify that the patient does not meet any of the conditions indicated by the ² symbol.

• If using a specific client classification for ‘marketing’ clients to track client referrals, do not include that classification in the client selections.
• If you need to purge a single client and delete all records so they are not part of the purged records list (due to local PII laws), use Delete Client.
• You may be prompted to retain clients that were written off or retain patient prescription refill information or most recent weight. Click Yes or No as applicable.
• Purging in batches is recommended to not tie up the system. Example:
  • Letters of alphabet: aa-az, bb-bz, etc.
  • Small groups: a-b, c-d, etc.
• For workstations with Auto-Lock/Logoff settings, the idle timer will not begin until the purging process is complete

• The last date to purge date is based on the purge defaults and the processed end of year dates. You cannot purge data from a date after the default period.
• When purging information that contains both client and patient account information and reminders, Cornerstone retains data using the oldest possible date from the defaults.

You can purge all outdated patient reminders (Call and/or Letter) for the selected patient(s) with a due date before the default date set in your purging defaults.

1. Select Purge specific information. Click Reminder Calls, Reminder Letters, or both.
2. Click OK.
3. Change the Last date to purge to an earlier date, if needed. This will retain records for longer than the timeframe set in the default settings.
4. Options area
   • Select Print list of records purged to print a list of the records purged, if needed. A text txt file is automatically saved to the cstone folder.
   • Specify Select/purge by ID or Select/purge by name.
5. Based on type of purge and/or specific information selected, define the client and patient parameters:
   • Enter the appropriate ID or name (or part of the name or ID) of the first client or patient.
   • Enter the appropriate ID or name (or part of the name or ID) of the last client or patient.
   • To purge information for a single client or patient, enter the same ID in both the First and Last fields.
   • Modify the Status of the clients or patients, if needed: Active, Deceased (Patient only) or Inactive.
   • Modify the Classifications of the clients or patients, if needed.
6. Click OK to start the purge or click Close to return to the purge type selection window, if needed.
7. Click Yes or No on the continue to purge confirmation.
8. Selected clients and patients are evaluated, and you may be prompted to retain specific information or client/patient records. Click Yes or No as applicable.
9. If there is a reason a client or patient was not deleted, the reason is displayed in the Purge Summary. Click Print to print the summary or click X to close the message.
10. Click OK on the message regarding the text file being saved to the cstone folder.
    
11. Click OK on the purge history report will now be printed message. This message will display if Print list of records purged was selected.
12. Click OK on the purge is complete message.

This function also requires specific security access and exclusive use of Cornerstone. It’s intended use is to comply with local Personally Identifiable Information (PII) laws and is not restricted to purging defaults. IDEXX recommends you consider all data retention laws for your state for medical, financial, prescription, and controlled substance records before using this tool. 

We strongly advise backing up your Cornerstone database before purging any data.  

This tool will only allow the purge of a single client at a time. To purge multiple clients, patients, or specific information only, use the Purge Data tool.  

When deleting a client record Cornerstone will: 

• Delete all records of the selected client and any patients owned 100% by the client before the selected date. If the client does not have 100% ownership, the client and patient records will not be deleted. 
• Delete the selected client and associated patient(s) from the Client List and Patient List.  
• Cornerstone will not provide a report of the purged record. 

Delete client criteria

The following criteria for clients and patients must be met to delete the client record.

Steps to delete a client

Navigate to Tools > Delete Client.

1. Click OK to the backup reminder message.
2. Enter the Client ID or F2 to search for and select the client.
3. Click OK to start the purge.
4. Click Yes or No on the continue to purge confirmation.
5. A Purge Summary displays if the record was not deleted and includes the reason. Click Print to print the summary or click X to close the message.
6. Click OK on the purge is complete message.