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Setting Up Patient Identifiers

The Identifier is the reference code held against each patient record in Wellifiy. You can let your team enter it manually, or have Wellifiy generate one automatically each time a new patient is created.

📍 Where to Find Identifier Settings

Go to: Administration → Portal Settings → Identifiers

You'll see the Auto-generated Identifiers table, with a row for Patient Identifier. The table shows four columns:

  • Type — the record the Identifier applies to
  • Enabled — whether auto-generation is currently switched on
  • Prefix — the text placed in front of the number, if you've set one
  • Next Number — the number that will be used on the next patient created

Access to Portal Settings requires the Administration permission.

🆔 Where the Identifier Appears

The Identifier is visible throughout the Staff Portal wherever patients are listed or documented:

  • The New Patient modal, as an optional field when creating a patient
  • The Patient Info widget on a patient's Overview tab, and on the Patient Profile edit screen
  • The My Patients List on My Dashboard, both as a column and as a term you can search on
  • The header of a Case Note, alongside patient name and date of birth
  • The Attendance Overview panel in Group Programs

Patients don't see their Identifier in the Patient App or Patient Web Portal.

⚙️ Turning On Auto-Generation

  1. Open the ••• menu at the end of the Patient Identifier row
  2. Click Edit
  3. Switch on Auto-generate Identifier
  4. Enter a Prefix (optional) — for example EXP_
  5. Enter the Next Number (required) — the number to start from
  6. Click Save

Identifiers are built as the prefix followed by the number, so a prefix of EXP_ with a Next Number of 434 produces EXP_434. Leave the prefix blank if you want numbers only.

🔁 How the Sequence Works

Each time a patient is created and an Identifier is generated, the number increases by 1. The Next Number shown in the table always reflects what the following patient will receive.

A few points worth knowing:

  • The sequence runs across your whole Organisation, not per Patient Group
  • It continues from the last number Wellifiy generated, so manually entered Identifiers don't move it along
  • Wellifiy doesn't check Identifiers for uniqueness, so your Organisation manages that if staff also enter Identifiers by hand

🚫 When an Identifier Isn't Generated

Auto-generation only ever sets the first value, and only when the field is empty:

  • If the Identifier field is left blank when the patient is created, Wellifiy assigns the next one in the sequence
  • If someone has already typed an Identifier in, Wellifiy leaves it alone and the sequence doesn't move
  • Existing patients are not given an Identifier retrospectively — turning auto-generation on affects new patients only

📥 Patients Created Outside the Staff Portal

The same rule applies however the patient record is created. If the Identifier is empty and auto-generation is on, Wellifiy fills it in.

For Bulk Import Patients, the CSV template column is still labelled MRN, which maps to the Identifier field. Leave that column empty for a patient and they'll be given a generated Identifier on import. Populate it and your value is kept.

✏️ Editing an Identifier After Creation

Once a patient exists, the Identifier behaves like any other editable field. Open the patient's Patient Profile edit screen, change the value, and save. This applies whether the Identifier was typed in or generated.

🔧 Changing the Prefix or Next Number

Both can be changed at any time from the same Edit modal.

  • Changing the Prefix affects new patients only. Identifiers already assigned keep the old prefix
  • Changing the Next Number takes effect on the next patient created. Wellifiy doesn't validate the number you enter, so check it won't overlap with Identifiers already in use
  • Switching Auto-generate Identifier off stops Wellifiy assigning Identifiers, but leaves existing values and the sequence position untouched. Switch it back on and numbering picks up from where it stopped

Next step: ➡️ Create a test patient with the Identifier field left blank to confirm the prefix and numbering come through as you expect.