Create a New Patient Folder
You need only a minimal amount of information to create a new patient folder, so you can track patients from the very first time they call your office. Note that once saved, you cannot delete a patient folder from your ViewPoint system.
Promote Record Option - If the new patient already has a sibling or responsible party record associated with an existing ViewPoint patient, we strongly recommend you use the Make Patient tool from the Family tab of the associated patient folder to promote the existing record to a patient, instead of creating it from scratch. See "Patient Folder Family Tab" for details.
Open New Patient Window - You can open this feature in multiple ways: Use the method that's most convenient for you.
ViewPoint Main Menu - Daily Activities > New Patient.
ViewPoint Toolbar - 
New > Patient. Or, press Ctrl-N on your keyboard from nearly any ViewPoint window.
ViewPoint Shortcut Menu - Folder > New > Patient. (Or, press Alt+F on your keyboard to open the Folder options.)
General Navigation - Press Tab on your keyboard to go forward through all the fields, or Shift-Tab to go backwards through the fields of your new patient folder in sequence. You can also click on a specific field, or use the Alt key plus the underlined letter of the field label to go directly to that field. (For example, you can press Alt+h to go to the patient's phone number field.)
Duplicate Name Warning - If you enter a patient name that is identical to an existing patient name, you will see a warning message. You must then confirm your response before continuing.
Edit Properties - You can click the Properties button on the right side of the window (or press Ctrl+P on your keyboard) at any time to modify your patient folder properties, including New Patient Defaults, without saving the patient record. When you exit the properties dialog, you return to the New Patient window. See "Set Up Patient Folder Default Responses" for details.
Enter Patient Data - Use the Patient section of the New Patient window to enter general biographical information about the patient. Only the patient first name and last name are required in order to create the record.
Title - You may select a title for the patient.
First / M.I. / Last Name - You must enter a first and last name for the patient. The middle initial is optional.
Phonetic Spelling Option - After you save the patient folder, you can edit the name to provide a phonetic spelling. See "Patient Tab" for details.
Doctor / Office - These fields default to the settings in the New Patient Defaults tab of your Patient Folder Properties. You may change them for this patient as needed. (See "Set Up Patient Folder Default Responses" for details.)
Birthdate - Enter the patient's birthdate in this field.
Gender - Select the patient's gender; this information is primarily used for inserting the appropriate pronouns in your merge letters.
Address - Enter the patient's home street address in this field.
City / State / Zip - If you select the zip code from the drop down list while the city and state fields are blank, the appropriate city and state will be filled in for you automatically. Also note that electronic insurance submission requires the state be entered in standard 2-letter postal abbreviation format. (See "Set Up Zip Code List" for details about entering your local cities, states, and zip codes.)
Phone - Enter the patient's home phone number in this field. If you simply type 7 or 10 digits when you enter phone numbers, ViewPoint will add the appropriate parentheses and dashes automatically. If you use Edge Reminders or VP Reminder, you can optionally enable this contact for automated messages and/or texts, as described below.
Phone 2 / Additional Contacts - Use the drop down button to the left of the additional contact field (i.e. Phone 2) to select a contact type, then enter the contact information you want to include with this responsible party record. If you use Edge Reminders or VP Reminder, you can optionally enable this contact for automated messages and/or texts, as described below.
Dentist / Referrer - Use the drop down buttons to the right of these fields to select the patient's general dentist and primary referral source. You can also press G to open the Dentist or Referrer table to create a new record, or to review and edit dentist / referrer information.
Additional Professionals / Referrers - After you save the patient folder, you can edit the Patient tab to provide information about additional professionals and referrers associated with the patient. See "Patient Tab" for details.
Enter Responsible Party Data - Use this section of the New Patient window to enter general biographical information about the primary billing party.
Title - You may select a title for the responsible party.
First / M.I. / Last Name - These fields default to information you entered in the Patient section of this window; you may change the name as needed.
Relationship - Choose how this responsible party is related to the patient. or type a unique answer if needed. This field is not linked to the relationship
field on the Insurance tab of the patient folder. See "Set Up Relationship Table" for details.
Address / City / State / Zip - These fields default to the information you entered in the Patient section of this window; you may change them as needed.
Home Phone - This field defaults to the information you entered in the Patient section of this window; you may change it as needed. If you use Edge Reminders or VP Reminder, you can optionally enable this contact for automated messages and/or texts, as described below.
Work Phone - Enter the responsible party's work phone number in this field. If you simply type 7 or 10 digits when you enter phone numbers, ViewPoint will add the appropriate parentheses and dashes automatically. If you use Edge Reminders or VP Reminder, you can optionally enable this contact for automated messages and/or texts, as described below.
Phone 2 / Additional Contacts - Use the drop down button to the left of the additional contact field (i.e. Phone 2) to select a contact type, then enter the contact information you want to include with this responsible party record. If you use Edge Reminders or VP Reminder, you can optionally enable this contact for automated messages and/or texts, as described below.
Save the Folder - After entering the new patient information, you have several options for saving the new patient folder.
Save - Choose this option (or press Ctrl+S on your keyboard) to save the new patient record, and verify the family assignment, described below. You then return to the ViewPoint main menu.
Save and Appoint - Choose this option to save the patient record, verify the family assignment, described below, and open your Grid Scheduler so that you can schedule an appointment for the patient. (Use the Explorer On option of your patient folder properties settings to specify whether the Explorer opens for the patient when you use the Save & Appoint feature from a new patient folder. If the Explorer On option is disabled, the Save & Appoint feature opens your Grid Scheduler to a scheduling grid, with the new patient activated. See "Set Up Patient Folder Default Responses" for details.)
Folder - Choose this option to save the patient record, verify the family assignment, described below, then open it so that you can review default responses (such as the Status and Phase), complete additional information not available from the New Patient window. See "Patient Tab" for details about all patient folder fields.
Family Assignment - When you save a new patient record, the patient is assigned to a family in one of several ways, depending on the patient's last name and address.
If the patient last name and street address match an existing family - The patient is added to that family automatically.
If either the patient last name or street address matches an existing family - You can either choose from a list of matching families, or select the Computer Generated option to create a new family based on the patient last name and street address.
If neither the patient last name nor the street address match any existing families - Only the Computer Generated family option is available, and ViewPoint will create a new family based on the patient last name and street address. See "Patient Folder Family Tab" for details.
Phone, 
Text, and/or 
Email buttons to the right of the contact fields to enable that contact for the delivery of automated messages and individual text messaging. If you flag multiple contact types, the party will receive a message in each of the selected formats; if you do not flag any contact types, the party will not receive any messages, even when they fit the subgroup you select. (However, if the patient and responsible party contact information matches, 