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Patient & Contact

Managing patients, family relationships, responsibilities, and contacts in Zermmi

Overview

Zermmi provides two interconnected systems for managing people:

  • Patients (
    /patients
    page): People who receive dental care in your practice
  • Contacts (
    /contacts
    page): People who may not be patients but have relationships with your patients (e.g., parents of minor patients, caregivers, billing contacts)

Both systems work together to help you manage family connections, legal responsibilities, billing relationships, and emergency contacts.

Managing Patients

Adding a New Patient

  1. Navigate to Patients Page

    • Click on Patients in the main navigation
    • Click the + New Patient button (top right)

  2. Fill in Patient Information

    The patient form is organized into six sections:

    Section 1: Personal Information

    • First Name (required)
    • Last Name (required)
    • Date of Birth (required) - Use the date picker or type in DD/MM/YYYY format
    • Gender (optional) - Select from dropdown

    Section 2: Contact Information

    • Email (optional) - Required if you want to send email communications
    • Mobile Phone (optional) - Required if you want to send SMS or WhatsApp messages

    Section 3: Primary Address

    • Street (optional)
    • House Number (optional)
    • Postal Code (optional)
    • City (optional)
    • Country (optional)

    Tip: The address field uses Google Places autocomplete. Start typing an address and select from suggestions for accurate location data. This helps with family matching!

    Section 4: Billing Address

    • Check "Same as primary address" if the billing address matches the primary address
    • Otherwise, fill in separate billing address fields

    Note: If billing address fields are filled in, they must be complete (all fields required)

    Section 5: Insurance

    • Insurance Information (optional) - Free text field for insurance details

    Section 6: Communication Preferences

    • Preferred Language (required) - Select: English, German, French, or Italian
    • Communication Permissions - See Communication Preferences below

  3. Save the Patient

    • Click Save to create the patient record
    • You'll be redirected to the patient detail page

Viewing Patient Information

  • Click on any patient name in the Patients list to view their full profile
  • The patient detail page shows:
    • Personal and contact information
    • Address and billing details
    • Family relationships
    • Responsibilities (who is responsible for this patient, and who this patient is responsible for)
    • Communication preferences
    • Treatment history (if applicable)

Editing Patient Information

  1. From the patient detail page, click the Edit button
  2. Make your changes
  3. Click Save to update the record

Important: Changes to communication preferences take effect immediately and will impact which notification channels are used for appointments and reminders.

Family Relationships

Zermmi helps you connect family members to streamline care coordination and billing.

Understanding Relationship Types

Zermmi supports 8 relationship types:

| Relationship Type | Example Use Case | |------------------|------------------| | Parent | Connect a child patient to their mother or father | | Child | Connect a parent patient to their son or daughter | | Spouse | Connect married partners | | Partner | Connect domestic partners (non-married) | | Sibling | Connect brothers and sisters | | Grandparent | Connect grandchildren to grandparents | | Grandchild | Connect grandparents to grandchildren | | Other | Any other family relationship not covered above |

How to Add a Family Relationship

  1. Navigate to Patient Detail Page

    • Go to 
      /patients
      and click on a patient

  2. Open the Family Section

    • Scroll to the Family or Relationships section
    • Click + Add Relationship

  3. Select the Related Person

    • Use the Person Search to find the related patient
    • Type their name and select from the dropdown

    Tip: If you've entered matching addresses, Zermmi will show family suggestions based on patients living at the same address!

  4. Choose Relationship Type

    • Select the appropriate relationship from the dropdown
    • For example, if adding a child's parent, select "Parent"

  5. Add Notes (Optional)

    • Add any relevant notes about the relationship

  6. Save

    • Click Save to create the relationship

Bidirectional Relationships

Important: Relationships are automatically bidirectional!

When you create a relationship, Zermmi automatically creates the reciprocal relationship:

  • If you add John as a Parent of Emma, the system automatically adds Emma as a Child of John
  • If you add Sarah as a Spouse of David, the system automatically adds David as a Spouse of Sarah

This ensures your family trees are always consistent and complete.

Family Suggestions

When adding a new patient with an address that matches existing patients, Zermmi will:

  1. Detect potential family members at the same address
  2. Suggest relationships you might want to create
  3. Show a list of patients at the same address with options to:
    • Create family relationships
    • Assign responsibilities (see next section)

This feature helps you quickly connect family members without manual searching!

Viewing Family Relationships

Family relationships are organized by context in the patient detail page:

  • Parents
  • Children
  • Spouses
  • Partners
  • Siblings
  • Grandparents
  • Grandchildren
  • Other

Each relationship shows:

  • Related person's name (clickable link to their profile)
  • Relationship type
  • Notes (if any)
  • Badge indicating if the relationship was system-generated

Responsibilities (Legal, Financial, Emergency)

Responsibilities help you track who is responsible for what regarding a patient's care, billing, and emergency situations.

Three Types of Responsibilities

1. Legal Guardian

"Can make legal decisions and provide consent"

  • Use for: Parents of minors, court-appointed guardians, legal representatives
  • Important for: Treatment consent, medical decisions
  • Example: Parent of a 10-year-old patient

2. Financial Responsible

"Responsible for billing and payments"

  • Use for: Person or entity responsible for paying bills
  • Important for: Invoicing, payment collection, billing communications
  • Example: Parent paying for their adult child's orthodontic treatment

3. Emergency Contact

"Person to contact in case of emergency"

  • Use for: Who to call if something goes wrong during treatment
  • Important for: Medical emergencies, unexpected situations
  • Example: Spouse, parent, or trusted friend

How to Add a Responsibility

  1. Navigate to Patient Detail Page

    • Go to 
      /patients
      and click on a patient

  2. Open the Responsibilities Section

    • Scroll to the Responsibilities section
    • Click + Add Responsibility

  3. Choose the Responsibility Type

    • Select from: Legal Guardian, Financial Responsible, or Emergency Contact

  4. Select the Responsible Person

    You have two options for who can be responsible:

    Option A: Another Patient

    • Select the Patient tab
    • Search for and select an existing patient
    • Example: Another family member who is also a patient

    Option B: A Contact (Non-Patient)

    • Select the Contact tab
    • Search for and select an existing contact
    • If the contact doesn't exist yet, you'll need to create them first (see Managing Contacts)
    • Example: Parent who is not a patient at your practice

  5. Set Priority (Optional)

    • If there are multiple people with the same responsibility type, set priority order
    • Lower numbers = higher priority (1 = primary)

  6. Mark as Primary (Optional)

    • Check "Primary" to designate this as the main responsible person
    • Useful when you have multiple emergency contacts but one is preferred

  7. Add Notes (Optional)

    • Add any relevant context or instructions

  8. Save

    • Click Save to create the responsibility

Understanding "Responsible For"

In addition to showing who is responsible for a patient, Zermmi also shows cases where a patient is responsible for others.

For example, if Sarah is the Legal Guardian of Emma (her daughter), both profiles will show:

  • Emma's profile: Legal Guardian = Sarah
  • Sarah's profile: Responsible For = Emma (as Legal Guardian)

This bidirectional view helps you quickly understand all relationships.

Minor Detection

Zermmi automatically displays a "Minor" badge for patients under 18 years old. This helps you:

  • Quickly identify patients who need legal guardians
  • Ensure consent is obtained from guardians
  • Comply with regulations regarding minors

Communication Preferences & Notifications

Communication preferences control how Zermmi can contact patients for appointments, reminders, and other notifications.

Communication Channels

Zermmi supports three communication channels:

  1. Email - Appointment confirmations, reminders, invoices
  2. SMS - Text message reminders and notifications
  3. WhatsApp - WhatsApp message reminders and notifications

How Communication Preferences Work

In the patient form (Section 6: Communication Preferences), you can enable or disable each channel:

  • Allow email communications for appointments and reminders
  • Allow SMS communications for appointments and reminders
  • Allow WhatsApp communications for appointments and reminders
  • Preferred Language - Language used in all communications (English, German, French, Italian)

Important Rules & Validation

Zermmi enforces several rules to ensure communications can actually be delivered:

Rule 1: Email Requires Email Address

  • If you enable email communications, the patient must have an email address
  • You cannot enable email without providing an email address

Rule 2: SMS & WhatsApp Require Mobile Phone

  • If you enable SMS or WhatsApp, the patient must have a mobile phone number
  • You cannot enable these channels without providing a mobile phone

Rule 3: WhatsApp Requires SMS

  • If you enable WhatsApp, you must also enable SMS
  • This is because WhatsApp verification often requires SMS
  • You'll see a warning: "SMS communications are required when WhatsApp is enabled"

How to Set Communication Preferences

  1. When Creating or Editing a Patient

    • Scroll to Section 6: Communication Preferences

  2. Set Preferred Language

    • Select the patient's preferred language from the dropdown
    • All communications will be sent in this language

  3. Enable Desired Channels

    • Check the boxes for channels you want to use
    • Ensure the patient has the required contact information:
      • Email address for email communications
      • Mobile phone for SMS/WhatsApp communications

  4. Save the Patient

    • If validation fails (e.g., email enabled but no email address), you'll see an error message
    • Fill in the missing information and save again

Impact on Notifications

Once communication preferences are set:

  • Appointment Reminders: Sent via enabled channels only
  • Appointment Confirmations: Sent via enabled channels only
  • Billing/Invoices: Sent via email (if enabled)
  • Practice Updates: Sent via enabled channels as configured by practice settings

Example Scenarios:

| Scenario | Result | |----------|--------| | Email ✓, SMS ✓, WhatsApp ✓ | Patient receives notifications via all three channels | | Email ✓, SMS ✗, WhatsApp ✗ | Patient receives notifications via email only | | Email ✗, SMS ✓, WhatsApp ✗ | Patient receives notifications via SMS only | | All channels ✗ | Patient receives no automated notifications (manual communication required) |

Best Practices for Communication Preferences

  1. Ask Patients: Always ask patients which channels they prefer
  2. Update Contact Info: Keep email and phone numbers current
  3. Test Channels: When unsure, enable multiple channels for redundancy
  4. Respect Preferences: If a patient declines a channel, honor that choice
  5. Review Periodically: Update preferences during regular check-ins

Managing Contacts

Contacts are people who are not patients but have relationships with your patients. Common use cases:

  • Parents of minor patients (who are not patients themselves)
  • Spouses or partners who pay bills but don't receive treatment
  • Caregivers for elderly or disabled patients
  • Insurance representatives
  • Legal guardians

The Role of the /contacts Page

The Contacts page (

/contacts
) is a separate directory for managing these non-patient relationships.

Key Differences from Patients:

  • Contacts do not receive treatment
  • Contacts do not have appointments or treatment history
  • Contacts can be assigned as responsible parties for patients
  • Contacts have simplified information (no insurance, no communication preferences for treatment)

How to Create a New Contact

  1. Navigate to Contacts Page

    • Click on Contacts in the main navigation
    • Click the + New Contact button (top right)

  2. Fill in Contact Information

    The contact form includes:

    Personal Information

    • First Name (required)
    • Last Name (required)
    • Date of Birth (optional)

    Contact Information

    • Email (optional)
    • Mobile Phone (optional)

    Address

    • Street (optional)
    • House Number (optional)
    • Postal Code (optional)
    • City (optional)
    • Country (optional)

    Tip: Like patient addresses, this uses Google Places autocomplete

    Notes

    • Notes (optional) - Free text field for any additional information

  3. Save the Contact

    • Click Save to create the contact record
    • You'll be redirected to the contacts list

When to Use Contacts vs Patients

Use the following decision tree:

Does this person receive treatment at your practice?
│
├─ YES → Create as PATIENT
│
└─ NO → Is this person related to a patient?
         │
         ├─ YES → Create as CONTACT
         │        (Can be assigned as responsible party)
         │
         └─ NO → May not need to create at all
                  (Unless required for billing/insurance)

Examples:

| Person | Create As | Reason | |--------|-----------|--------| | 10-year-old receiving orthodontic treatment | Patient | Receiving treatment | | Mother of 10-year-old (not a patient) | Contact | Not receiving treatment, but is legal guardian and payer | | Husband and wife both receiving treatment | Both Patients | Both receiving treatment | | Elderly patient with adult daughter caregiver (not a patient) | Patient + Contact | Patient receives treatment, daughter is contact (responsible party) | | Insurance company representative | Contact | May need for billing purposes |

Linking Contacts to Patients

Once a contact is created, you can link them to patients via Responsibilities:

  1. Go to the patient's detail page
  2. Add a new Responsibility (Legal Guardian, Financial Responsible, or Emergency Contact)
  3. Select the Contact tab in the responsible party selector
  4. Search for and select the contact
  5. Save

The contact will now appear in the patient's responsibilities section, and you can:

  • View contact details from the patient profile
  • Click through to the contact's full profile
  • Update contact information as needed

Viewing and Editing Contacts

  • View All Contacts: Navigate to 
    /contacts
    to see the full list
  • Search Contacts: Use the search bar to find contacts by name
  • Edit Contact: Click on a contact name, then click Edit
  • Delete Contact: Click on a contact, then click Delete (only if not assigned to any patients)

Best Practices

For Accurate Family Relationships

  1. Use Consistent Addresses: Enter complete, accurate addresses using Google Places autocomplete
  2. Create Relationships Early: Add family relationships when you first register family members
  3. Use Family Suggestions: Review suggested family members when creating new patients at existing addresses
  4. Keep Relationships Current: Update relationships when family situations change (divorce, adoption, etc.)

For Responsibility Management

  1. Assign All Three Types: Every patient should have:

    • Legal Guardian (if minor or legally incapable)
    • Financial Responsible (even if it's the patient themselves)
    • Emergency Contact (at least one, preferably two)

  2. Use Contacts for Non-Patients: Create contacts for parents, spouses, or caregivers who are not patients

  3. Set Priorities: When there are multiple people with the same responsibility, use priority and primary flags

  4. Add Notes: Document important details (e.g., "Call mother first, father only if mother unavailable")

For Communication Preferences

  1. Get Explicit Consent: Always ask patients which channels they prefer and document consent
  2. Verify Contact Information: Double-check email addresses and phone numbers for accuracy
  3. Update Regularly: Review and update communication preferences at every visit
  4. Respect Opt-Outs: If a patient disables a channel, honor that choice
  5. Enable Multiple Channels: For important communications, enable multiple channels for redundancy

For Contact Management

  1. Create Contacts Proactively: When you learn about a non-patient responsible party, create them immediately
  2. Keep Contact Info Current: Update contact details when patients inform you of changes
  3. Use Notes Liberally: Add context in the notes field (e.g., "Mother lives in Switzerland, prefers WhatsApp")
  4. Review Periodically: During recall appointments, confirm that contact information is still current

Troubleshooting

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue: Cannot Enable Email Communications

Symptom: Error message: "Email is required when email communications are enabled"

Solution:

  1. Ensure the patient has an email address filled in
  2. If the patient doesn't have email, leave email communications disabled
  3. Use SMS or WhatsApp instead (if patient has mobile phone)

Issue: Cannot Enable WhatsApp

Symptom: Error message: "SMS must be enabled when WhatsApp is enabled"

Solution:

  1. Enable SMS communications first
  2. Then enable WhatsApp communications
  3. Ensure the patient has a mobile phone number

Issue: Cannot Find Patient When Adding Family Relationship

Symptom: Person you want to link doesn't appear in search

Possible Causes & Solutions:

  1. Person is not created yet

    • Solution: Create the person as a patient first, then return and add the relationship

  2. Person is a contact, not a patient

    • Solution: Family relationships are only between patients. If the person is not a patient and won't receive treatment, you cannot create a family relationship. Instead, create a Responsibility and select them as a contact.

  3. Spelling error in search

    • Solution: Try searching with just first or last name, or check spelling

Issue: Cannot Save Billing Address

Symptom: Error about incomplete billing address

Solution:

  1. If billing address is different from primary address, all billing address fields must be filled
  2. Either:
    • Fill in all billing address fields (street, house number, postal code, city, country), OR
    • Check "Same as primary address" to use the primary address

Issue: Minor Patient Has No Legal Guardian

Symptom: Patient under 18 years old with no legal guardian assigned

Solution:

  1. Go to patient detail page
  2. Add a Responsibility of type Legal Guardian
  3. Select the parent or guardian (either as a patient or contact)
  4. Save

Why This Matters: Treatment of minors requires guardian consent. Always ensure minors have legal guardians assigned.

Issue: Patient Has Multiple Financial Responsible Parties (Unclear Who to Bill)

Symptom: Multiple people marked as financially responsible

Solution:

  1. Mark one person as Primary financial responsible
  2. Set Priority values (1 = highest priority)
  3. Add Notes explaining billing arrangement (e.g., "Bill mother first, father is backup")

Issue: Family Suggestion Not Appearing

Symptom: Multiple patients at same address, but no family suggestions shown

Possible Causes & Solutions:

  1. Addresses don't match exactly

    • Solution: Use Google Places autocomplete for consistent address entry
    • Ensure postal code, city, and street match exactly

  2. Relationships already created

    • Solution: Check if relationships already exist in the Family section

  3. Patients are at different practices

    • Solution: Family suggestions only work within the same practice

Issue: Cannot Delete a Contact

Symptom: Delete button is disabled or shows error

Solution:

  1. Contact is probably assigned as a responsible party for one or more patients
  2. To delete:
    • Go to each patient where this contact is assigned
    • Remove or replace the responsibility assignment
    • Return to contact and delete

Why This Happens: Zermmi prevents deleting contacts that are actively used in patient records to maintain data integrity.

Issue: Communication Preferences Not Working (Patient Not Receiving Messages)

Symptom: Patient says they're not receiving appointment reminders

Troubleshooting Checklist:

  1. Check Communication Preferences

    • Open patient profile
    • Verify the correct channels are enabled
    • Verify the patient has correct email/phone

  2. Check Contact Information

    • Verify email address is correct (no typos)
    • Verify mobile phone number is correct (include country code)

  3. Check Practice Settings

    • Ensure your practice has enabled automated reminders
    • Check that reminders are configured for the correct channels

  4. Test Send

    • Try sending a test message to the patient
    • If test fails, issue may be with practice settings or service configuration

Getting Help

If you encounter issues not covered in this guide:

  1. Check System Messages: Look for error messages or warnings in red/yellow at the top of forms
  2. Verify Required Fields: Ensure all required fields (marked with *) are filled
  3. Contact Support: Reach out to Zermmi support with:
    • Patient ID (if applicable)
    • Description of the issue
    • Screenshot of error message (if any)
    • Steps you took before encountering the issue

Summary

Quick Reference: Key Features

| Feature | Location | Purpose | |---------|----------|---------| | Create Patient | 

/patients
→ + New Patient | Add new patient receiving treatment | | Create Contact | 
/contacts
→ + New Contact | Add non-patient (guardian, payer, etc.) | | Add Family Relationship | Patient Detail → + Add Relationship | Connect family members (patients only) | | Add Responsibility | Patient Detail → + Add Responsibility | Assign legal guardian, payer, or emergency contact | | Set Communication Preferences | Patient Form → Section 6 | Control how patient receives notifications | | View Family Tree | Patient Detail → Family Section | See all family relationships | | View Responsibilities | Patient Detail → Responsibilities Section | See who is responsible for patient |

Key Concepts to Remember

  1. Patients vs Contacts

    • Patients: Receive treatment, have appointments
    • Contacts: Non-patients who have relationships with patients

  2. Family Relationships

    • Only between patients
    • Automatically bidirectional
    • 8 types: parent, child, spouse, partner, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, other

  3. Responsibilities

    • 3 types: legal guardian, financial responsible, emergency contact
    • Can be assigned to patients OR contacts
    • Use for minors, billing, and emergency situations

  4. Communication Preferences

    • Control notification channels: email, SMS, WhatsApp
    • Email requires email address
    • SMS/WhatsApp require mobile phone
    • WhatsApp requires SMS enabled

  5. Address Matching

    • Use Google Places autocomplete for accurate addresses
    • Matching addresses trigger family suggestions
    • Helps you quickly connect family members

Document Version: 1.0 Last Updated: 2025-10-16 Related Documentation:

  • Calendar: 
    /docs/calendar-user-guide.md

Need More Help? Contact Zermmi Support: support@zermmi.com