Patient access
Patient access controls which admins and doctors can open a patient record and whether they can view or edit it. Every patient is public or private. Use Share to give another admin or doctor access to an existing record.
Before you start
Open the correct clinic first. If you can edit the patient, you can manage its shares. Open Share from the icon at the end of an active patient row in Patients, or from the patient header in Patient profiles. The dialog shows which admins or doctors the patient is shared with and lets you add more admins or doctors.
Understand public and private access
| Patient type | How access works |
|---|---|
| Public | Admins and doctors with Access public patients can open the record. An explicit share is another way to give an admin or doctor access. |
| Private | The record has an owner. Another admin or doctor needs an explicit share to open it. |
Choose public or private when adding a patient. Share access does not change the patient’s original privacy type or owner.
Private access applies to the patient record, not its accounting records: clinic admins can still see those records. Clinic admins can also export a clinic-wide backup of the data they manage, including private patient records and accounting data.
Read the Share access labels
Open the patient’s Share action to see Share access.
| Label | What it means |
|---|---|
| Owner | This person owns a private patient. Their access cannot be changed or removed in this dialog. |
| Can view | The person can open and view the patient record but cannot edit it. |
| Can edit | The person can open and update the patient record. |
| Public access | This person already has clinic-level access to public patients. Removing an explicit share does not remove that separate access. |
Share a patient with an admin or doctor
Each new share starts as Can view. Turn on edit access only when that person needs to update the patient record.
- In Patients, find the patient and select the Share icon, shown as three connected dots at the end of the patient’s row. You can also use Share in the patient header on Patient profiles.
- Under Add clinic member, search for and select the intended admin or doctor.
- Review their row. Keep the switch off for Can view, or turn it on for Can edit.
- Select Save and wait for the Share settings updated notification.
Change or remove an explicit share
Open Share access again whenever the person’s work with the patient changes.
- Find the person in the list.
- Change their edit switch, or select the trash icon at the end of their row to remove their explicit share.
- Select Save and wait for the Share settings updated notification.
The owner’s switch and remove action are locked. If you remove a share from a public patient, the person may still open the record when their row shows Public access.
If a patient or Share action is missing
- The Share icon is not shown: the patient may be archived. Check the selected clinic and archive filter, or ask someone who can edit the patient to share the existing record with you.
- A person cannot be added: ask an admin to check their clinic membership and role in Users.
- The controls or Save button are disabled: you can view the share settings but do not have edit access to this patient.
- A shared person needs to make changes: check that their share is set to Can edit. Can view allows them to open and view the record only.
- The patient cannot be found: confirm the selected clinic and check whether the patient is archived or filtered out. Do not create another patient record; ask an owner or admin to share the existing record with you.