Overview

Duplicated records are inevitable in any database. Marketscape CRM includes tools to identify duplicates, to merge the duplicate records into a single record, and a history of the most recent merge. There are five types of records that can be merged when duplicates are found: accounts, contacts, leads, orders, and patients.

If you use "Office of" accounts, you can use the merge to consolidate other accounts into your "Office of" account.

The tools and process for merging each record type are the same for each type. In this article we use contacts for the examples. 

 

Why are there duplicate records?

New records are constantly coming in from different sources

• EHR Integration (if applicable)
• Users adding from Market Insights/Market Spotlight
• Accounts and contacts can be created manually by users

In short, it is common and expected to have duplicate accounts in Marketscape CRM

 

Methods

There are two methods for finding duplicate records and merging them. Both are described, step-by-step below.

• Use the "Find Duplicates" tool.
• Sorting and browsing the table in the record type's main page.

 

 In this article

• Merge permissions
• Find Duplicates tool - and how to merge what you find
• Sorting and browsing the main table - and merging what you find
• Some tips and tricks - ideas for successful merges

 

Merge Permissions

In order to merge duplicate records for a specific record type, a user must be assigned the "merge" permission on their assigned Role.

The following image shows the permissions that need to be set (arrows).

For a complete overview of roles and permissions, see Role Management.

 

 

Find Duplicates tool

Each record type that can be merged has a "Find Duplicates" tool on the main page for that record type.

For example, to find the "Find Duplicate Contacts" tool, you would click on the "Contacts" link in the left navigation.

• then click on the "Find Duplicate Contacts" link, (Image below).

Once you have clicked on the "Find Duplicate Contacts" link, the following interface opens.

• Select a field or fields that will most likely find matches.
• Click the "Run Duplicates Search" button

Our search revealed the following two records. The only difference between the two records was the first name.

• Click on the checkbox to the left of each record you want to merge
• Click the "Merge Selected" button

The example shows two records. You can merge any number of contacts that show up in the search.

Once you have clicked the "Merge Selected" button, the following interface will open.

• Each field can be clicked so that you can choose which entry from each record will be used in the new record.

For our example, we chose "Jessica" in the right column, because we know that the contact prefers Jessica.

• Click the "Merge" button when you have finished selecting each field.

You have successfully merged duplicate records.

 

Merge History

Once you have merged records, the single, merged record will appear in the table on the page for that record type. In our example, Jessica appears in the table on the Contacts page.

If you click on the "View" or "Edit" links, the Details page for that record will open. If you scroll down, you will find a section called, "Merge History."

What you need to know

• The records that you just merged will appear in the table
• Only the most recent merge will appear in this table. A history of previous merges is not maintained
• If you click on the "View" link, you can look at the details from the record included in the previous merge.

 

Main page sort and browse

Click on the navigation link in the left navigation to open the record type of interest. Then, in the sort by, dropdown selector choose the specified field/column as the "Sort By" parameter.

 

Record Type	Sort by
Sort by: Name
Sort by: First Name (Or try NPI)
Sort by: Name
Sort by: Owners
Sort by: First Name

There are many reasons why a duplicate record might appear in the database. In the case of our example below, the first name did not match. In that situation, choosing the First Name for sorting contacts would not work.

In the end, you might need to do a sort by first name, then do a sort by last name, or use some other parameter. The point of the exercise is to bring similar records together.

 

Example

In the image below, we found three records for the contact Kevin McCullum that included two records with the first name misspelled, "Kavin."

• Click on the check boxes at the far left of the row for the records you want to merge.

Below the table is a "Bulk Actions" selector dropdown.

• Click on the dropdown and select "Merge Records."

The Merge Tool interface will open.

• As before, click on the "correct" fields for the merged record.

In the image below, we clicked on the field with our contact's name spelled correctly, and we selected the NPI.

• Click the "Merge" button at the bottom of the page.

Now, when you look at the contact's Detail page, scroll down to see the "Merge History" section.

What you need to know

• The records that you just merged will appear in the table
• Only the most recent merge will appear in this table. A history of previous merges is not maintained
• If you click on the "View" link, you can look at the details from the record included in the previous merge.

Remember

Although the examples in this article show merging contacts, the process is the same for accounts, orders, leads, and patients.

 

Some Tips and Tricks

Overview

Ensuring that records in Marketscape CRM have minimal duplications is essential for accurate reporting. With incoming integrations (EHR) and users creating new records, there are bound to be duplications. 

Here are some best practices and tips on merging records in Marketscape CRM:

 

Always merge records with an end result in mind

Merging records ensures that the data mirrors real life and has the most up to date information. If you are in doubt of what field(s) are correct and should be left visible, confirm first then resume the merge. 

 

Only be concerned with the fields you edit when selecting which field to display

Fields like name, address, phone number, NPI, owners, etc. are important and should be reviewed carefully to select which record will remain "visible". Fields such as ID or source are not important. In the Merge tool, fields highlighted in green will be displayed in the merged record.

 

When in doubt during the merge process, Stop!

Un-merging merged accounts/contacts cannot be done in the system, so always ensure that you are confident that a merge is the best option. Using a Parent Account may be a better alternative to a merge depending on the situation. 

 

Always start with merging Accounts, then Contacts

When Accounts are merged in Marketscape CRM all of the referrals, contacts, events, and owners will roll up to one record. So merging accounts first will make duplicate contacts easier to identify since the correct account is already associated. 

 

Merging is always a better alternative to deleting a duplicate record

Simply deleting a duplicate record could remove any pertinent history that cannot be retrieved. Merging will be the best option to pare down the data clutter while still maintaining historical records and notes. 

 

Do several "sweeps" to identify duplicate records

There are several fields to check for potential duplicate records and searching on different fields can give you varying results.

the merge tool will be checking for exact matches in the system so only searching on name may miss some duplicates (example: ABC Hospital may have a duplicate spelled ABC Hosp).