Originally published 07/01/2021. Updated 10/31/2024
Sometimes you want to pull a quick set of patient data out of Open Dental, and the Patients-Raw list may be just what you need. This post will walk through a specific example to show you how to select fields and filter them to get the data you want to see.
In our example, patient favorite Dr. Swan is retiring. We want to pull the names, addresses, and phone numbers of her patients to let them know that Dr. Swan is retiring, and introduce them to the other wonderful providers in our practice that will be happy to help keep their smiles healthy and bright.
To generate a list of Dr. Swan’s active patients, we’ll start by going to Reports, Standard. Under the Lists section, select Patients-Raw (think raw data, ready to be manipulated!).
Now, we need to choose which columns of information will show on our report by selecting the fields we want to see.
In the SELECT tab, hold down the CTRL key and click to select the fields to include from the Patient section. Notice, as you click fields to include, it’s starting to build the query at the bottom of the window.
TECH TIP: Fields can also be chosen from the Referral Type and Referred sections, but note, by doing so, patients without a referral (or with only referrals of a different type than selected) will be excluded from the report results.
Now that we have selected the columns of information we want to see on the report, we now need to define the conditions that will cause a patient to show on the report once it’s generated. Setting the conditions is done under the WHERE tab.
In our example, we only want to include Active patients (“Patient” status patients) of Dr. Swan who are on a Billing Type for patients in good standing with us.
To create a condition, you’ll first want to choose how you want to filter from the dropdown menu. In our case we would choose PriProv (Primary Provider). Second, you’ll want to select how the data will be limited. For our example we will choose = (equals) because we want an exact match. Lastly, we will enter in the limitation, here we would select Dr. Swan and then click Add. This will give ensure the report only includes patients whose Primary Provider is Dr. Swan.
You can continue adding as many additional conditions as you need following the same steps. For instance, we would then create a condition to only show “Patient” status patients and another one for patients with certain billing types.
As we add each condition, it is moved down to the middle section, and the query continues to build at the bottom of the window.
To build this list, we took these steps:
- Selected PatStatus, clicked =, then selected ‘Patient’, and clicked Add.
- Selected Billing Type, clicked =, then “Standard”. If selecting more than one, hold down ctrl as you click to select fields, then clicked Add. Once added, the system ID number for that Billing Type will display.
- Selected PriProv (Primary Provider), clicked =, then selected the provider, and clicked Add. (When we add Dr. Swan, the resulting entry only shows her system ID number, which is 7).
- Repeat for any other field you may want to use to filter the results further. If you accidentally added something or want to edit your selection, highlight it from the middle section, then click Delete Row, and re-add as needed.
When you’re done, click OK and the report will be generated in a User Query window. Our report looks like the following screenshot. We had also selected the Guarantor field to be included as a column. This field will allow you to see which person in a family group should receive your communication.
The data is ready to be exported (you can then use that file for a mail merge), or printed and used as a call list – it’s up to you.
The Patients-Raw list is a great way to quickly pull patient data out of Open Dental. If you need a more customized set of data combined into a custom query, our Query Team can help. Start by submitting a custom query request for a free estimate. If we can help you with the Patients-Raw list or anything else in the software, please contact us.
Information in this post reflects features available in Open Dental Version 24.1. For the most up-to-date information, please visit our manual.