---
title: "Guide: patients — HyperCRM documentation"
description: "How to add and manage patient records in HyperCRM: demographics, status, colour-coded tags, clinical notes with history, and notification preferences."
canonical: "https://hypercrm.app/docs/guides/patients"
lang: "en"
updated: "2026-07-25"
---

_Documentation / Guides_

# Adding and managing patient records

This guide covers the day-to-day work of a patient record: adding one, keeping demographics and status current, tagging for quick filtering, and writing clinical notes that hold up if they're ever questioned later.

[Start the free trial](/dashboard) · [See all guides](/docs/guides)

## Add a patient

Create a patient record with their contact details, country and postcode. This is the minimum needed before anything else — an appointment, a form or a note — can be attached to them.

## Keep status current

A patient carries a status such as active, in recall or completed, with a timestamp recorded on every change. Use status to separate people you're actively treating from people you aren't, rather than relying on memory.

## Tag for fast filtering

Colour-coded tags can be applied to one patient at a time or in bulk across a filtered list. Tags and status both work as filters on the patient list, so a group — everyone due for recall, say — can be found without searching name by name.

## Write a note that lasts

A clinical note keeps its full revision history: editing a note adds to the record rather than overwriting what was there, so an entry from months ago can still be traced to who wrote it and when. A note can also flag a patient's next appointment directly.

## Set how a patient hears from you

Each patient has their own notification preferences for email and SMS. Set these once on the record and the reminders system respects them everywhere a message would otherwise be sent, rather than asking again per appointment.

## Related

### [Appointments](/docs/guides/appointments)

Book directly against a patient record and see their history alongside the calendar.

### [Forms](/docs/guides/forms)

Send an intake or consent form whose answers write back to the patient record.

### [Patient records — features](/features/patient-records)

The marketing overview of the same record system.

## Common questions

### How is patient data protected?

Patient records are encrypted in transit and at rest, files are stored privately and served through short-lived signed links, and every change is written to an audit log. Staff accounts sign in with passkeys rather than shared passwords.

### Which kinds of practice is HyperCRM for?

HyperCRM suits appointment-based practices that keep clinical records: dental, medical, surgical, physiotherapy and aesthetic clinics. They all run the same system, using the words their own field uses — and dental practices additionally start from a service catalogue that is already filled in.

### Does editing a clinical note delete the earlier version?

No. Every edit is kept as part of the note's revision history rather than replacing what was there, so a note written months ago can still be traced back to the person who wrote it and the time it was written, even after later edits.

### How do I find a specific group of patients quickly?

Use tags and status together as filters on the patient list. Colour-coded tags can be applied individually or in bulk, and combined with a status such as active or recall, so a group of patients can be found without searching one name at a time.