[Navigation] Global Search > Utilities > Options Form
[Accordion] Overview
The Demographics form serves as the foundation of the patient record, with information flowing from intake through to billing. It is not a static form, but rather a configurable structure designed to adapt to your clinic's specific needs.
While the form captures essential patient details, its behavior is controlled by system administrative settings. These settings determine field visibility, required entries, and overall data accuracy, ensuring the form aligns with your workflow and compliance requirements.
This section outlines the available configurations, including required-field enforcement, custom label configurations, tab structure, and other form-level options that affect workflow and validation. Proper use of these settings supports accurate data entry, regulatory compliance, consistent terminology, and efficient intake processes.
[Permissions] The staff member must have Administrative Privileges to access the Options form [Staff > Staff Info > System Permissions > User Has Administrative Privileges] in order to adjust configuration settings
[Tip] If you see different labels than what is shown in this article (e.g., Patient vs Client), your system may have Custom Labels applied. You can verify and update these by locating "Custom Labels" in the Global Search.
[Accordion] Preferences: Demographics Form Settings
Required Fields
Many fields labeled as “required” may actually be optional, depending on your system configuration. Administrators determine which fields must be completed before a form can be saved or submitted. If a required field is left blank, the system will prompt the user to enter the missing information.
The Required Field configuration is one of the most important settings affecting the behavior of the Demographics form. Required fields are identified by an asterisk (*). If a required field has not been completed, it will also be highlighted in red, indicating that the information must be entered before the form can be saved.
Within the Options Form, administrators can enable various Require settings. When a setting is enabled, the related field on the Demographics form becomes mandatory. A field may be marked as always required, never required, or conditionally required (for example, only required when the client type is "Patient").
Required field settings are applied across multiple sections of the Demographics form.
Enabling these settings ensures that essential demographic and contact information must be completed before the Demographics record can be saved or submitted.
Intake Tab: Required field settings apply to referral and service information. Administrators can require users to enter:
- Intake By
- Intake Service
- Intake Clinician
- Intake Disposition
- Date of Contact for Appointment
- Date of Intake Appointment
- Date Admitted
- Date Assigned to Follow-Up Clinician
- Date Packet Sent
- Date Packet Returned
- Primary Place of Service
- Heard About Us From
- Referral Source
- Referred By
- Referral Phone Number
- Referral Email
- Referral Reason
- Patient ID
- Additional ID
- Patient Characteristics
Demographics Tab: Administrators can designate the following fields as required:
- Date of Birth
- Social Security Number
- Race, Ethnicity
- Gender Identity
- Primary Language
- Sexual Orientation
- Marital Status
- Preferred Contact Method
- Email Address
- Cell Phone Number
- County of Residence
- County of Financial Responsibility
- Advanced Directive
- Contact Notes
Parent/Guardian Tab: Can be displayed by configuring the 'Age Cut Off for Adults' setting or by selecting 'Display Parent Tab for Adults'. When the Patent/Guardian Tab is enabled, the additional requirement options are available:
Marital status
Number of children in Family/Home/Same School
Parent information when the parent is listed as the insured
Insurance: These settings help prevent incomplete insurance records and reduce claim errors. The available requirement options include:
- Policy Number
- Policyholder/Employer
- Group Number
- Subscriber Information (required when the relationship to the insured is “Other” or “Spouse”)
Outside Providers/Contacts:
- Emergency Contact Information
When enabled, these fields must be completed before the Demographics record can be saved. Once saved, the settings immediately affect the form’s validation behavior.
[Accordion] Tabs
Tabs in the Demographics form organize information into clear sections by grouping related data. Instead of showing everything on one screen, the tabs separate intake details, personal information, external providers, insurance, and financial data into different areas. This makes the form easier to navigate, helps reduce data entry errors, and allows users to focus on the information relevant to their task.
The Demographics form is divided into structured Tabs, such as:
- Intake
- Demographics
- Parent/Guardian
- Outside Providers/Contacts
- Insurance
- Financial
While the existence of these tabs is system-defined, certain configuration settings in the Options Form directly affect how tabs appear and behave.
Example: The Parent/Guardian tab can be displayed even for adults if the corresponding "Display Tab for Adults" Options Form setting is enabled. This allows the collection of parent information regardless of Age Category. Conversely, disabling that setting hides the tab for adult records.
[Accordion] Other Options
Beyond required fields, custom terminology, and tab visibility, the Options Form includes additional configurations that affect data integrity, automation, and workflow behavior.
Data entry restriction settings allow administrators to limit users to predefined dropdown selections. Restrictions can be applied to Referral Source, Referral Reason, Counties, and certain fields like Patient ID and Date Entered to prevent free-text entries and ensure standardized data.
Automation settings help streamline intake and insurance workflows. The system can automatically generate a Patient ID, open the Insurance Eligibility Verification form when insurance is added, review eligibility history during verification, and automatically calculate consent expiration dates based on a default timeframe.
Additional system behavior controls include hiding Packet Dates from the Intake tab, hiding the Homeless checkbox, displaying Additional Patient Groups for classification purposes, disabling duplicate checking prompts, and automatically disabling patient portal access upon discharge.
Below are the additional Options Form settings that do not fall under Required Fields, Custom Labels, or Tab visibility. These configurations influence automation, validation behavior, system prompts, and workflow control within the Demographics form.
- Restrict Entries (Referral Source): Limits the Referral Source field to predefined dropdown values only. Users cannot enter free-text values not already configured
- Restrict Entries (Referral Reason): Prevents manual entry of referral reasons outside the approved list, ensuring standardized reporting data
- Restrict Entries (Counties): Restricts County selection to predefined values and blocks free-text entry.
- Patient ID – Prevent Free-Text Entry: Prevents manual typing of the Patient ID (e.g., Hospital Number, Medical Record #), ensuring only system-generated values are used
- Automatically Generate Patient ID: Automatically assigns a Patient ID when a new record is saved for the first time, eliminating manual numbering
- Date Entered – Prevent Free-Text Entry: Locks the Date Entered field to the system’s current date, preventing manual modification
- Automatically Open Insurance Eligibility Verification: Opens the Insurance Eligibility Verification form automatically when insurance is added to a new record
- Automatically Review History for Insurance Eligibility Verification: Automatically refreshes and reviews prior eligibility verification history when checking coverage
- Default Duration of Consents (Months): Sets a default expiration timeframe for consent forms. When a consent date is entered, the system automatically calculates the expiration date based on this configuration
- Disable Duplicate Checking: Removes system warnings for potential duplicate records (such as matching SSN or Name and DOB). Not recommended, as it reduces duplicate prevention safeguards
- Disable Patient Portal Account on Discharge: Controls whether patient portal access is automatically deactivated, never deactivated, or prompts the user upon discharge
- Remove Prompt When Disassociating Patient Portal Usernames: Bypasses confirmation prompts when unlinking portal usernames from demographic records
- Remove Intake Option: Eliminates the ability to classify a record as Intake. All new entries default directly to “Patient”
- Age Cut-Off for Adults: Defines the age at which the system automatically classifies an individual as an adult, influencing tab visibility and certain validation rules
- Require Insurance Subscriber Info for Other/Spouse Selection: Ensures insured party details are completed when the patient's relationship to the insured is marked as “Other” or “Spouse”
[Accordion] Custom Labels
[Anchor:CustomLabels]
Custom Labels allow you to change how field names, section titles, and other terms appear in the system, including in the Demographics form. This helps align the system’s language with internal standards, regulatory terms, or agency-specific naming without changing the system’s underlying structure. Access these configuration settings by searching for "Custom Labels".
In the Custom Labels form, three columns are shown: Label, Default Value, and Custom Value.
Label: Shows the system’s internal reference for the text
Default Value: Displays the standard term used by the system
Custom Value: Lets you enter your organization’s preferred term
After saving, the Custom Value replaces the Default Value wherever that label appears in the system.
Example: If your clinic prefers to rename “Patient ID” to “Medical Record Number,” updating the Custom Label ensures that the new Custom Value appears consistently across all forms/modules within ClinicTracker.
Custom Labels change only the displayed wording; they do not affect system behavior, data storage, reporting logic, or compliance rules.
[Accordion] FAQs
[Q] Why does a new tab appear for some patients but not others?
[A] Certain tabs are conditionally displayed based on factors such as age category, service type, or other selections made within the form. The system adjusts the visible tabs to match the context of the record.
[Q] Why does the system prevent me from entering free text in a field?
[A] Some fields are configured to allow selection from predefined values only. This ensures consistent data entry and supports accuracy.
[Q] Will the label get changed everywhere if I update it in Custom Labels?
[A] Yes. When you update a label in Custom Labels and save the change, the new wording will replace the default text everywhere that label is used in the system, including on existing records.
[Q] Will changing a Custom Label affect other modules outside of Demographics?
[A] Yes. If the same label is used in multiple areas of the system, the updated wording will appear in all locations where that label is referenced.
[Q] Do I need special permissions to change Custom Labels?
[A] Yes. Only users with admin privileges can change/customize Custom Labels.
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