---
id: whats-new-practice-data-import
title: How do I move my practice's patient data into Medipyxis?
module: admin
audience: [admin]
type: whats-new
last_reviewed: 2026-10-26
tags: [whats-new, video, import, onboarding, csv, migration]
related:
  - whats-new
  - admin-practice-onboarding-csv-reference
  - admin-practice-onboarding
  - admin-data-import-export
---

# How do I move my practice's patient data into Medipyxis?

Practice Onboarding imports your patient records from your old EHR system across nine guided steps: patients first, then insurance, medications, allergies, conditions, emergency contacts, wounds, clinical documents and historical wound photos, and past visits. You see every row before it is saved, rows with problems or identity collisions are held with a reason, and a results file tells you exactly what was imported.

The video has no sound, and a text description is below it. Every patient in it is a made-up test patient; staff names and emails are blurred.

## How does the import work, step by step?

*Practice Onboarding · Available now*

Video (no sound, 76 seconds): [practice-data-import.mp4](https://help.medipyxis.com/assets/videos/whats-new/practice-data-import.mp4)

Each step has its own CSV template. Upload your file, check that its columns are matched to the right Medipyxis fields, then review every row. Rows with a problem are marked in red, and you can fix them on screen or skip them. After the import, a summary shows what was imported, what was skipped and why, and a results CSV gives each new patient its Medipyxis ID.

**Why it matters:** A new practice starts with its patient list, active wounds and history already in place, without retyping them. One bad row never blocks the rest, and nothing is dropped without a reason you can see.

**Text description of this video**

- 0:00 The Practice Onboarding page (Administrator, then Practice Onboarding) lists nine import steps. Step 1, Patients, is open to start; the others are locked until patients are imported. Visit History waits for Wounds.
- 0:12 Step 1, Patients, is opened. A panel lists the providers at this facility and their Medipyxis emails, blurred in this video. Below it is the upload area.
- 0:19 Download Patients Template is clicked and the template CSV downloads. It has one column per field, with an example row.
- 0:22 A test CSV with six made-up patients is uploaded. Map Columns shows every column in the file matched to a Medipyxis field automatically: 10 of 10. Required fields are starred. Confirm Mapping is clicked.
- 0:36 Review Patients Data shows 3 valid rows and 3 errors. Row 4 has a birth date that does not exist, row 5 has no last name and row 6 has an email address that is not valid. A note explains how dates were read (month first) and asks you to check them.
- 0:47 Skip all 3 error rows is clicked. The three rows are greyed out and marked Skipped. The button now reads Import 3 Patients Records.
- 0:51 The import runs.
- 0:54 Import Complete: 3 rows sent, 2 imported, 1 skipped, 2 warnings. The skipped row was the same patient listed twice (same name and date of birth), so it was not created a second time. Needs Follow-Up lists the two new patients that had no provider email: they were imported without a provider and need one assigned.
- 1:04 Download Results CSV is clicked. The file is your original rows plus a patient_uid column with each patient's new Medipyxis ID, which the later steps use.
- 1:07 Done returns to the step list. Patients is marked Completed (2 imported, 1 skipped) with a Download results CSV link, so the file can be downloaded again later. Steps 2 to 8 are now open (and Step 9, Past Visits, opens once Step 7, Wounds, is completed).

## What can I import, and in what order?

For the complete column-by-column specification, accepted values, and default rules for every template below, see [Practice Data Import CSV templates and column reference](/admin/practice-onboarding-csv-reference/).

1. **1. Patients** (`patient_import_template.csv`): Names, dates of birth (`YYYY-MM-DD`), contact details and address, assigned provider (`provider_email`), optional prior EHR IDs (`prior_ehr_system`, `prior_ehr_mrn`, `duplicate_decision`, `force_distinct_patient`), and optional patient consent attestation columns (`consent_on_file` and 7 supporting `consent_*` columns).
2. **2. Insurance** (`insurance_import_template.csv`): Payer, subscriber/member ID, policy and group numbers linked to `patient_uid`.
3. **3. Medications** (`medications_import_template.csv`): Current medications with dose, route, frequency and prescriber linked to `patient_uid`.
4. **4. Allergies** (`allergies_import_template.csv`): Known allergies with allergy type, severity and reaction linked to `patient_uid`.
5. **5. Conditions** (`conditions_import_template.csv` — Comorbidities): Medical history and conditions, with ICD-10 codes linked to `patient_uid`.
6. **6. Emergency Contacts** (`contacts_import_template.csv`): Name, relationship, phone number and primary contact flag linked to `patient_uid`.
7. **7. Wounds** (`wounds_import_template.csv`): Historical wounds with anatomical location, wound type, baseline measurements (period-decimal cm) and staging (`wounds_import_results.csv` provides `wound_uid`).
8. **8. Documents & Historical Wound Photos** (`documents_manifest.csv` / `wound_photos_manifest.csv` + ZIP archive): Clinical PDFs/TIFFs (stored in `patient-documents` under `imported-records/`) and historical wound photos (stored in `wound-images` under `historical/`), linked to `patient_uid` and optionally `wound_uid` / `wound_id`.
9. **9. Past Visits** (`visit_history_import_template.csv` — Visit history): Past visits, linked to the patient (`patient_uid`) and wounds (`wound_uid` / `wound_id`). Imported as read-only history (`visit_import_history`).

## What is not imported (and what safeguards apply)?

- **Imported visits are read-only history (`visit_import_history`).** You can see past visits on the patient's record, but they cannot be edited, signed or billed as active Medipyxis visits. New visits are documented in Medipyxis as usual.
- **Historical wound photos are isolated from live clinical assessments.** Photos uploaded in Step 8 are stored in `wound-images` under `historical/` on `wound_import_history.photo_urls` and never create or overwrite live `wound_assessment` records.
- **Strict preflight & identity-collision safeguards.** Excel `sep=` preamble lines are stripped automatically; mixed `MM/DD/YYYY` and `DD/MM/YYYY` slash dates, impossible calendar dates (such as `2026-02-31`), and decimal-comma measurements (such as `2,5` instead of `2.5`) are blocked before saving; and patients sharing `first_name + last_name + date_of_birth` with conflicting secondary identifiers (`subscriber_id`, `mrn`, `ssn_last4`, `phone`, `address`, or `email`) are quarantined (`PATIENT_IDENTITY_COLLISION`) for disambiguation rather than silently merged.

## What does the results file look like?

| first_name | last_name | date_of_birth | notes | patient_uid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ada | Testimport | 1948-02-11 | Synthetic test patient | 65c47281… |
| Bram | Testimport | 03/22/1951 | Synthetic test patient | 5edb01d0… |
| Cora | Testimport | 1950-13-45 | Bad birth date on purpose | (blank) |
| Dex |  | 1949-07-04 | Missing last name on purpose | (blank) |
| Elle | Testimport | 1953-09-30 | Bad email on purpose | (blank) |
| Ada | Testimport | 1948-02-11 | Same patient listed twice | 65c47281… |

## Questions and answers about importing practice data into Medipyxis

### What can I import into Medipyxis from my old EHR?

Nine categories in dependency order: (1) Patients, (2) Insurance, (3) Medications, (4) Allergies, (5) Conditions / Comorbidities, (6) Emergency Contacts, (7) Wounds, (8) Documents & Historical Wound Photos (ZIP archive + manifest CSV), and (9) Past Visits (Visit History). Patients go first because every later step links its rows to the `patient_uid` created in Step 1. Wounds go in Step 7 so Step 8 and Step 9 can attach historical photos, wound-linked documents, and past visits to each imported `wound_uid` or `wound_id`.

### What happens to rows with errors?

Before anything is saved, every row is checked. Excel `sep=` preamble headers are stripped automatically, and rows with missing required fields, impossible calendar dates (such as `2026-02-31`), mixed `MM/DD/YYYY` and `DD/MM/YYYY` date formats, decimal-comma measurements (such as `2,5` instead of `2.5`), or invalid emails are marked in red with the exact reason. You can correct them on screen or skip them and import the rest. Skipped rows stay in the results file without a Medipyxis ID so you can fix them in your spreadsheet and import them later.

### Will importing the same patient twice create a duplicate?

No. Re-importing the same patient reuses the existing chart and returns its `patient_uid` in the results CSV. Furthermore, if two rows share the same `first_name`, `last_name`, and `date_of_birth` (DOB) but have conflicting secondary identifiers (`subscriber_id`, `mrn`, `ssn_last4`, `phone`, street address/ZIP, or `email`), Medipyxis quarantines the row with a `PATIENT_IDENTITY_COLLISION` diagnostic instead of silently merging two distinct people. You can disambiguate twins, family-plan dependents, or common-name patients using `patient_uid`, `force_distinct_patient=true`, or `duplicate_decision`.

### What is the results CSV for?

It is your file with one column added: each patient's new Medipyxis ID (`patient_uid`). The insurance, medication, allergy, condition, emergency contact, wound, and document steps use that ID to attach their rows to the right patient. Step 7 (Wounds) produces `wounds_import_results.csv` with `wound_uid` values for Step 8 (Documents & Historical Wound Photos) and Step 9 (Past Visits). The latest results file can be downloaded again from the step's card at any time.

### What if a patient has no provider in the file?

The patient is still imported without a provider and listed under Needs Follow-Up so you can assign one. To assign providers during the import, put each provider's Medipyxis email in the `provider_email` column.

### Are documents and wound photos imported?

Yes, in Step 8 (**Documents & Historical Wound Photos**). Upload a ZIP archive together with `documents_manifest.csv` or `wound_photos_manifest.csv`. Clinical PDFs and TIFFs are stored in the private `patient-documents` bucket under `imported-records/` and indexed in `prior_ehr_record`; historical wound photos (JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC) are stored in the private `wound-images` bucket under `historical/` and appended to `wound_import_history.photo_urls` (never mixed into live clinical `wound_assessment` records).

### Can I edit or bill imported visits?

No. Imported visits come in as read-only history (`visit_import_history`): you can see them on the patient's record, but they are not active Medipyxis visits, so they cannot be edited, signed or billed. New visits are documented in Medipyxis as usual.

### Where can I see every CSV column and how patient consent attestation works?

See [Practice Data Import CSV templates and column reference](/admin/practice-onboarding-csv-reference/) for the complete column-by-column breakdown of all 9 templates. In Step 1 (`patient_import_template.csv`), the 8 optional `consent_*` columns gate on `consent_on_file`: when blank or `no`, no consent is recorded and the other 7 columns are ignored; when `yes`, Medipyxis records an `external_attested` treatment and billing consent under the importing admin's account. Only attest `consent_on_file = yes` when your practice holds its own signed consent form for that patient — never use a nursing facility's admission paperwork.

### Who can run the import?

An organization administrator, from Administrator, then Practice Onboarding. Data is imported into the facility you are working in.