Delete a record created in error

Treatment records are clinical records, so deleting one normally archives it rather than removing it. If a record should never have existed, for example it was started on the wrong patient, an owner can delete it permanently.

Before you start

• Owners and practitioners can archive a treatment record. Receptionists can’t open treatment records.
• Only the clinic owner can use Created in error to delete a record permanently.
• To remove a single photo or diagram rather than the whole record, use the bin icon next to the image instead. See Aesthetic records.

Steps

1. Open the treatment record.
2. Select Delete at the top of the page.
3. In Delete this treatment record?, choose what to do:
   • To archive the record, leave Created in error unticked and select Archive record. It’s hidden now but kept for your retention period (8 years after treatment for adults, unless your clinic has changed it) and then permanently deleted, photos included.
   • If you’re the owner and the record was created by mistake, tick Created in error, then select Delete permanently. This bypasses the retention hold.

What happens next

The record disappears from the patient’s record, the Aesthetics page and the patient portal straight away. Both actions are recorded in the audit log.

• Archived records stay in Archived records until their retention period ends.
• Created in error records stay in Archived records, marked “created in error”, for a short undo window (7 days unless your clinic has changed it), and are then permanently deleted with their photos.

Until then, an owner can bring a record back from Clinic settings > Data & privacy > Archived records by selecting Restore. See Archived records.

Good to know

• Retention for adults runs from the date of treatment. For patients treated under 18, records are kept until they reach a set age. See How long records are kept.
• Owners can change the undo window for created-in-error deletions in Clinic settings > Data & privacy > Data & retention.