Guide
Register patients quickly and accurately, whether at the front desk or through a self-service link.
Fast, thorough patient registration with automatic duplicate detection.
From the dashboard or the patient list, click New Patient. The registration form adapts to your country — for example, Kenyan clinics see fields for NHIF number and national ID, while Nigerian practices see fields for NHN and state of origin.
Fill in the patient's full name, date of birth, gender, phone number, and email address. The phone number is particularly important in African healthcare settings — Cari uses it for appointment reminders via SMS and for mobile money payment links.
Cari's Master Patient Index (MPI) automatically checks for existing records as you type. If a potential match is found, you can review the existing record and link the patient rather than creating a duplicate. This is critical for continuity of care, especially when patients visit multiple facilities in a network.
The MPI uses fuzzy matching on name, date of birth, and phone number. Even if the spelling differs slightly, Cari will surface potential matches so you can avoid duplicate records.
Accurate demographic and insurance data ensures smooth billing and regulatory compliance.
Record the patient's address, occupation, emergency contact, and preferred language. Cari supports multilingual patient communication — appointment reminders and care instructions can be sent in English, French, Swahili, Hausa, or other configured languages.
Select the patient's insurance provider from the dropdown and enter their membership number and policy details. Cari validates coverage in real time where supported, so you know before the consultation whether the patient's plan covers the service. You can add multiple insurance plans for patients with supplementary coverage.
Add at least one next-of-kin contact with their relationship to the patient, phone number, and address. This is required for emergency protocols and is a regulatory requirement in many African jurisdictions.
Next-of-kin information is mandatory in most African health regulations. Cari will prompt staff to complete this field before the patient record can be marked as verified.
Capture allergies, chronic conditions, and current medications to prevent adverse events.
Navigate to the Allergies tab and add each known allergy. Specify the allergen (drug, food, or environmental), the reaction type (rash, anaphylaxis, gastrointestinal, etc.), and severity (mild, moderate, severe). Cari's Clinical Decision Support system uses this data to flag potential drug interactions during prescribing.
Record chronic conditions (diabetes, hypertension, HIV, sickle cell disease), previous surgeries, and significant past illnesses. Use ICD-10 codes for structured data or free text for conditions not yet coded. Cari stores this information in the patient's longitudinal record, making it available across all future encounters and providers within your organization.
List any medications the patient is currently taking, including dose and frequency. This medication reconciliation step is essential for safe prescribing and is automatically cross-checked against new prescriptions for interactions.
Completing the allergy and medication list at registration prevents drug-interaction alerts from being missed during busy clinic hours. It takes two minutes upfront and can prevent a serious adverse event.
Let patients register themselves online to reduce front-desk burden and waiting times.
Copy your practice's booking link from Settings → Online Booking and share it on your website, social media, or WhatsApp. Patients can access it from any device — no app download required.
The patient enters their name, phone number, date of birth, and reason for visit. They can also upload a photo of their insurance card, which Cari processes using OCR to extract policy details automatically.
Self-registered patients appear in your patient list with a "Pending Review" badge. A receptionist or nurse can verify the information, merge duplicates if needed, and mark the record as confirmed. The patient receives an SMS confirmation with their appointment details and any preparation instructions.
Self-registered records require staff verification before clinical data can be entered. This ensures demographic accuracy and prevents duplicate records from entering your system.
Once onboarded, the patient's record is ready for clinical encounters, billing, and ongoing care management.