ℹ️ Introduction
This article explains how to use the Check Patient feature in Ardens Manager to understand why a patient is included or excluded from a report. By the end of this article, you will be able to investigate patient-level results and identify the criteria affecting report inclusion.
Background
When reviewing dashboards and reports, users may need to understand why a specific patient appears (or does not appear) in a report.
Previously, this required manually reviewing report rules and comparing them against the patient record in the clinical system. This could be time-consuming and difficult, particularly for complex reports.
The Check Patient feature provides a faster and more transparent way to review this information by analysing a single patient against the report logic.
How Ardens Can Help
Ardens Manager includes the Check Patient feature to give full visibility into how report logic applies at an individual patient level.
Using this feature, you can:
Identify why a patient is included or excluded from a report
View how each rule and criteria has been applied
See the specific activity (e.g. codes, appointments) contributing to the result
Investigate data quality issues more efficiently
This allows users to quickly validate figures and better understand dashboard outputs without needing to manually interpret complex rules.
How to Access
You can access the Check Patient feature in two ways:
From the Patient List
Open a report and navigate to the PATIENTS tab
Locate the patient
Click the Check Patient (?) icon next to the View button
Search for a Patient
Below the patient list, enter an NHS Number
This allows you to check a patient who may not appear in the report
📊Understanding the Results
When Check Patient is opened, a detailed analysis screen will be displayed.
Summary Panel
At the top of the screen, you will see:
Patient details
The report being checked
Whether the patient is Included or Excluded
Applies To (Initial Check)
This shows whether the patient meets the basic eligibility for the report:
Passed to next rule: patient meets initial criteria
Excluded: patient does not meet the baseline requirements
Rule Analysis
Each report rule is assessed individually. For each rule, you will see an outcome:
Included
Excluded
Passed to next rule
Included/Excluded by earlier rule
This helps you understand exactly where a patient meets or fails the report logic.
Criteria Breakdown
Within each rule, you can view the detailed criteria. Each criteria will show:
Met: requirement fully satisfied
Partially met: some conditions met
Not met: requirement not satisfied
Where criteria are met, additional detail will be shown, such as:
Clinical codes recorded
Appointment details
Event dates
Organisation where activity was completed
This allows you to clearly see what data is contributing to the result.
The below screenshots show examples of inclusion and exclusion outcomes.
⏱️Processing Time
Check Patient runs a real-time analysis for the selected patient and report.
The process typically takes a few seconds
The rules will appear greyed out whilst the analysis is completed.
💡When to Use
You may find this feature useful when:
A patient appears unexpectedly in a report
A patient is missing from a report
Validating contract activity
Investigating data quality issues
Explaining figures to colleagues or commissioners
⚠️Please note:
The analysis is based on the report logic and data at the time of the report run
Results reflect how the report is calculated within Ardens Manager
Patient data must be available within your organisation’s dataset
❓FAQs
Can I check a patient who is not in the report?
Yes. You can enter an NHS number to check why a patient is excluded from the report.
Does this update the report?
No. Check Patient is a read-only tool used for analysis and does not change report results.
Why does it take a few seconds to load?
The feature runs a real-time analysis of the patient against the report logic, which may take a few seconds to complete.
Can I use it for all reports?
Check Patient is available on supported reports where patient-level analysis is applicable.
Why is Check Patient showing the wrong status?
Sometimes Check Patient may briefly show a different result to what you are expecting for a patient (for example, showing a patient as excluded instead of included).
This can happen if the reports are updating in the background when you use Check Patient. During this short update period, the patient status may temporarily appear differently.
For most practices, this update window is short and is more commonly seen in EMIS data, as SystmOne data is usually updated outside of normal working hours.
If this happens, wait a short while and try again. If the issue continues, please contact the Support Team.
🏫Additional Support
To further your understanding of the Ardens Manager platform:
Book training for your GP Practice, PCN or ICB
Complete the Getting Started with Ardens Manager academy module
Contact our Support Team for support in real time