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Direct answer
The short answer
A Dentee migration is ready only when the original source workbook is preserved, every required tab and relationship is assessed, blocking issues are resolved by evidence and imported patient identity, clinical history and money reconcile. It is an assessed and validated assisted process, not a guaranteed one-click transfer.
Key takeaways
- Preserve the untouched export and transfer it only through an approved secure path
- Assess the current supported workbook contract before promising scope
- Treat duplicate identity and ambiguous financial links as blocking issues
- Approve mappings and a representative preview before controlled import
- Reconcile relationships and money, not row count alone
Practical guide
Preserve and assess the exact source
Keep an untouched copy of the original Dentee export with date, authorised owner, file size and checksum. Work on a separate copy for profiling or cleanup. Do not email or upload live patient data through an unapproved channel. Agree who can access the source, where working files will be stored, when they will be deleted and which archived copy the clinic will retain after cutover.
Assess the file against the current Thirty2OS import process before committing to scope. Ask the migration team to confirm the required workbook tabs and upload limit against your export. Inventory patient, treatment, bill, payment, appointment, prescription, medicine, clinical-note and doctor relationships, plus any source fields outside the agreed scope.
Practical guide
Resolve preview issues by evidence, never by convenience
Run a validation preview that classifies blocking and non-blocking issues. Common blockers include duplicate patient identity, missing referenced doctors or statuses, invalid dates or amounts, ambiguous payment-to-invoice links and unsupported structures. Maintain an issue log with source row, affected relationship, owner, decision, evidence and final mapping. A high imported-row percentage is not a reason to guess the remaining records.
Clean only with an approved rule. Normalising phone formats or mapping a known appointment status can be repeatable; merging two possible patients or attaching a payment to an invoice requires stronger evidence and sign-off. Preserve excluded records in the archive and document how staff can retrieve them. Re-run the preview after remediation so the accepted import is reproducible rather than a one-off manual patch.
Practical guide
Import under control, then reconcile the patient journey
Record the target organisation and clinic, approved mappings, software version, operator and import time. Limit access during execution and retain the generated result and issue summary. Do not begin live use until the clinic has sampled imported identities and relationships. A rollback or repair path should be understood before cutover even when the preview is clean.
Reconcile patient counts, linked clinic identifiers, upcoming appointments, treatment rows, invoices, payment sums, balances, prescriptions and clinical notes. Sample complex histories and follow Patient 024 across appointment, treatment, bill, payment and note relationships. Confirm that every sampled payment belongs to the intended patient and invoice. Record differences, remediation and final sign-off before the old system becomes archive-only.
Use this in the clinic
Your migration acceptance record
Use the agreed export and target clinic. Document scope, sample results and unresolved differences for each data group. Mark Accepted only after the responsible clinic reviewer signs off. Keep excluded records and their retrieval method in the migration record.
Your migration acceptance record
| Checkpoint | Compare before and after | Exception to resolve | Acceptance evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient identity | Counts, identifiers and duplicate-name samples | Uncertain matches, merges or missing clinic links | Reviewer, checked sample and identity decisions. |
| Upcoming appointments | Agreed range, patient, doctor, time and status | Missing visits, shifted times or unmapped doctors | Schedule comparison and explained differences. |
| Clinical history | Complete patient samples and treatment relationships | Missing records, unsupported fields or wrong patient links | Clinical review and archive plan for exclusions. |
| Invoices and payments | Totals, balances and complex account samples | Ambiguous payment links or unexplained differences | Billing-owner acceptance of totals and relationships. |
| Live use and archive | New-record cutoff, staff access and archive retrieval | Both systems accepting changes without an owner | Cutover decision, issue owners and archive instructions. |
Patient identity
Compare before and afterCounts, identifiers and duplicate-name samples
Exception to resolveUncertain matches, merges or missing clinic links
Acceptance evidenceReviewer, checked sample and identity decisions.
Upcoming appointments
Compare before and afterAgreed range, patient, doctor, time and status
Exception to resolveMissing visits, shifted times or unmapped doctors
Acceptance evidenceSchedule comparison and explained differences.
Clinical history
Compare before and afterComplete patient samples and treatment relationships
Exception to resolveMissing records, unsupported fields or wrong patient links
Acceptance evidenceClinical review and archive plan for exclusions.
Invoices and payments
Compare before and afterTotals, balances and complex account samples
Exception to resolveAmbiguous payment links or unexplained differences
Acceptance evidenceBilling-owner acceptance of totals and relationships.
Live use and archive
Compare before and afterNew-record cutoff, staff access and archive retrieval
Exception to resolveBoth systems accepting changes without an owner
Acceptance evidenceCutover decision, issue owners and archive instructions.
Worked example
Illustrative entry: Patient identity · Not accepted. Two records share a name but have different histories. The clinic confirms whether they represent one person or two, then the mapping and sample are checked again.
Thirty2OS application
Use this workflow with Thirty2OS
Thirty2OS presents switching as five steps: assess, prepare, preview, import and reconcile. A representative source sample is reviewed before scope is agreed. The preview should show blocking issues clearly, and the import should use the approved clinic and mappings. After import, open the connected patient record and verify the appointment, clinical, treatment, invoice, payment and follow-up spine rather than relying on a success message.
If the file size, source structure or required field set changes, the current written migration scope is authoritative. Some data may remain archived or require a separately scoped service. Thirty2OS is not affiliated with Dentee. The checklist does not promise a complete or lossless migration from every export, and the clinic remains responsible for authorising data access and accepting reconciliation. Before staff begin live work, record who accepted each sampled area and where unresolved exceptions remain available. This makes the cutover decision reviewable after the migration team has left.
Common pitfalls
Common mistakes to avoid
Review these with the people who book visits, record care and handle payments. Give any unresolved issue an owner and a next review date.
Review with your team
- Modifying the only copy of the source export
- Guessing duplicate identities or financial relationships
- Calling row counts a complete reconciliation
- Sharing live patient data through unapproved channels
- Cutting over before sampled histories and balances are signed off
Practical questions
Will every Dentee field move?
Assessment must establish this from your export and the current importer. Ask for a map of supported records, fields needing cleanup and material that stays archived or needs separate work.
What should we send first?
Begin with clinic count, source system, approximate volumes, required history and intended switching date. Agree the transfer method and authorised reviewers before sharing patient data. Preserve the original export.
PRIMARY AND OFFICIAL SOURCES
References and further reading
Official migration concepts used as further reading for assessment, validation and controlled cutover.
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