CSV Template for Adding Participants, Appointments and 10 Misc Fields (32)
How to Fill Out the 32-Column CSV File
This file is our most inclusive file type which holds participant, appointment, and appointment miscellaneous data. The 32-Column CSV file is what Dialog Health utilizes to transfer your data to our platform. CSV stands for Comma Separated Values and is a commonly used format to exchange data between two different platforms. CSV files can be tricky to read, however, by viewing the file in a program such as Excel, Google Sheets or Apple Numbers, the data will be organized into columns which is a lot easier on the eyes!
Let's go ahead a walk through each column of this file so you can personalize it to your facility's needs!
Scroll to the bottom of this article to download our template of the 32-Column CSV file
*denotes required fields for import
Column A: Last Name*
(Max Char. Count: 50)
In this cell, input your patient's last name.
(i.e. White, Doe)
Column B: First Name*
(Max Char. Count: 50)
In this cell, input your patient's first name.
(i.e. Bob, John)
Column C: Mobile Phone Number*
(Max Char. Count: 50)
In this cell, input your patient's primary contact number. If they have an additional phone number, this can be placed in Column F.
Accepted Formats: xxxxxxxxxx or xxx-xxx-xxxx or (xxx)xxx-xxxx
(i.e. 1234567890, 5555555555)
Column D: Patient ID*
(Max Char. Count: 50)
In this cell, input the ID number associated with that patient. If your organization does not use an identification number, you can place their phone number in this cell.
This column is important for distinguishing patients who may have the same names. If you do not enter anything into this field, Dialog Health will create it's own identification number for the patient.
It is also important that this number is unique per person you assign it to. You may not use the same ID number across different people.
(i.e. ABC123, DEF456)
Column E: DOB
(Max Char. Count: 50)
In this cell, you can input the patients date of birth (DOB).
Accepted Format: MM/DD/YYYY
(i.e. 10/12/2000, 12/22/1972)
Column F: Additional Phone Number
(Max Char. Count: 50)
In this cell, if the patient has a secondary phone number on file, you can place it here.
If there is a secondary number on file, Dialog Health will automatically try to contact that number if the primary phone number is unreachable.
Accepted Formats: xxxxxxxxxx or xxx-xxx-xxxx or (xxx)xxx-xxxx
(i.e. 1111111111)
Column G: Address 1
(Max Char. Count: 250)
In this cell, input the patient's street address.
(i.e. 12 Main St, 231 West Rd, etc.)
Column H: Address 2
(Max Char. Count: 250)
In this cell, if the patient has any secondary information to their address such as an apartment number or suite number, this can be input here.
(i.e. Unit B)
Column I: City
(Max Char. Count: 50)
In this cell, input the city associated with the patient's address.
(i.e. Franklin)
Column J: State
(Max Char. Count: 50)
In this cell, input the state associated with the patient's address.
Accepted Format: 2-letter abbreviation, e.g. OH, TN, FL, IN, etc.,,
(i.e. TN)
Column K: Zip
(Max Char. Count: 50)
In this cell, input the zip code associated with the patient's address.
Accepted Format: xxxxx or xxxxx-xxxx
(i.e. 37067)
Column L: Email
(Max Char. Count: 250)
If the patient has an email address on file that you'd like to add, you can input that in this cell.
Column M-Q: Patient Misc 1-5
(Max Char. Count: 250)
These columns are unique because they are customizable to what you'd like to view in your console. In the example above, Patient Misc 1 was used to show health insurance coverage and Patient Misc 2 shows language preference.
Creating unique selections in these columns can help you set specific rules on the text messages you send when you'd like to reach out to a subgroup of patients.
(i.e. BCBS, AETNA, English, Spanish)
Ideas for Patient Misc 1-5
- Language : English, Spanish, Chinese...
- Preferred Name/Nickname: Bob, Sam, Jimmy
- Health Insurance : BCBS, UHC, Aetna...
- Network Status: OON (Out of Network) versus In Network
- Vaccination Status: Vaccinated versus Unvaccinated
- DRG (Diagnosis Related Groups): Sepsis, HF, Pneumonia...
- Pertinent Health History: Pacemaker, Epilepsy, Hard of Hearing (HOH)
Column R: Appointment ID*
(Max Char. Count: 50)
In this cell, input the ID number associated with that patient's appointment. If your organization does not use an identification number, you can create your own.
If you do not enter anything into this field, Dialog Health will create it's own identification number for the patient appointment. The appointment ID MUST be unique every time. Do not share appointment ID's with similar appointment types.
(i.e. 12345, 67890)
Column S: Appointment Name*
(Max Char. Count: 250)
In this cell, input the name of the patient's appointment.
(i.e. Annual Physical, Flu Shot)
Column T: Appointment Date*
(Max Char. Count: 50)
In this cell, input the patient's scheduled appointment date.
Accepted Format: MM/DD/YYYY
(i.e. 05/27/2022, 05/28/2022)
Column U: Appointment Start Time*
(Max Char. Count: 50)
In this cell, input the patient's schedule appointment time.
Accepted Format: HH:MM AM/PM for 12 hour or HH:MM for 24 hour
(i.e. 8:00 AM, 1:00 PM)
Column V: Appointment Arrival Time
(Max Char. Count: 50)
In this cell, if you do not input anything, Dialog Health will automatically assume the arrival time is the same as the start time. You can leverage this cell if you'd like your patient to arrive earlier than the scheduled appointment time. This functionality is used with Dynamic Tags. In the example above I kept the Arrival time the same as Start time.
Accepted Format: HH:MM AM/PM for 12 hour or HH:MM for 24 hour
(i.e. 8:00 AM, 1:00 PM)
To learn more about Dynamic tags click HERE.
Column W: Appointment Location
(Max Char. Count: 250)
In this cell you can add the location of the patient's appointment.
(i.e. Procedure Room #4, OR Room #1)
Column X: Appointment Status
(Max Char. Count: 50)
In this cell, you can enter in the status of the patients appointment, such as scheduled, cancelled, or rescheduled. This functionality will vary depending on why you are uploading the 32-column CSV file to your console. If you are uploading the file to add new patient appointments, this column would be Scheduled. If you were uploading the file to do a bulk update in patient appointments already added in Dialog Health, this when you may use Rescheduled or Cancelled.
(i.e. Scheduled)
Column Y: Provider Name
(Max Char. Count: 50)
In this cell, you can input the provider name that the patient has an appointment scheduled with.
(i.e. Dr.Smith, Dr.Brown)
Column Z: Provider Phone Number
(Max Char. Count: 50)
If your office, or the provider the patient is scheduled with, has a phone number associated to the clinic, you can place that in this cell.
Accepted Formats: xxxxxxxxxx or xxx-xxx-xxxx or (xxx)xxx-xxxx
(i.e. 4444444444)
Column AA - AE: Appointment Misc 1-5
(Max Char. Count: 250)
These columns are unique because they are customizable to what you'd like to view in your console. In the example above, Appointment Misc 1 was used to show clinic location.
Creating unique selections in this column can help you set specific rules on the text messages you send when you want to reach out to a specific subset of patients.
(i.e. Main, East)
Ideas for Appointment Misc 1-5
- Location: Main, North, East...
- Waitlist: Use "Waitlist" as an identifier for whether or not someone requested an earlier appointment date
- Readmission Status: Use "Readmitted" as an identifier for where or not they were readmitted from a previous visit
- Pre-op Instructions: Use PREP as an identifier when a patient needs instructions related to their procedure texted to them
- Post-Appointment Education: Use EDU when a patient needs educational materials texted to them after their appointment
- Diagnoses Codes: Input diagnoses codes related to the appointment to help with billing
Column AF: Notes
(Max Char. Count: 50)
The notes column is the last column on the file. Here you can add notes related to the patient's appointment.
(i.e. Patient has been fasting for 24 hours)
Keys to Success
- The basic information required to text a person is Last Name, First Name, Mobile Number, Patient ID, Appointment ID, Appointment Date, and Appointment Start Time; It is up to your discretion if you wish to utilize Columns E through L and Columns V - AF in order to better identify your participants.
- The Patient ID and Appointment ID must be unique per each person/appointment you add to your file. If your facility does not use an identification number you may use their phone number. If you do not add one at all, Dialog Health will generate it's own.
- If you have two phone numbers for a patient, you can use the Additional Phone Number field to add the second number. Dialog Health will try both numbers in order to validate the mobile number.
- The template must be saved in CSV format and the 32-columned Header Row must always be present in order to successfully transfer your data into Dialog Health.
- Make sure you follow the character count recommendations, otherwise the overage will not cross over into Dialog Health.
To check your character count in Excel, use the LEN function!
Best Practices for Naming your CSV File
When naming your CSV file, the ideal configuration would include, the facility name associated with the data, a short description of the data and the date and time of when the data was retrieved. Naming the file this way will help you keep track of the data you have uploaded into Dialog Health.
File has to be saved in CSV format in order to successfully upload to Dialog Health
Standard - FacilityName_ContentDescription_MMDDYY_HHMM.csv
Examples:
GreySloanMemorial_ColonoscopyRecall_011521_1400.csv
SacredHeartHosiptal_DrKelsosPatients_120221_1045.csv
SeasideHealth&WellnessCenter_LALocationAppointments_060621_0545.csv
To learn more about uploading your CSV file into Dialog Health, click HERE
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