Deleting data that was entered incorrectly

When is it okay to delete data?

Knowing when to delete client data can be tricky. Ask yourself the following questions: Was the data ever true for the client? Did the client have a life event that changed their situation or was the data entered incorrectly? Did the client tell you one thing but then later tell you something different? Did another HMIS user enter data that conflicts with what the client has told you (check out this article)?

Some data elements can have multiple answers - the answers change with time and the HMIS can track those changes. But there are some data elements that should have one and only one value for each client record. These are data elements that should have only one value: Name, Social Security Number, Data of Birth, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Veteran Status. If one of these data elements is incorrect or outdated, the data must be corrected and the old value should be deleted.

For more information about data elements, please see the HMIS Data Standards Manual.

How to delete client data

Login to the Minnesota ServicePoint site.
EDA to the provider that you created the data in. If you are deleting data, you have to be in EDA mode to the provider that created the data.
Search for and enter the client record that needs data deleted.
Go to the appropriate tab that you will be deleting data from – Client Profile, Entry/Exit, or the Assessments tab are the most common.
Click on the history bar (may be red, brown, or green) to the left of the data element, then click on the trash can next to the value you want to delete.

After you've deleted the data, there is one of two things you can do:
1. If you are only deleting data, exit the client record – do not Save after deleting the data.
2. If you are deleting data and recording a new value, select the new answer then Save & Exit.

Exception : If you need to delete data within the 3.917 Living Situation series (pg. 100), you will need to contact the Helpdesk to delete them. Because of the conditional logic that is used in that question series, only System Admins are able to delete them. Re-answering and saving over the old value will not fix the issue, so please contact us when you need something deleted in that question series.

How to delete a Service Transaction

Note: if the Service Transaction has been shared with other providers, you may need to contact the Helpdesk and request that the Service Transaction is deleted, as you will not be able to delete it.

EDA to the provider that created the service transaction.
Enter the Head of Household’s client record.
Click on the Service Transactions tab.
Click on View Entire Service History.
Delete the Need that corresponds to the service (this will delete the service) by clicking on the trash can to the left of Need.
- Note: A need is automatically generated when you create a service transaction.
If you are working with a household, you will have to delete the Need and Service from each household member’s client record. Repeat step 5 until you have deleted the Need and Service from each household member’s record.
Note: If you get this error message “This Need has active Fund Requests. These Fund Requests must be voided before this Need can be deleted” when you are trying to delete a need, you will need to delete the funding source. You need to first open the service transaction to delete the Funding Source. Then try deleting the need again!

How to delete an Entry/Exit record

EDA to the provider that created the Entry/Exit record that you want to delete.
Search for and enter the client record that needs the Entry/Exit record deleted.

Navigate to the Entry/Exit tab (1).
Click on the trash can next to the Entry/Exit record you want to delete (2).
Click on Yes to confirm you want to delete the Entry/Exit record (3).
If the Entry/Exit record had other household members associated with it, you will need to delete the Entry/Exit record in each client record by repeating steps 2-5.

How to delete an Exit Date

If you accidentally added an Exit Date to a client's Entry/Exit record, then you don't need to delete the entire Entry/Exit record and simply need to delete the Exit Date.

EDA to the provider that created the Entry/Exit record.
Search for and enter the client record that needs the Exit Date deleted.

Navigate to the Entry/Exit tab (1).
Click on the edit pencil next to the Exit Date you want to delete (2).
Click on the trash can next to the text "Edit Exit Data" that appears in the middle of the pop-up window (3).
Click on Yes to confirm you want to delete the Exit Data (4).
If the Entry/Exit record had other household members associated with it, you will need to delete the Exit Date in each client record by repeating steps 2-6.

How to delete sub-assessment data

If you created a duplicate line in a sub-assessment, you can delete one of the duplicates you created. Before deleting sub-assessment data, make sure you should be deleting a line instead of ending a line. For more information about this, you can refer to the When and How to Update Sub-assessment Information document.

EDA to the provider that created the sub-assessment line that you want to delete.
Search for and enter the client record that needs the sub-assessment line deleted.
Navigate to either the Entry/Exit tab or the Assessments tab.
From the sub-assessment table, click on the trash can to the left of the line item you want to delete.

Note: You may need to click on Next and Previous buttons to navigate to that record.
DO NOT click on the magnifying glass: the system does not allow users to edit or delete info when a record is opened using the magnifying glass.

How to delete a client

Deleting client records is not a common practice and client records should only be deleted if you added a client to HMIS by mistake. Please contact our Helpdesk for assistance, since users are not able to delete client records on their own.

How to delete a household and/or household member

Important: You should only delete households and household members if you made a mistake and the client(s) should have never been included in the household. Never use the leave household function in ServicePoint. When in doubt, contact our Helpdesk for guidance!

If household member is exiting before the other household members, you just need to exit them from the household's Entry/Exit record.

Delete a household

Go to the Households tab and locate the household.

Click Manage Household (1).
Click the trash can to the left of the household ID and type (2).
Click on Yes to confirm you want to delete the household (3).

Delete a household member

Go to the Households tab and locate the household to update.

Click Manage Household (1).
Click Add/Delete Household Members (2).
Click the trash can to the left of the household member you wish to delete from the household (3).
- NOTE: This will not delete the client from the system—it will only delete them from that particular household. They will then become a single client.
- If you also entered this client into the household project entry or services, you will also need to delete any entry exit records or services records that were entered for this client as part of the household project entry/services.