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When you create an order for a patient who already has an open order, Blend merges the new one into it. You receive the existing order in the response, with "merged_into_existing": true to confirm what happened. This is deliberate: it means a patient who orders three times in a morning gets one shipment rather than three. An order is mergeable while it is in received or paused status, or is an exception (stuck) order created within the last 24 hours. Once it reaches picked or later, a new order is created instead.

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What you get back

The id and order_number in the response belong to the original order, not a new one. If your system assumes every create returns a distinct order, a merge will look like a duplicate ID. Always check merged_into_existing.

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Preventing a merge

Pass force_new=true as a querystring argument:
The same parameter works on the composite endpoint. Use it when the orders genuinely must stay separate — most commonly when a patient has asked for one order to go to a different address.

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What happens to shipping on a merge

Shipping details on the new request are inherited by the existing order:
  • A new shipping address replaces the original one — the whole merged order goes to the new address.
  • A new shipping preference (carrier or service level) replaces the original.
This is the reason to reach for force_new=true when a patient wants a separate delivery. Without it, a second order bound for a different address will silently redirect the first one too.

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Which orders can be merged into

An order can be merged into while it is:
  • in received status,
  • in paused status, or
  • an exception (stuck) order created within the last 24 hours.
The 24-hour window on stuck orders lets same-day prescriptions still ship together when a hold is released, while making sure a long-standing hold on one medication doesn’t delay unrelated new prescriptions. Once an order reaches picked or later, it is locked and a new order is created for that patient instead. See Order Merging for the canonical description, and order statuses for what each stage means.
Merging also happens for orders created in the Blend Dashboard, and for orders Blend creates automatically from inbound prescriptions. It is a property of the order pipeline, not of the API.

Create an order

Accepts force_new

Composite creation

Also accepts force_new

Order merging reference

Canonical rules in the overview

Get a patient's orders

See what’s already open