Building a note template
Build reusable note skeletons with placeholder syntax, or import from the 18-template library — SOAP, DAP, intake, and referral letters.
A note template is a reusable skeleton for clinical documentation. Instead of writing a SOAP note from a blank page every visit, you apply a template and fill in the gaps. Templates are what make the AI-drafted note and the visit summary consistent across your practice.
The Templates page
Go to Library → Templates in the left sidebar — "create and manage templates with [placeholder] syntax".
The page has two parts. Along the top are your templates, plus New Template to build one. Below is the Library — "predefined clinical templates ready to import and customize", 18 in total.
Import a ready-made template
The fastest start is to import. The library is tagged by specialty — All, SOAP, Intake, Referrals, Primary Care, Mental Health, Therapy, Pediatrics, Functional Medicine — with a count on each tab.
Each card shows the template name, a description, and the specialty it belongs to. Two actions:
- Preview — read the template before taking it.
- Import — copy it into your own templates, where you can edit it.
The library covers the common note types out of the box: SOAP Note, Past Surgical History (PSHx), Past Medical History (PMHx), ADHD Assessment, Therapy Progress Note, Pediatric Well Visit, Mental Status Exam, Treatment Plan Update, Discharge Summary, Follow-Up Visit, Medication Review, Care Coordination Note, Medical Referral Letter, Comprehensive Encounter Note, and more.
Import first, edit second. It's faster to take the closest match and adjust it than to build from nothing, and the imported version is fully yours to change.
Placeholders
The defining feature is [placeholder] syntax. Text in square brackets becomes a fill-in field when the template is applied to a visit — [patient name], [reason for visit], [chief complaint]. The SOAP template, for example, lays out Subjective / Objective / Assessment / Plan with placeholders for the patient's presentation and history.
When the AI drafts a note or you apply the template manually, those placeholders are where the specific content goes. Everything outside the brackets stays fixed, which is what keeps notes consistent.
Name placeholders for what goes in them, clearly enough that anyone on the team knows what to write. [reason for visit] is self-explanatory; [field1] is not.
Build your own
Click New Template to start from scratch. Write your structure as plain text and mark the fill-in points with [square brackets].
A good template is mostly fixed structure with placeholders only where content genuinely varies. If nearly everything is a placeholder, the template isn't saving anyone time — the value is in the fixed scaffolding around the gaps.
Where templates are used
Templates surface in two places:
- Visit summary — the Template control on a visit's Summary applies one directly. See Creating a consultation / starting a visit.
- AI-drafted notes — the note generator uses your template as its structure, so the draft comes back already shaped.
Related library pages sit alongside this one: Questionnaires (patient-facing intake forms) and Consents (forms sent for signature).
Related guides