Letter templates

Letter templates

Letter templates are a predefined letter layout, including headers/footers and commonly typed text. This standardizes outgoing letters from the clinic, as well as reducing the time taken to produce new letters. Setting up templates with form fields allows for patient and doctor information to automatically pull into the letter in specific areas saving time copying and pasting from client cards and chart notes.

 

Examples of common letter templates:

  1. Referral letters.
  2. Consult reports.
  3. Sick notes.
  4. Accounts payable letters.

The text in the angle brackets in capital letters are the form fields that will pull into the letter based on the patient the template is for.

Creating a new letter template

Setup > letters > letter template entry.
  1. Create a name for the template.
  2. Select the practitioner if it will always be the same doctor using this template.
  3. Select the type of letter from the dropdown. Click here to learn how to add/edit letter types.
You can also copy an existing template to get started:
  1. Click templates.
  2. Select a template from the list.
  3. Click ok.
  4. Edit the template from there using the tools as shown below.
It is common for letters to have a clinic header with the clinic name, logo, address etc; click the 'header/footer' button to move the cursor to the header location and edit as desired.

Using form fields in a letter template
Use form fields to pull in any patient information, such as name, demographics, referral doctor information.
  1. Place cursor where you want the information to pull into.
  2. Click the form fields button. 

  1. Select the type of information from the radio buttons.
  2. Highlight the name of the field you want to pull, clicking on multiple if looking for more than one thing.


  1. Click ok, it will look something like what is shown below, depending on the fields selected.

  1. Type in any free text that will always be in this type of letter, for example an opening sentence.
  2. Click Save
Using form fields to populate charting information

Simplify your letter writing by using form fields to pull information directly from your chart notes into your letters.

Use the form fields button to select chart notes or chart note values from the list. Select the chart note and field that you would like to have linked to the letter.

             


Use the selection options at the bottom to determine how you would like to choose the visit that you would like the information to populate from.


  1. Pop up pick – the previous default, a list will populate of the chart notes that you can select from.
  2. Newest chart – the chart note most recently created will automatically be selected.
  3. Latest chart saved – the chart note that has been most recently updated and saved will automatically be selected.
  4. Max Value – used for dates or numeric values, the highest value (or most recent date) found in the patient’s chart will be selected.
  5. Min value - used for dates or numeric values, the lowest value (or oldest date) found in the patient’s chart will be selected.
*Note: if selecting a Framingham risk score, the only available option is the pop up pick.

Edit an existing letter template

Setup > Letters > Letter template entry.

Select the letter to edit from the list of existing templates.

Scroll down to the letter, make edits as required.

*Note, making edits to these templates will NOT edit the existing letters on patient charts.

Letter formatting tools


  1. Font type – change the font type.
  2. Font size – change the size of font.
  3. Bold – will format selected text in bold.
  4. Italics – will format selected text in italics.
  5. Underline – will underline selected text.
  6. Left alignment – will align selected text to the left.
  7. Right alignment – will align selected text to the right.
  8. Center alignment – will center select text in the middle of the page.
  9. Justify alignment – will center selected text evenly across the page.
  10. Zoom – increase or decrease the zoom percentage.
  11. Numbering – will create a numbered list from paragraphs selected.
  12. Bulleting – will create a bulleted list from paragraphs selected.
  13. Left tab – will set a left tab when a tab is placed in the ruler.
  14. Right tab – will set a right tab when a tab is placed in the ruler.
  15. Decimal tab – will set a decimal aligned tab when a tab is placed on the ruler.
  16. Center tab – will set a center aligned tab when a tab is placed on the ruler.


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