How to write notes faster
Four note formats, clinic templates and predefined texts. Plus the two time limits after which a note can no longer be freely edited.
The note is mandatory and nobody will write it for you, but most of the repetitive work can be taken off it. This guide walks through choosing a format, preparing your own template, and saving the fragments you type for every other patient — and, at the end, through the signature that closes the entry for good.
How to do it
Choose the note format
The Note format field in the workspace has four values:
- SOAP — four fields: Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan.
- Free Text — one field with the hint Document your session....
- Template — fields defined by the clinic.
- Visit Card — a structured examination with separate sections.
Changing the format mid-writing does not delete what is already saved, but the new format has different fields, so the earlier text stops being visible in the editor. Pick the format before the first sentence, not halfway through.
Start from a ready template
Select a template opens a list split into System Templates and Custom Templates, with search and a Last used marker.
Switching template mid-writing is warned about with the sentence Switching templates will clear your unsaved field values. — read it before you click.
Build your own template only after two weeks
You create custom templates in Settings → Note Templates. A system template cannot be edited or switched off — to adapt one, use Duplicate and edit the copy.
Do not build the perfect template on day one. Write for two weeks on the system one and see what you add by hand every time. What recurs is material for a template; the rest is guesswork.
Deleting a template does not touch the notes that used it — they display with a note saying the template has been deleted.
Save recurring fragments as predefined texts
In the visit card every descriptive field has Save as predefined text. You give it a Name, and the field's content joins your list and will be suggested in that same field for other patients too — with the Insert predefined text button.
Deleting a predefined text removes it from the suggestions but does not touch what you have already inserted into visits.
Write — saving happens by itself
Under the field sits Draft saved once the changes have been kept. Coming back to an unfinished note you will see Draft restored. With no network Heltio shows No connection — your draft has been saved and delivers the text once the connection returns.
Leaving with unsaved changes brings up the Unsaved note dialog with a choice of Keep editing or Leave (draft saved).
Attach files if there are any
You can attach at most 10 attachments to one note, each up to 10 MB. The accepted formats: JPEG, PNG, HEIC, PDF, DOCX. Every file can carry its own caption.
Sign — and know what you are giving up
Save and sign the visit opens the confirmation Sign and lock this entry? After confirming, Heltio acknowledges with The entry has been signed and locked., and the entry gets a Signed marker with the name and date, and Version 1.
The note has two time limits. The first is the editing window — 48 hours from creation, after which the entry becomes read-only. The second is the signature, which closes the entry immediately, regardless of those 48 hours.
A signed entry is corrected only through Add amendment — a new revision with a Reason for amendment field, at least ten characters, because the reason is part of the record.
Who has access
PractitionerThe note is written and signed by the person running the visit. Reception can book and settle the visit but does not open the clinical note.
Related
- Clinical notes, signature and amendment — the full description of the formats, the signature and versioning.
- Visit workspace — the screen where all of this happens.
- How to generate a summary draft — what to do after signing the note.