How do I record a session?
From your dashboard, tap or click New Session, enter the patient name, select a template, and press Record. PatientNotes will capture the audio and automatically generate your clinical note when you press Stop.
Check the audio meter before you start talking
When you start recording, watch the audio level meter — a moving bar that responds to sound. Before you begin the consultation, say a few words or make sure there's sound in the room and confirm the bar is moving in response.
A moving bar means your microphone is being picked up and the session is capturing audio. If the bar is flat and not moving while there is sound, the microphone isn't being captured — stop, check your microphone is selected and permitted, and start again before continuing. Keep half an eye on the meter through the session too, not just at the start — this is the best way to notice if the microphone drops out partway through.
Reduce the risk of a "no audio" session
A few quick habits make silent-capture problems much less likely:
Turn on the No-audio alert. In settings, enable No-audio alert — it plays an alert in the first 30 seconds of recording if no microphone input is detected. This catches a microphone that's dead from the start of a session.
Turn your device and room volume up. Make sure your speaker and system volume are up and the microphone is close enough to pick up both voices clearly, so there's a strong signal for the meter and the alert to detect.
Watch the meter throughout, as above — the No-audio alert only checks the start of a session, so the meter is your best signal if audio drops out mid-consult.
These reduce the risk but aren't a guarantee. If a note ever comes back empty even though the meter looked fine during the session, that's usually a capture-saving issue on our side rather than something you did — see Recording, transcript or note problem? Start here. Most of these repair automatically within about an hour.
Keep the session tab active while recording
If you're recording in a browser, keep the PatientNotes tab open and active during the session. Switching to another browser tab can interrupt audio capture on some browsers. If you need to look something else up mid-session, open it in a separate window rather than switching tabs, or use the desktop or mobile app, which aren't affected.
How do I upload an existing audio file?
If you've already recorded a session outside of PatientNotes and want to upload the audio file:
Click New Session
Select the Upload Audio tab
Choose your audio file and upload it
PatientNotes will transcribe and generate your clinical note from the uploaded file
How do I ensure my notes are legally signed off by the correct practitioner when using Nookal?
When using the PatientNotes to Nookal integration, you can add a consent and attribution statement to your template so it appears in every generated note. This makes it clear who conducted the session and that AI assistance was used.
You can paste the following into your template as a section, or add it to your existing note structure:
This clinical note was generated with the assistance of PatientNotes AI documentation software. The treating clinician, [Clinician Name], has reviewed, edited as required, and approved this note. AI consent was obtained from the patient prior to this session.
To add this to your template, go to Settings → Templates, open the relevant template, and add a new section at the bottom with this text as the default content. Set it to Always so it appears in every note.
Still have questions?
Chat with us via the help widget inside PatientNotes or email [email protected].