Templates let you control how PatientNotes writes your clinical notes, letters, and reports. Instead of editing every note after the session, you set up the structure and style once — and the AI fills it from your consultation every time.
This guide covers how to create your first template. If you want to go deeper on content blocks, format rules, and advanced customisation, see Craft with AI — content blocks and format rules.
Three ways to start a new template
Go to Templates from your dashboard and select + New template. You'll see three starting options:
Import from Notes — paste a sample of an existing note and PatientNotes builds the template structure from it. The fastest way to get started if you already have notes you're happy with.
SOAP template — start with a pre-built Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan layout and customise from there.
Start from scratch — build your template section by section using content blocks.
For most clinicians, Import from Notes is the best starting point.
Import from Notes — building a template from an existing document
If you already have notes or letters you like, you can use them as the basis for a template. You're showing PatientNotes the kind of document you want — the structure, the level of detail, the style — and it builds a first draft for you.
How to import
Select Import from Notes
Paste a sample of your existing clinical note or letter as plain text
Click Infer Template
PatientNotes will analyse the document and generate a draft template with headings and content blocks
This may take up to 30 seconds. Once complete, your template will be populated with a structure based on your sample.
Tips for a clean import
Use plain text — remove tables, images, or complex formatting before pasting
Put a colon after each heading (e.g.
Subjective:notSubjective) — this helps PatientNotes detect your structure correctlyUse a note from a typical session, not an unusual one
What to expect after the import
The import creates a starting draft — not a finished template. PatientNotes does its best to detect your structure, but it may miss some sections or interpret formatting differently than you intended. That's normal.
After the import, review the draft and:
Check that all your sections have been detected correctly
Rename or reorder anything that's off
Add any missing sections manually
Review the content blocks inside each section
Always test against a real session
Once you've reviewed the structure, go to the Test tab and run the template against a real or sample session. This shows you exactly how the output will read before you use it in practice.
If something looks off — a section is missing, the detail level isn't right, the tone doesn't match — go back and adjust the structure or format rules, then test again. This cycle of test → refine is the fastest way to get a template that works the way you want.
Most clinicians get to a template they're happy with in 2–3 test rounds.
Saving your template
Click Save template in the top right corner
Your template will appear under My Templates in the Templates dashboard
Select it from the template dropdown when starting a session
Any changes you make to a template apply to future sessions only — existing notes are not affected.
Next steps
Once your first template is working well, you can:
Create additional templates for different session types (e.g. initial assessment vs follow-up, clinical notes vs letters)
Share templates with your team if you're on a Professional or Clinic plan
Use Craft with AI to go deeper on content blocks, logic, and format rules
See: Craft with AI — content blocks and format rules