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Prerequisites: You should have Providers set up before configuring note templates, since templates can be restricted to specific providers.
Templates ensure every provider documents consistently. Instead of free-typing notes, providers fill in structured fields — which makes notes easier to review, search, and use for AI-powered features like Scribe. Note templates define the structured forms that providers use to document clinical encounters. Each template contains a set of fields (questions) that guide providers through consistent documentation. Templates support multiple field types, vitals tracking, medication logging, image attachments, and patient health data auto-fill.

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Create a Note Template

1

Navigate to Note Templates

Go to Settings > Clinical > Note Templates.
2

Start Creation

Click the Create Note Template button in the top right corner. This opens the template editor.
3

Enter Template Name

Type a name for your template in the Template Name field at the top of the editor (e.g., “Initial Consultation”, “Follow-Up Visit”, “Botox Treatment”).
4

Add Fields from the Sidebar

Use the left sidebar to add fields to your template. Click any field type to append it to the form. Available field categories:
  • Form Fields: Short Text, Long Text, Number, Date, Yes/No, Single Choice, Multiple Choice.
  • Display & Signature:
    • Signature — a box where the provider draws a signature (for example, to sign off on the visit). It shows on the saved note and the printed copy.
    • Disclaimer / Display Text — a block of fixed text that shows on the note (such as a consent statement or disclaimer). Providers don’t fill it in; it just displays.
    • Statement — a fixed bulleted list that shows on the note. Like a disclaimer, it’s display-only.
  • Medications: Structured medication dose tracking (dose, frequency, lot number).
  • Patient reported medications: Brings the patient’s reported medications into the note so the provider can review and update them. Adding one uses the same search box patients see on a form — type a drug name, pick the strength and form, or add it without one.
  • Today’s Items: Lets the provider pick the services and products performed or sold during the visit. Anything chosen here appears in checkout’s Today’s Items for billing.
  • Table: A grid with rows and columns that the provider fills in cell by cell — for example, laser settings recorded across several treatment steps. You set the starting row labels and column headers when building the template. When AI Scribe is used, it pre-fills the cells from the consultation for the provider to review. While writing the note, the provider types a value into each cell and can also add extra rows or columns (for example, an extra treatment step) and drag a column border to make it wider. Those note-time additions are saved on that note only and don’t change the template.
  • Vitals: Weight and Height fields that save to patient records.
  • Measurements: Individual fields from Settings > Clinical > Measurements. Whatever the provider records flows into the patient’s measurement history.
  • Measurement Groups: A measurement group from settings — adds every field in the group as a section of the note.
  • Patient Health Data: Fields that fill from the patient’s health record. Includes both standard and custom health data fields.
  • Attachments: Photo Upload (for images with annotation support) and Document Upload (for PDFs and documents).
  • Dental (dental practices only): Dental Chart, Perio Chart, and Occlusion & TMJ fields. See Dental Charting.
5

Configure Each Field

Click on any field in the editor to expand its settings:
  • Name: The label shown to providers when filling out the note.
  • Description: Optional helper text displayed below the field name.
  • Required: Turn on Required to make the field mandatory.
  • Field Type: Choose the question type: Short Text, Long Text, Number, Date, Yes/No, Single Choice, or Multiple Choice.
  • Options: For Single Choice and Multiple Choice fields, add the selectable options.
  • Disclaimer Content: For a Disclaimer / Display Text field, type the text that should show on the note.
  • Statement Points: For a Statement field, add each bullet point.
  • Signature Instructions: For a Signature field, optionally add a short instruction (e.g., “Provider signature”).
  • Table grid: A Table field starts as a single row and column. Type directly into the row and column headers to name them, and use the Add row / Add column buttons to grow the grid — the same grid the provider fills in the note. The provider fills in a value for every cell when writing the note.
  • Placeholder Images: For Photo Upload fields, add named placeholders that guide providers on what images to capture.
  • Show this question when…: Add conditions so a follow-up field only appears once an earlier field has a particular answer.
6

Reorder Fields

Drag fields using the grip handle on the left side of each field card to reorder them. The order determines how providers see the fields when creating a note.
7

Set Expiry (Optional)

Enter a value in the Expiry Days field to set how many days after creation a note based on this template expires. Leave blank for no expiry.
8

Configure Provider Access

Under Provider Access, choose who can use this template:
  • Everyone: All providers in your organization can use this template.
  • Specific Providers: Select individual providers. You can filter by location and search by name.
9

Save

Click Save. The template is immediately available for providers to use when creating clinical notes.

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Build Templates With Ask Decoda

Open Ask Decoda from the right sidebar and describe the template you want to create or change. You can reference an existing template by name, attach a file to recreate, or ask for changes such as adding fields, moving questions between sections, and setting conditional rules. Ask Decoda shows a Review suggested changes card before changing your templates. Select the changes you want, then click Apply selected. Click Reject to discard the suggestion. Example requests:
  • “Build a template for a Botox consultation with treatment areas, units per area, and before/after photo uploads”
  • “Add weight and height fields to the Weight Loss Consult template”
  • “Move the weight field into the Vitals section”
  • “Show the packs-per-day field only when Smoker is answered Yes”

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Show Follow-up Fields Only When They Apply

You can keep a follow-up field out of the way until it’s relevant. For example, show “Packs per day” only when “Smoker” is answered Yes. The field stays hidden while the note is written, and appears the moment the answer it depends on matches.
1

Open the follow-up field

In the template editor, click the field that should only appear in certain cases.
2

Add a condition

Under Show this question when…, click Add Condition. Pick the field to check, choose how to compare it, and enter or select the answer that should reveal the follow-up field.Only fields above this one can be picked, because the answer has to be given before the follow-up field is reached. If the field you want isn’t in the list, drag it higher in the template first.
3

Choose how the answer is compared

Use Equals for one exact answer, Not Equals for any answer except that one, or Contains when the answer only needs to include a value. Yes/No and choice fields let you pick from their own answers.Date fields can also be compared by age. Is At Least matches a date that far back or further — a date of birth “Is At Least 18” matches anyone 18 or older. Is Within Last matches a date inside that many years, such as a last visit within the last 2 years. Both take a whole number of years.
4

Add more conditions if needed

Click Add Condition again for each extra rule. The follow-up field shows only when every condition matches.
5

Save the template

Click Save. Providers will see the field appear and disappear as they answer the note.
To remove one condition, click its trash icon. Removing every condition sets the field back to Always visible (no conditions set). A few things worth knowing:
  • Whole sections can be conditional too. Add conditions to a section to hide it and everything inside it at once. A section can’t depend on one of its own fields — hiding the section would hide the answer meant to reveal it.
  • Rules follow each other. If a hidden field is what another field depends on, that one hides as well.
  • Notes already written don’t change. Adding a condition later doesn’t remove anything from notes that were signed before it existed.
  • Patients only see fields that applied. Hidden fields are left out of the patient’s copy of the note entirely.

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Group Fields into Sections

Sections group related fields under a heading and let you arrange them side by side. They’re useful for longer templates — for example, separating “Vitals”, “Chief Complaint”, and “Treatment Plan” into distinct blocks instead of one long list.
1

Add a Section

In the template editor, click Add Section at the bottom of the field list. A new section block appears.
2

Name the Section

Click the section header and type a name (e.g., “Vitals”, “Treatment Plan”). The name is shown to providers when they fill out the note.
3

Choose a Column Layout

Use the 1 / 2 / 3 picker in the section header to set how many columns the fields should be arranged in. New sections default to 2 columns.
4

Add Fields to the Section

Click Add Question inside the section, or drag existing fields into it using the grip handle. Reorder fields within a section the same way.
5

Collapse or Remove

Click the chevron in the section header to collapse a section while editing. Click the trash icon to delete a section — its fields move out of the section and remain in the template.
Photo Upload, Document Upload, Medications, Body Map, and Table fields always span the full width of a section, even in a 2- or 3-column layout. All other field types follow the column layout you choose. When a provider opens a note built from a sectioned template, each section appears as a collapsible block with the column layout you configured. See AI Scribe for how sections behave during note review.

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Add Measurements to a Template

Use Measurements when the note should collect one custom measurement field. Use Measurement Groups when the note should collect a full set of related fields, such as vitals, body composition, or lab values. Adding a measurement group creates a section named after the group and adds each editable field in that group. Calculated fields are not added because Decoda fills them in after the needed values exist. When a provider saves a note, values entered in measurement fields are saved to the patient’s Measurements section and linked to that note. In AI Scribe notes, review AI-filled measurement values before clicking Save.

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Edit a Template

From the Note Templates page, click on a template name to open the editor. You can modify any field, reorder questions, add new fields, or remove existing ones. Click Save when finished. Each field in the editor shows a preview of how it will appear to providers. You can:
  • Click any field to enter edit mode and modify its settings.
  • Click Done on an expanded field to collapse it.
  • Click the trash icon to delete a field.

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Patient View

The Patient View setting controls which parts of a note from this template are shared with patients — both in the patient portal and as the starting selection when a provider prints a note.
1

Open Patient View

On the Note Templates page, open the Patient View option for the template.
2

Turn on patient sharing

Enable Visible to patient so signed-off notes from this template appear in the patient’s portal.
3

Choose which fields patients see

Check or uncheck each field. Only the checked fields are shared; you can also reorder them and choose whether to include the note summary.
4

Save

Save your changes. This selection becomes the default for both the patient portal and the print Select what to include window (see Sign-Off and Printing).

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Manage the Template Table

The template list page provides several ways to organize and manage your templates.
  • Search: Use the search bar to filter templates by name or ID.
  • Sort: Click the Name or Created Date column headers to sort ascending or descending.
  • Pagination: Navigate through pages using the pagination controls at the bottom.
  • Row Actions: Click the three-dot menu on any template row to access quick actions: Edit, Duplicate, Edit Provider Access, Patient view, Export PDF for Printing, or Delete.

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Duplicate a Template

To create a copy of an existing template:
  1. On the Note Templates page, find the template you want to duplicate.
  2. Click the three-dot menu on the template row.
  3. Select Duplicate.
The system creates a new template named “[Original Name] (Copy)” with the same fields, provider access, and expiry settings, and opens it in the editor so you can start making changes right away. To get a paper copy of a template with all its questions and no answers — useful for filling in by hand and typing up later — click the three-dot menu on the template row and select Export PDF for Printing. The PDF downloads with your clinic’s logo at the top and ruled writing lines under each question. To print several at once, tick the templates you want, then click Export PDF for Printing on the bulk actions bar at the bottom of the page.

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Configure Provider Access

Provider access controls which providers can see and use a template when creating notes.
1

Open Provider Access

Click the three-dot menu on a template row and select Edit Provider Access, or click the access cell directly in the table.
2

Choose Access Mode

  • Everyone: All providers in your organization can use this template.
  • Specific Providers: Manually select which providers have access.
3

Select Providers (if Specific)

When using Specific Providers mode:
  • Providers are grouped by location for easy selection.
  • Check individual providers or use the location checkbox to select all providers at a location.
  • Use the search bar to find providers by name.
  • Use the All and None quick-select buttons.
4

Save

Click Save to apply the access changes.

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Bulk Delete Templates

To delete multiple templates at once:
  1. Select templates by checking the boxes in the left column of the table.
  2. A bulk actions bar appears at the bottom of the page showing the number of selected templates.
  3. Click Delete on the bulk actions bar.
  4. Confirm when prompted. This action cannot be undone.

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Manage Image Tags

Image tags are used to categorize and label photo attachments on clinical notes. They appear below the template table on the Note Templates page. Once created, tags can be applied to individual photos within a note or gallery, or assigned to multiple photos at once using bulk actions.

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Create a Tag

1

Navigate to Image Tags

Scroll down below the template table to the Image Tags section.
2

Create Tag

Click the Create Tag button.
3

Enter Details

  • Name: A descriptive label for the tag (e.g., “Before”, “After”, “Left Side”).
  • Color: Select a color using the color picker. This color appears as a visual badge on tagged images.
4

Save

Click Create Tag. The tag is immediately available for use on note attachments.

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Edit or Delete a Tag

  • Click on a tag row in the Image Tags table to open the editor. Change the name or color and click Save Changes.
  • To delete a tag, click the three-dot menu on the tag row and select Delete. Confirm the deletion. This removes the tag from all images it was applied to.

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Advanced Configuration

If your organization previously used legacy free-text note templates, a migration banner appears at the top of the Note Templates page. Legacy templates can be converted to the new structured form format for better organization, reporting, and AI integration. Click the migration link in the banner for details on the conversion process.
Vitals, Measurements, Measurement Groups, Patient Health Data, and Medication fields update the patient chart when a provider saves the note. Each linked field can only be added once. Once added, it appears grayed out in the sidebar.
Fields from the Patient Health Data category auto-populate with the patient’s existing health record values when a provider creates a new note. This saves time and ensures accuracy for recurring data like allergies, conditions, and custom health fields.
The Photo Upload field supports named placeholders that serve as guides for providers. For example, a “Facial Treatment” template might include placeholders named “Front View”, “Left Profile”, and “Right Profile”. Providers see these placeholders and can upload images directly into each slot. Placeholder images can also be pre-uploaded as reference guides.
Providers can favorite templates for quick access. Favorited templates appear at the top of the template selection list when creating a new note. This is managed at the individual provider level and does not affect other users.
Note template management is gated by role-based permissions:
  • View Note Templates — Required to view the Note Templates page and see template details.
  • Manage Note Templates — Required to create, edit, duplicate, and delete note templates, as well as manage image tags.
  • Manage Note Template Access — Required to configure which providers can use a template (the Provider Access settings). Without this permission, the provider access controls are hidden.
Admin users have full access to all note template settings by default.
When set, notes created from the template will have an expiry date calculated as the note creation date plus the configured number of days. Expired notes are flagged in the system. Leave this field blank if notes should not expire.