> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.healos.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Templates and dot phrases

> Make the note sound like you: custom templates, section instructions, and reusable snippets.

## The two built-in templates

**New Patient Visit** and **Follow-Up Patient Visit** are fixed. You cannot edit their sections. If you want a different structure, create a custom template and set it as your default.

## Create a custom template

Sidebar → **Templates** → **Template Library**.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start from a predefined template (fastest)">
    Open the **Predefined** tab, preview a template, click **Customize**. It is copied into your **Custom** tab as "Copy of …".

    Or start from scratch: **New Template** → name it, choose **Note** or **Document** → **Proceed**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add sections">
    Pick from the library on the right: Chief Complaint, HPI, Physical Exam, Assessment, Plan, and 200 more.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set each section's instructions">
    Each section has a **format** (Paragraph, Bullet Points, or Static), a **title**, **content instructions**, optional **layout** notes, and an **example**. The instructions are where you control style.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose visibility and save">
    **Org shared** makes it available to the whole practice. **Private** keeps it yours. Click **Save Template**. It now appears in **Choose template** on the session screen.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  **Generate Template** builds a template for you from a PDF of an existing note or pasted text. Pick a detail level (**Short**, **Moderate**, **Detailed**) and review the result.
</Tip>

## Make the note match how you dictate

The most common request we get. Put these in a section's **content instructions**.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Word-for-word dictation (imaging reports, procedure notes)">
    Add a section for the report and paste:

    > When I dictate this section, transcribe it word-for-word exactly as spoken. Do not paraphrase, summarize, reorder, or rewrite it into narrative prose. Preserve my phrasing and terminology. Only remove filler words and apply dictated punctuation such as "period", "comma", and "new line".

    Adding a one-line example in your own style anchors the output further.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="No referral suggestions in your own specialty">
    In the Plan section instructions:

    > The author is the \[specialty] specialist. Do not suggest referral to \[specialty].

    Also make sure your **Specialty** setting is exact. Choose **Other** and type the sub-specialty if needed.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Only what the patient confirmed">
    > Record only conditions the patient confirmed. Do not list negatives or "denies" statements in this section.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Layout: one item per line, flush left">
    > Each item on its own line, flush left, no paragraphs.

    Or set the section format to **Bullet Points**.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Boilerplate you say every time">
    Use a dot phrase instead (below). Dot phrases insert verbatim by design.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Note>
  Support can set any of these up for you. Tell us which template you use.
</Note>

## Dot phrases

Reusable text snippets. Set up a short cue once, and HealOS expands it into the full text.

Sidebar → **Dot Phrases** → **New dot phrase**.

* **Content**: the full text to insert.
* **Shorthand**: a short code, for example `nlchest`. In a note, type `. /nlchest` and pick it from the list.
* **Verbal trigger** (optional): a phrase you say out loud during the visit, for example "normal chest exam". When the note generates, the content is added for you.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="When a verbal trigger will appear">
    - The trigger is turned on, **and**
    - You actually said it during the visit, **and**
    - The content fits a section of the template you used, **and**
    - The content makes sense for that visit.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="When it will not appear">
    * You did not say the trigger, or said something different.
    * The verbal trigger is turned off.
    * The content has nowhere to go. "Great to see you too" has no section. A lung exam line will not appear in a mental-health template with no physical exam section.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

| Content | Lands in | Works in |
| - | - | - |
| Lungs clear to auscultation bilaterally; heart regular rate and rhythm. | Physical Exam | a medical visit template |
| Endorses inattention, distractibility, and procrastination; denies hyperactivity. | ROS: ADHD | a psychiatry template |
| Great to see you too | nowhere | will not appear |


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