How to Manage Correspondence Templates

You can set up templates for both letter (PDF format) and email correspondences; define the language, purpose, and target audience for each template; and add logos, letterheads, or other types of images, and indicate whether the correspondence should be included as a clinical note in the patient's chart.

• Use the Patient Lists Reporting feature (Dashboard > Reports > Patient List) to access the templates and send correspondence to patients who meet the specified criteria.
• Use the Patient Correspondence feature (Patient tab > Correspondence) to create and manage correspondence for individual patients. See How to Send Patient Correspondence or Email for more information.

For more information on using these templates, see How to Generate Patient List Reports.

To create a new correspondence template:

1. From the User menu, select Administration, and then select a location if necessary.
2. Select Templates > Correspondence Templates.
   The Correspondence Template window is displayed.
   
3. Under Actions, click Create New Template. A New Template form is displayed.
   
4. Select a Template Category from the list: Clinical, Financial, Recall, Referral, Scheduling.
5. Enter a unique Template Name.
6. Select a Template Format: Email or Letter.
7. For Addressee, select one: Patient, Patient Doctor, Referral Source, Responsible Party, Standard.
   Note:  If you select Standard, you will need to create two versions of the template; one for Patients and one for Responsible Parties.
8. If you want correspondence created using this template to be included on the patient's Clinical chart under Clinical Notes, select the Clinical Event checkbox. 
9. Use the text controls to create the body of the template.
10. Click Add Merge Fields to insert merge fields where the cursor is currently located in the template.
    
    Tip: You can use the drop-down list to filter the merge field list to a certain merge field category, such as Clinical or Outside Doctor, etc.
    Note:
    -- When correspondence templates are used for a patient, the selected information is merged in place of the merge field placeholder that is displayed, including any punctuation or spacing. Keep this in mind when formatting the note.
    -- For example, an oral surgery office may want to add a Completed Procedures, Completed Procedures Description, or Completed Procedures and Completed Procedures Description merge field to a correspondence template, rather than manually entering this information. When procedures are posted to a patient's account, the procedure data from the most recent service date is automatically applied to the Completed Procedures merge fields within the templates. 
11. Click Add Questions to add entries from the Question Library into the template.
    
    Note:
    -- You can then select an answer for any included questions when using the template for patient correspondence. Be aware only the answer is displayed and any necessary context should be included in the correspondence template.
    -- The questions that are added to the template are temporarily blue and revert to normal text when they are used to send correspondence.
    -- You can manage the list of available questions from the Question Library (Administration > Templates > Question Library).
12. To import an image into the template, click the Image icon and select the file to upload. Use the controls to adjust the image, and click Add. 
    
13. Click Save Template.

From the Actions panel, you can also: 

• Edit Selected Template: Select an existing template and make changes as needed.
• Copy Selected Template: Copy an existing template and assign a new name or format.
• Delete Selected Template:  Remove a template from the list.