Consultations
The clinical note for each visit — fields, templates, quick phrases, voice typing and AI polish, and statuses.
A consultation is the clinical record of one visit: why the patient came, what you found, and your diagnosis. Treatment plans and prescriptions are linked to it.
Creating a consultation
A consultation always belongs to an appointment, and can only start once the patient is checked in. This keeps records honest: you can't write up a visit for someone who never arrived.
- From an appointment: open a checked-in appointment and start the consultation.
- From Start Visit (step 3) or Quick Visit: created for you.
If you open Consultations → New without an appointment, you'll see "No appointment selected — Start a consultation from a checked-in appointment's detail page."
The fields
| Section | Field | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Chief complaint & history | Chief complaint (required) | Tooth pain in upper right molar |
| History of present illness | Since 3 days, worse with cold, disturbs sleep | |
| Clinical findings | Clinical findings | Deep caries 16, TTP +, no swelling |
| Diagnosis & notes | Diagnosis | Irreversible pulpitis 16 |
| Consultation notes | Advised RCT, explained procedure and cost |
Saving the note ("Saves these clinical notes only") doesn't change the consultation's status or move the visit on.
Writing faster
Consultation note templates
Load a template fills all five fields from a saved template, such as "Routine checkup". If you've already typed something, you're asked Replace current notes? first. Clinic Admins create templates in Consultation Note Templates (see Quick phrases and note templates).
Quick phrases
Next to a field, Insert a quick phrase adds a saved sentence where your cursor is, for example "Oral hygiene instructions given." Each phrase is set to show on particular fields.
Voice typing and AI polish
Use the microphone on a text field to dictate (Chrome or Edge). The AI polish button tidies dictated text into clean clinical language without changing its meaning. Read it before saving.
Applying the dental chart
From the dental chart, Apply findings to consultation copies tooth findings into Clinical findings and Diagnosis. You pick which teeth. See The dental chart.
AI Scribe
Dictate the whole consultation and apply the structured result. See AI Scribe.
Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Created before the examination started |
| In Progress | The examination is under way. Notes can be edited |
| Completed | Finalised. The clinical fields are locked |
| Cancelled | Withdrawn, for example opened against the wrong appointment |
A treatment plan can be created once the consultation is In Progress or Completed.
From a consultation to the next step
On the consultation's page, depending on its status:
- Start: moves a draft consultation to In Progress.
- Create Treatment Plan: one plan per consultation (see Treatment plans). Once it exists, the button becomes View Treatment Plan.
- New Prescription: a prescription linked to this visit (see Prescriptions).
- Complete: finalises the consultation.
- Create Invoice: bill this visit (see Invoices).
- Cancel: withdraws it.
- View appointment: back to the appointment.
Procedures done today are recorded from the treatment plan (Mark as Done), from Procedures → Record Procedure, or in Quick Visit.
Last updated 2026-10-29