Learn template foundations to build your own custom template.
March 5, 2025•5 min read
When creating a template in Heidi, you’ll work with four key components that guide the AI in generating accurate, structured content. These components can be used individually or in combination to customise your notes and documents. Below is an overview of each component and how to use it effectively.
🔍 What They Do: Provide structure and guide Heidi on what information belongs in each section.
📌 How to Use: In a SOAP note, you might use headings like:
🔍 What They Do: Act as markers for specific information that will be automatically inserted into the template.
📌 How to Use: Placeholders should be enclosed in square brackets:
[Insert past medical history] → Populates the patient's medical.🔍 What They Do: Tell Heidi how to process or display specific information, refining placeholders or adding extra guidance.
📌 How to Use: Enclose AI instructions in round brackets.
🔍 What They Do: Keeps specific text unchanged every time the template is used.
📌 How to Use: Enclose verbatim text in quotation marks:
"Dr. Kieran McLeod
Emergency Medicine Specialist
MBChB (UCT)
Contact: dr.kieran@example.com"
- This text will always appear exactly as written in every document.
💡Tip: Kick things off with Section Headings and AI Instructions—they do most of the heavy lifting! You’ll be surprised how much of your template comes together with just these two. 🚀
Heidi defaults to bullet points, but you can easily adjust your template to fit your preferred documentation style. Whether you want a narrative format, line-by-line structure, or specific lists, here’s how to customise your notes:
📖 1. Paragraph Format
Prefer a flowing paragraph for the Subjective section? Follow these steps:
✅ Update the Template
✅ Add AI Instructions
Insert this under the Subjective heading:
(Never use bullet points to write the Subjective section below. Use full sentences and paragraph format to capture the information.)
Want a structured but not paragraph-based format? Use this:
✅ Update the Template
Remove bullet points as described above.
✅ Add AI Instructions
Use the following instruction under the Subjective heading:
(Never use bullet points to write the subjective section below. Use full sentences and line-by-line format to capture the information in the subjective section.)
For specific sections like medications or diagnoses, you can include AI instructions to generate lists.
💡Example for medications
Use a placeholder with an AI instruction like this:
[Medications] (Make a numbered list for medications, with each medication mentioned on a new line along with details such as dosing.)
The placement of AI instructions in your template can influence how Heidi generates notes.
[Medications used in the past](only include if explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes or clinical note, otherwise leave blank)
Why This Works:
💡Tip: To create Global instructions, place the instructions at the very beginning or end of your template. Heidi will use it throughout the generated note.