Write a Letter

Write a letter or referral from a patient's record to include patient-specific information automatically.

About this task

Use the letter writer to:
  • Email letters or referrals directly to other healthcare providers or a patient
  • Print letters to hand to a patient
  • Create and send HealthLink SmartForms

Procedure

To write a letter and include clinical and other patient-related information automatically:
  1. In a patient's record, on the Consult iconConsult panel, click Letter Writer iconLetter Writer.
    Tip:
    If you can't see the Letter Writer, click More caretMore.
  2. To create and send a SmartForm to a specialist, click HealthLink SmartForms - IconSmartFormsExternal Link - Icon link. No further input is required in the letter writer. For more information, see Send HealthLink SmartForms.
    Your list of favourites are displayed under the Favourites section.
    Example Letter Writer content
  3. If the letter you want to write is not in the Favourites list, type the name of the template in the Letter search iconSearch field. A list of matching letters is displayed as you type. See also Supplied Templates.
    Example Search for Letters
  4. Select the required letter template. In our example, we have chosen the +75 Health Assessment.
    In this example, you can see a variety of fields awaiting your input. Data you enter here is transferred to the final letter upon completion.
    Example health assessment letter
  5. Optionally, click Expanded Letter button Expand at the upper-right to expand the letter. Both the fields selected and the resulting layout are displayed.
    75 Health Assessment Form
    Tip:
    Some layouts are editable.
  6. Complete the form as required.
  7. To include clinical information about the patient, expand Caret iconClinical summaries and select the information you want to include with the letter.
    Example clinical information
  8. To include results from the patient's clinical record, Caret iconexpand Attach Results and select the results you want to include with the letter.
    +75 Health Assessment Form
  9. To preview the letter, click Generate.
  10. If the letter is editable, such as from a blank template, enter the text required and make other changes manually as required by typing within the body of the letter or by using the toolbar. For more information, see Actions in Letters.
    Example footer
  11. To send the letter electronically, click Save and Send or to print, click Save and Print.
  12. If sending electronically, in the Send Document window:
    • If sending the letter to the patient, set Email to patient. For more information, see Email to Patient:
    • If sending the letter to a provider, set Send to clinician or provider and for more information, see Send to Clinician or Provider:
      Send an email to clinician
      • If HealthLink is enabled, select Secure Message Delivery.
      • If emailing the letter, select Email and in the To field start typing the recipient and select them from the list.
        Note:
        Email is not secure and documents sent via email are not password protected.
  13. In the Subject field, enter a subject.
  14. In the Body field, enter a summary.
  15. Click Send.

Results

The letter is attached to the email.

The status of the letter is added to the Consult iconConsult > Consult actions > Other actions section.

When the consult is completed, the letter is added to the Patient Timeline iconPatient Timeline as a Consult iconConsult item.