Writing notes and letters

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Overview

Aria writes the first draft. You own the result. Every document goes through the same three steps: Aria drafts it from the transcript, you check and correct it, and you finalise it, which records that you reviewed it and unlocks copying it out. You can write more than one document from the same recording, so a file note and a referral letter can both come from one consult.

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Asking Aria to write

1. On the Scribe list, click Write it up on a row that is Ready to write up. (On a row that already has a note, click ⋯ at the end of the row, then Write another.)
2. The window shows Which prompt should Aria use? with the prompts available to you. Your practice’s prompts are listed first, and any of your own are marked yours.
   
3. Pick one. Tick Make this my default prompt underneath if you want it chosen for you next time and used for batch write-ups.
4. Click Write note.

Aria drafts the document from the transcript. When it is done, the note opens for you to check. If the window says You already have a note for this call, it lists the existing notes with links, so you do not write a duplicate by mistake. Choose a different prompt to write a second document.

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Checking the note

The note page shows the title at the top, a Draft badge, and the text in an editor. The transcript sits alongside it, with a player so you can listen back to any part. Read it against what was said. Aria is good, and it is still a machine: a name, a dose or a side can come out wrong. You are the clinician; the note is yours. The line under the toolbar says it plainly: check this against the transcript before you finalise it. Finalising records that you have reviewed it, and is what lets you copy it out.

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Words Aria corrected

Before writing, Aria fixes words that look like speech-recognition mistakes, such as “minuscule” heard in place of “meniscal”. When it does, a panel underneath the note lists each change, with the original crossed out and the corrected version beside it. Listen back to any that look wrong. Aria only corrects what looks like a mistake. A misheard name can still sound perfectly normal and come through unchanged, so read names, doses and sides yourself.

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Editing by hand

Click into the text and type. The toolbar has Bold, Italic, Heading, Bullet list and Numbered list. Click Save when you have made changes. Save is greyed out when there is nothing to save.

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Asking Aria to rewrite a passage

Select some text. A small Ask Aria to bar appears with five choices:

• Rewrite: say the same thing differently
• Shorten: cut it down
• Expand: say more
• More formal: tidy the register
• Bullets: turn a paragraph into points

Aria replaces just the selected passage and keeps the layout around it. Nothing outside your selection changes.

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Version history

Every save keeps the previous version. Click History (the button shows how many versions there are) to see them, and Restore an earlier one if a change went wrong. Once a note is finalised the history is read only, because a finalised note cannot be rolled back.

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Consent, if it has not been recorded yet

If the recording was made before consent-at-the-start was introduced, or it is a phone call on a phone system that has not been confirmed as playing a recording announcement, an amber bar appears above the note asking you to confirm that everyone agreed to be recorded. Finalise stays greyed out until you click Confirm and continue. Once confirmed, a green line says consent has been recorded for this consult. See Consent and privacy.

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Finalising

When you are happy with the note, click Finalise. Save first if you have unsaved changes; the portal reminds you. Finalising records that you reviewed this text. After that:

• The badge changes to Finalised and the text becomes read only. It cannot be rolled back, because changing it would make the review record untrue. Later changes go in as an addendum in your practice software.
• Copy becomes available.
• The consult drops off your Scribe list, and can be found again with the search box.

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Copying the note out

Click Copy. The note goes to your clipboard with its formatting, ready to paste into the patient’s record in your practice software. If your browser refuses clipboard access, select the text and copy it the usual way.

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Writing a letter

Letters work the same way. When you click Write it up or Write another, choose a letter prompt:

• Letter to the referring doctor: a reply back to whoever referred the patient, drawn from the consult
• Referral letter to a specialist: a referral onward, drawn from the consult

Letters keep their headings and address block laid out properly, so what you paste is ready to send. Your practice can add its own letter prompts, including ones built from letters it already sends. See Prompts.

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Going back

Back to Scribe at the top of the note returns you to the Scribe list on the filter you had chosen, so you land where you left.

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Frequently asked questions

Can I edit a note after finalising? No. Finalising is a record that you reviewed that exact text. Write an addendum in your practice software instead, or write another document from the same recording. A colleague shared a consult with me. Can I edit their note? No. Their note opens as View only. You can write your own note from the recording with Write another, and that one is yours to edit. Aria used the wrong prompt. Can I change it? Write another document with the right prompt. Notes do not switch prompts after drafting, because the prompt shapes the whole document. Where did Aria get the patient’s name from? From the transcript, and from the consult name if you gave one at Stop. If it is wrong, correct it in the note. Aria does not change practice, staff or caller names it does not recognise; it leaves them as heard.