Alerts and notes
Last updated
Alerts and notes let you record important context about a patient so nothing is missed at their next visit. Alerts are visible to everyone who can open the patient's record. Notes need clinical access.
Alerts
An alert is something everyone must see before treating: an allergy, a medication, a safeguarding concern. Add one from the Alerts card on the patient's Overview tab: press + Add alert, choose its Type (Medical, Dosing or Admin) and Severity (Info, Warning or Critical), write the alert and press Add alert.
Alerts show in the banner at the top of the record, above the tabs, so they are visible whichever tab you are on. A Critical alert turns the banner red. Structured allergies have their own card and always come first in the banner. An alert that no longer applies can be deleted from the banner.
If alerts or allergies could not be loaded, the banner warns you. Reload the record before relying on it; a failed read does not mean there are none.
Notes
Notes are free text: preferences, conversations, follow-up reminders or clinical observations. Add one from the Notes card with + Add note, then Add note. Each note shows the date it was written. The Overview tab shows the three most recent, pinned ones first.
Pinning a note
Press Pin on a note to keep it at the top of the list; Unpin releases it. Pin the things the team should see every time. For anything safety-critical use an alert, not a note, because only alerts show on every tab.
Good practice
- Reserve Critical for genuine clinical risks so it keeps its impact.
- Use an alert, not a note, for anything that must be seen before treatment.
- Keep notes factual and dated; they form part of the patient's clinical history.
Who wrote an entry
Existing notes and alerts show Author with the recorded name. Unknown means the name could not be found; it does not attribute the entry to you.
If information cannot be loaded
A message such as Notes could not be loaded or Alerts could not be loaded means the read failed. Reload before relying on the record. Missing information after a failed load is not confirmation that the patient has no notes, alerts or allergies.