A SmartList is a list of sentences, paragraphs, or any text that you feel is worth saving for later use.  It’s like a canned response, and it helps to increase the efficiency and speed of your charting.

In some cases, SmartLists are directly associated with a Heading in a section. (For example, the heading ‘Headaches’ in a Chief Concern section would have a different SmartList than the heading ‘Infertility’).  In other cases, the SmartList is associated with the section in general, like in the case of an Acupuncture Section.

Additionally, not all sections have the ability to host a SmartList.  For example, the questionnaire sections provided in the Subjective do not have the abilty to host  SmartList.

How To Add An Item To A SmartList

To add an item to a SmartList, type out the text in the available text fields in the charts, and the use your cursor to select the text (click and drag with the mouse to select the text).  Once you select the text, a toolbar will become visible with various text editing options.  In this toolbar, you will see an ‘+S’ option.  Click on this to add the text to a SmartList.

Adding an item to a SmartList for the Abdomen heading.

How To Retrieve A SmartList Item

To make use of the text that you have previously saved to a SmartList, type the ‘@’ symbol into the text field.  If there is a SmartList available, it will show up.  You can continue typing after the ‘@’ symbol and it will start filtering the results of the SmartList.  Use the arrow keys, or the mouse to select the text you want to insert, or just press enter when the desired SmartList item is selected.  It will add that text into your text field.

Retrieving a SmartList Heading.

What Is A Heading?

A Heading can be added to some sections in the charting system, to further qualify a category or topic of interest in that section.  For example, when you add a Chief Concerns section to the Subjective Page of your chart, you can add a heading to that section called ‘Headaches’.  This will form the context for the information you type into that specific Chief Concerns section.  You can then add several more Chief Concerns sections, each with their own different headings, in order to itemize the patient’s chief concerns.

Sample Headings in the Chief Concerns section.

Do I Have To Use Headings?

No, most of the advanced features of our charting system are optional, and you do not need to use them.  However, there are some benefits to using them.  In the case of Headings, using a Heading will allow the system to start creating summary lists from the data entered in a medical chart.  For example, if you create a number of Chief Concerns sections, each with their own heading, then you will be able to start seeing a summary list of these heading being built in the Client Workspace, which is like a central repository of the information you have collected about a specific client.

These summary lists can be very helpful in getting a bird’s eye view of a client’s overall health and progress.  If headings are not used, then these list are not populated.

Using headings will help you create summary information in the Patient Workspace.

How Can I Create My Own Custom Headings In The SOAP Chart?

When you add a section which has the option of specifying a heading, like a Chief Concern section, we usually provide a fairly comprehensive list of possible headings you can simply select.  However, in some cases, you may want to create your own Headings.

To create your own custom Heading, type in the heading you want to create into the text field available in that section.  Then, just like when creating a SmartList item, select the heading with your cursor.  In the toolbar that becomes visible, click on ‘+H’.  This will create a new custom Heading for this section.  This heading will now be added to the overall list of headings, so that you do not need to add it again.

How to create a new Heading.