How to Use Smart Text

Smart Text lets you build clinical reports by inserting predefined phrases, sentences, or full paragraphs with a double-click. It is available on the Report tab in clinical records, consultations, and discharge reports.

This article covers using Smart Text when writing reports. To configure Smart Text groups and items, see How to Configure Smart Text. To create report templates from Smart Text, see How to Manage Smart Text Templates.

What Smart Text can and can't do

Smart Text is HealthTrack's clinical writing helper. You may also hear it called Smart Reporting or the clinical record designer - these names all refer to the same feature set. It has four layers:

Shortcuts that expand a short keyword into stored text as you type.
Templates that insert a whole block, note, or full document in one go.
Smart Tags (merge fields) that fill in patient, provider, and practice details automatically.
Structured entries - the tree of headings, sentences, and pick-lists in the Smart Text panel.

Smart Text authors text content only. It does not design forms, fields, or report layouts. The fields on a clinical record and the layout of printed reports are set up as part of your HealthTrack configuration and cannot be changed from Smart Text.

Smart Text is available to every practice - it is not a licensed add-on. Who can edit Smart Text entries and templates is controlled by user permissions.

Open the Smart Text panel

The Smart Text panel appears alongside the Report tab when you open or create a clinical record.

If the panel is not visible:

Open the relevant clinical record and select the Report tab.
Press the Show Smart Text button in the report toolbar.

The Smart Text panel opens on the left side of the report editor, displaying the group tree for the current record type.

Insert Smart Text into a report

The Smart Text panel shows a tree of groups and entries. Expand a group to browse available text.

To insert an entry:

Expand the group that contains the text you need.
Position your cursor in the report where you want the text to appear.
Double-click the Smart Text entry to insert it.

The text is inserted at the cursor position. HealthTrack handles capitalisation and punctuation automatically:

The first letter is capitalised if a new sentence is starting.
Trailing punctuation is trimmed and a full stop is added.

You do not need to capitalise the first letter of Smart Text entries or add a full stop at the end. HealthTrack manages this when the text is inserted.

Insert Smart Text by typing a shortcut

You do not have to use the panel. Smart Text entries with a keyword set can be inserted by typing:

Keyword expansion: enter the keyword, then press Space , Enter , or a punctuation key. The keyword is replaced with the stored text. Keyword matching is not case sensitive.
Smart Tag: enter // followed by the shortcut name. The shortcut expands when you reach the next word break (Space , Enter , a comma, or a full stop).

Keywords are set up when the Smart Text entry is created. If a shortcut does not expand, the keyword may not be defined for the record type you are working in - see How to Configure Smart Text.

Use nested Smart Text

Smart Text entries can be nested. A parent entry can have multiple child entries as alternate completions for the same sentence.

For example, a parent entry might read "Leaflets thin and mobile. Unremarkable annulus." with child entries for different findings. Double-click the appropriate child entry to complete the sentence with the relevant finding.

When the cursor is already positioned mid-sentence in the same section, inserting nested Smart Text continues the sentence rather than starting a new heading.

Smart Tags in reports

Some Smart Text entries contain Smart Tags - placeholders in double square brackets, such as [[HMS_PatientName]]. These are highlighted in green in the report editor.

When a Smart Tag is inserted:

Live data tags (e.g. patient name, booking details) are replaced automatically with data from HealthTrack.
Input Request tags display a prompt for you to enter a value.
Multi-select tags display a dialog where you select one or more options from a predefined list.

Typing over a green-highlighted Smart Tag automatically removes the highlight. You can overwrite any auto-populated value this way.

Smart Tags can draw on patient, provider, practice, and reference data. There is no single list of every available tag - the tags offered depend on how your Smart Text entries were configured. If you need a value that is not filling in, talk to whoever manages your Smart Text configuration.

A tag must match its defined name exactly. A mistyped tag stays as plain text and will not fill.

Insert a whole template

Alongside individual entries, Smart Text supports templates - a named, pre-filled note or document that you insert in one go. Templates are useful for standard report formats that you complete for every patient.

Templates for each Clinical Record type are listed under the TEMPLATES heading. Once selected, they can be inserted exactly like normal Smart Text.

See How to Manage Smart Text Templates for creating and managing templates.

Shared and private Smart Text

Smart Text templates are either shared or private:

A shared template (owner set to Anyone) is available to all users.
A private template belongs to one doctor and only appears for that doctor.

Individual Smart Text entries can also be restricted to a specific user.

This explains the most common "missing Smart Text" question: if a colleague can see an entry or template that you cannot, it is likely private to them or restricted. Ask your practice administrator to check.

Editing Smart Text is controlled by permissions, not licensing:

Editing the Smart Text structure and entries requires the Smart Text configuration permission.
Editing templates requires the template editing permission, and editing another doctor's private templates requires a separate permission again.

If you cannot open the Smart Text editing screens, ask your practice administrator to review your security group. There is no Smart Text licence to purchase.

Deleting a Smart Text entry or template removes it permanently. There is no deactivate option and no version history, so check with your team before removing shared entries.

Smart Text on the web

Smart Text works in both HealthTrack desktop and HealthTrack Web. Shortcuts, Smart Tags, and panel insertion behave the same way when writing on the web.

Designing the Smart Text structure (the group tree and entries) is done in HealthTrack desktop. On the web you can manage templates but not change the structure of the Smart Text tree.

Short descriptions in the panel

When a Smart Text entry has a Short Description set, the panel displays the short description instead of the full text. This keeps long entries readable in the tree view.

The full text is still inserted when you double-click the entry - the short description is for display only.