Custom fields are useful for adding data fields to a custom note template in order to meet the specific requirements of the note. With this tool, most note templates can be replicated.

To configure custom fields, go to Configure–>Customization–>Custom Fields.  Click Add Custom Field.

Choose the Object Type as "Note".

Choose the pre-defined note template that custom fields will be added to from the Template drop-down. 

In the following example, a custom note template for a "SOAP" note has been created in the Note Template screen (Configure–>List Configuration–>Services–>Note Templates).  Custom labels have already been assigned to reflect "Subjective", "Objective", and "Assessment" (based on a clinical PIE note) in the Custom Labels screen so the "Plan" section will be added as a custom field.

The Label  field is where the title of the custom field is provided. In this example, "Plan" has been entered. 

From the Type drop down, users can choose the type of data field to be entered on the custom note template.  Choices include text, long text, date, number, section header, and drop-down list.  This allows users to have control over both the form and function of the data field. While these options are mostly self-explanatory, it should be noted that the difference between text and long text is that the long text holds as many characters as needed, while a small amount of text can be satisfied through the text type. Section Header is simply a header field that separates one group of data fields from another.  For this example, a "long text" type has been chosen.  This allows for plenty of narrative documentation to be entered on the SOAP note for the corresponding "Plan" section.

The Position drop down allows the user to choose the position of the data field on the custom note template.  Choices include header, body, and footer. Note that a long text field can only be placed in the Body. Any header and footer fields will repeat if the note is multiple pages.

A Required check box is included and can be checked if the particular data field should be marked as a required field. 

Click on save to add the custom field to the custom note template.      

To review the fields on the note form, go to the Notes Desktop and add a note. Select the template the fields were applied to.