Flexible AI Clinical Notes for Audiology Professionals

Last week, Dayal - one of our dispensers at Liverpool Hearing Centre - said something that made me realise we'd been thinking too narrowly about the fourth tab in HearScribe.

"The GP Letter tab should really do more than GP letters. I write ENT referrals, solicitor reports, insurance assessments - they all need different things."

He was right. We'd built a tab that produced excellent GP correspondence, but audiologists don't only write to GPs. An ENT referral needs to be the referral, not a letter recommending one. A solicitor report needs objective clinical observations and functional impact. An insurance assessment needs to focus on daily living, not clinical terminology.

So we rebuilt it. The GP Letter tab is now called Pro Notes, and it does considerably more.

Six Document Types From One Recording

Before you hit Generate Notes, there's now a collapsible Pro Notes Customisation panel in Column 2 of the app. Open it, and you'll see a document type dropdown with six options:

Document Type	Audience	What Changes
GP Letter (default)	Patient's GP	Standard medical correspondence. Includes referral criteria assessment. Works exactly as the old GP Letter tab.
ENT Referral	ENT specialist directly	Written as a direct referral - "I am referring this patient for your opinion." Includes referral criteria. Does not recommend referral to ENT within the letter.
Solicitor / Medico-Legal	Legal professionals	Objective clinical observations. Functional impact assessment. Medical terms defined for non-clinical readers. Suitable for legal proceedings.
Insurance Report	Insurance providers, claims assessors	Functional impact on daily life and work. Objective test results. Prognosis and recommended accommodations. Factual, avoids subjective language.
Occupational Health	Employers, OH assessors	Noise exposure history. Fitness for role. Workplace adjustments and hearing protection recommendations. References noise regulations where applicable.
Custom	You decide	Freeform. The Custom AI Instructions field controls everything - audience, format, tone, structure.

If you never open the panel, everything defaults to GP Letter. Nothing changes unless you want it to.

Custom AI Instructions: One Line Changes Everything

Below the document type dropdown, there's a Custom AI Instructions field. This is where things get properly useful - because these instructions don't just affect Pro Notes. They feed context into all four note types.

Here's a real example. Suppose a patient walks in for a tinnitus assessment. Halfway through, they mention it's for a legal claim. You type into the instructions:

"This tinnitus assessment is for the patient's solicitor so the report will be sent to them."

Now look at what happens across all four tabs:

Tab	How It Adapts
Clinician Notes	Reflects this was a medico-legal assessment. More precise documentation of findings.
Patient Notes	Explains to the patient that a report is being prepared for their solicitor.
Admin Notes	Includes "send report to patient's solicitor" as a task.
Pro Notes	Formats as a formal medico-legal report with objective observations and functional impact.

One instruction. Four documents that all reflect the same clinical context.

Smart Priority: Your Instructions Always Win

HearScribe follows a clear priority order when generating Pro Notes:

1. Custom AI Instructions (highest priority) - whatever you type for this consultation overrides everything below
2. Document Type - the dropdown selection defines the default structure, tone, and audience
3. Account-level AI settings - your saved preferences from the Account page

This means if you select "ENT Referral" from the dropdown but write in the instructions "address this to Mr James Patterson, Consultant ENT Surgeon at Royal Liverpool Hospital" - the letter goes to Mr Patterson, not "Dear Colleague."

If you name a specific recipient, they're addressed directly. If you specify a different tone or focus, those take priority. The AI adapts to what you actually need for this particular patient.

The Bobby Boom Test

During testing, we generated an occupational health report with these Custom AI Instructions:

"I need to write a report to Mr Bobby Boom at the British Army regarding whether Jenifer's hearing is good enough to pass the British Army's standards for acceptable hearing."

The output addressed the letter to "Mr Bobby Boom, British Army Recruitment Medical Board." It framed the entire report around fitness for military duty, assessed hearing against enlistment standards, noted that the patient's bilateral mixed hearing loss and active middle ear pathology meant she did not currently meet the Army's requirements, and recommended deferral pending ENT assessment.

Same consultation recording. Same clinical files. Completely different output because the audience and purpose were different.

Regenerate Notes: Because Patients Keep Talking

Every audiologist knows the scenario. You've generated your notes. The patient is putting on their coat. Then they mention the dizziness that's been waking them at night.

Previously, you'd need to start a new consultation or manually edit your notes. Now, you can:

1. Record additional audio capturing the new information
2. Upload any new clinical files
3. Change the Pro Notes document type or update your instructions
4. Click Regenerate Notes

All four document types regenerate with the updated transcript, files, and settings. The button turns amber after the first generation and shows your remaining consultation count. Each regeneration uses one consultation from your plan allowance.

A confirmation dialog prevents accidental clicks - you won't lose your notes unless you actively choose to regenerate.

The Patient GP Field Stays

The Patient GP input field remains in Column 1 alongside patient name and DOB. When you type a name there, it's used as the salutation for whichever document type you've selected. When left blank, each type has a sensible default:

Document Type	Default Salutation (no name entered)
GP Letter	Dear Doctor,
ENT Referral	Dear Colleague,
Solicitor / Medico-Legal	No salutation (formal report format)
Insurance Report	To Whom It May Concern,
Occupational Health	To Whom It May Concern,
Custom	No salutation

If your Custom AI Instructions name a different recipient, those take priority over both the Patient GP field and the template default.

Nothing Changes Unless You Want It To

This is important: if you're happy with how HearScribe generates GP letters today, nothing changes for you. The Pro Notes Customisation panel is collapsible and optional. Leave it closed, and Pro Notes defaults to a GP Letter with the same quality, formatting, and referral criteria assessment you're used to.

Pro Notes is purely additive. It gives you more options when you need them and stays out of the way when you don't.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the GP Letter tab?

It has been renamed to Pro Notes. It works the same way but now supports multiple document types beyond GP letters. If you leave the customisation panel closed, it defaults to GP Letter format exactly as before.

Do the Custom AI Instructions affect all four note types?

Yes. The Custom AI Instructions provide consultation context that all four note types consider. For example, noting "this is a medico-legal assessment" will influence how the clinical notes are written, how the patient summary explains the appointment, what the admin tasks include, and how the Pro Notes tab formats the document.

Does each regeneration use a consultation from my plan?

Yes. Each click of Regenerate Notes counts as one consultation against your plan allowance because it makes fresh AI calls to generate all four documents. The remaining count is displayed on the button.

Can I regenerate just the Pro Notes tab without regenerating the other three?

Not currently. Regeneration runs all four note types together. This keeps the workflow simple and ensures all documents reflect the same consultation data, including any additional audio or files added since the first generation.

What happens if I type a recipient name but select Solicitor as the document type?

The Patient GP field name is used for the salutation regardless of document type. So a solicitor report would start with "Dear [name]," instead of having no salutation. If you don't want a named salutation, leave the Patient GP field blank and the document type's default will apply.

Do Custom AI Instructions override my account-level AI settings?

Yes. The priority order is: Custom AI Instructions (highest) override Document Type guidance, which overrides your account-level AI settings. If your instructions name a specific recipient, the letter addresses them directly. If they specify a different tone or structure, those take priority over the document type defaults.

Same Consultation. Right Document. Right Audience.

Pro Notes exists because audiologists write more than GP letters. Every consultation recording already contains the clinical detail needed for an ENT referral, a solicitor report, or an insurance assessment - it just needs to be presented differently depending on who's reading it.

That's what Pro Notes does. One consultation. One set of clinical files. The right document for the right audience.

HearScribe - Easily Better.