Clinical notes
Clinical notes that stay as they were written
One note per consultation, with the vitals, the examination, the ICD-10 codes and the plan, and the lab results attached. Once the doctor signs it, the database refuses any change; a correction is an addendum with a date and a name. Every time anybody opens it, the patient's own log says so.
The AI never reads them. The assistant that answers patients on WhatsApp is kept apart from the notes, and only a named person at the practice can write one.
Made-up patient · signed
SignedDr A. Example, 08:44
Addendum09:10, result added
FilesFBC result.pdf
Opened byon the patient's log
SignedAddendum onlyPrinted record
A made-up note. A file added after the signature says so.
The note
What a note holds.
The consultation
The presenting complaint and its history, the examination, the diagnosis in words with its ICD-10 codes, and the plan.
Nine vital signs
Blood pressure, pulse, temperature, breathing rate, oxygen saturation, weight, height and blood glucose, with the BMI worked out. A typing slip such as a pulse of 720 is refused; a worrying reading is not.
On the appointment
A note started from the diary belongs to that appointment, one per appointment, from the day it happens. A walk-in or a late entry is started from the patient instead.
The forms beside it
The forms the patient filled for that visit, such as a symptom questionnaire, sit beside the note rather than being copied into it.
Files
A lab result, a referral letter or a photo, as a PDF or picture under 9 MB, up to 20 a note. Each is kept exactly as it arrived and checked when it is opened.
The printed record
A patient's signed notes print as one record, and the print is on their log like any other read.
Signed means finished
The database refuses the change, not just the screen.
A draft can be changed or thrown away. Signing writes who signed and when, and from then on a rule inside the database refuses any change to what the note says, whoever asks. A correction is an addendum, dated and named, shown under the note, and an addendum cannot be changed either. That is the HPCSA's own guidance: an alteration is clearly shown as one, dated and signed.
A result that comes back after the consultation still joins a signed note, and the note says it was added after the signature. Taking a file off a signed note needs a reason and leaves a marker in its place saying who took it, when and why.
Scripts and sick notes follow the same rule: written once, frozen, printed for the doctor's signature, and cancelled with a reason rather than changed.
Who reads it
The owner decides, and the log remembers.
The owner reads the notes, and so does each person the owner gives the Clinical notes tick to on their sign-in. Nobody else sees the notes at all. Only a named person can write a note; the shared practice login can read but writes nothing, because a note always has an author.
Every open and every change is written to the patient's own log: who, when and which note, and for a change the names of the fields changed, never their contents. The AI assistant never reads the notes, and the code is tested so that a change letting it read them fails before it can ship.
On a medical practice the notes are kept for at least six years, in line with HPCSA guidance. When a patient's records are erased, the notes go with them, and only the owner can erase a patient on a practice.
Where it stops
Before you move your notes across.
Old notes come with you
Past notes import from a CSV export, each signed on its own date with an addendum naming the old system and who brought it across.
What it does not do
It does not write notes for you, transcribe consultations or suggest diagnoses. The doctor writes the note.
What it costs
The practice software is priced with you in the demo. The assistant in front of it is from R1 450 a month including VAT for up to 300 conversations, plus a once-off R2 500 setup, or R4 995 a month fully managed. Meta's WhatsApp fees are separate. The plans are on the pricing page.
FAQ
Fair questions.
Can a signed clinical note be edited?
No. Once signed, the database refuses any change to what the note says. A correction is an addendum, dated and named, shown under the note.
Can I attach lab results to a note?
Yes. A PDF or a photo under 9 MB, up to 20 a note. A result attached after the note was signed is marked as added after the signature.
Does the AI write or read my notes?
Neither. The doctor writes the note, and the AI assistant that answers patients never reads it.
Who can see the notes?
The owner and the people the owner gives the Clinical notes tick to. Every open is recorded on the patient's own log, with who and when.
How long are the notes kept?
At least six years on a medical practice, in line with HPCSA guidance, and the practice cannot shorten that. They are erased with the patient's records, and only the owner can do that.
Can we bring our old notes across?
Yes, from a CSV export. Each arrives as a signed note on its own date, with an addendum naming the old system and who brought it across. Running the same file twice adds nothing.
See a note signed, corrected and printed.
A demo shows a made-up patient's note from the diary to the signature, an addendum and the printed record.
The practice side, one piece at a time, and the assistant that sits in front of it.