Help with Note Designer

Thank you for choosing Note Designer – leaders in professional note-writing software.

Composing and creating professional progress notes and reports is often a daunting task.  We developed Note Designer to make professional documentation easier and more efficient for our fellow colleagues.  That being said, computer programs can themselves be a bit intimidating especially when we first start using them.  You should be able to find answers and solutions to most of your questions below.  If (after watching the videos below and reading our suggestions) you need further assistance please feel free to email us anytime at info@notedesigner.com — we are always happy to help.

• If this is your first time using Note Designer, the easiest way to get started is to familiarize yourself with the steps for creating a basic note, which are actually quite simple.
• You can read some or all of the detailed instructions and information below, or watch some of our videos.
• Or… just close this help tab and get started. Type a few things in, click a few buttons, and see what happens. If you find anything unclear, simply use the Help menu at the top of your screen to return to this window.

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Contents:

We have assembled key information you may need, below, but if you cannot find the information you need feel free to contact us at info@notedesigner.com.

Video Tutorials

• Welcome to Note Designer: an Introduction and Overview (online/subscription version)
• Tour of Our New Features – 2023 (online/subscription version)
• Set Up and Manage Your Subscription (online/subscription version)
• Customizing your Note Designer: Simple Customization (add, edit, like, hide),  and Advanced Customization (designing your note template by re-ordering, editing, and creating tabs & subtabs) (online/subscription version)
• Common Progress Note formats: Basic, SOAP, BIRP, DAP
• Special Notes: Risk Assessment and Treatment Plan
• Intake and Termination Reports
• Announcing our AI Note

Detailed Instructions

• Getting started
• Create a basic session note
  • External links to lists of diagnostic codes
  • Discussion of ethical issues relating to diagnoses in couples therapy
• Editing the Note
• Exporting and Copying
• Clearing your Work
• Note-types
• Simple Customization (add, edit, like, hide)
• Advanced Customization: Designing your note [*new*]
• Preferences
• Dashboard: Managing your account

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VIDEO TUTORIALS:

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DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS:

Getting started:

To get started you need to do two things: (1) Assign your subscription to yourself or someone else and then (2) set up your signature line. Both of these can be done on the main DASHBOARD page, and should not take more than a minute.

• Assigning subscription(s): Your subscription will initially be assigned to you as the user. Sometimes people purchase subscriptions for others, though, so you can do this if necessary. Scroll down to the bottom of your DASHBOARD, and click the button to assign the subscription: You can assign it either to yourself or, if you want to assign the subscription to someone else, just enter their email address. If you are managing a group subscription you can eventually assign all the slots to others, or assign one to yourself and the rest to other members of your group.
• Signature line: Next you can set up your “signature line” which is the typed line that goes below the spot where you sign the note. This includes your name, plus if you wish you can add your degree(s), certifications, and/or the name of your clinic. It’s up to you. Once you have entered it, if you later want to change it you just need to send us a change-request message (from the main DASHBOARD page) and we’ll do it for you.

Once you are set up you can click the green button on the DASHBOARD main page to start your first note! There is a help menu if you need it, but you should be able to just click buttons and type things in – and watch your note appear at the right of your screen.

Eventually you may want to explore the other tabs on the dashboard menu:

• My Profile lists the basic information associated with your account. This is where you can change your password if you would like. Also you can subscribe to receive (infrequent) email relating to Note Designer upgrades or related product information.
• My Requests shows any requests you’ve sent to us, such as a request to change your signature line or for a refund (note that refunds are available only during the first 30 days after purchasing your subscription).
• My Orders shows you information about your subscriptions, including a link to the relevant invoice. If you wish more detailed information you can use the button near the top of the main DASHBOARD page to get a link to your account with Fastspring, our online retail partner. Fastspring is a popular international platform for managing subscriptions for digital products such as Note Designer. They handle all the billing-related issues for your account (including securely managing your credit card information)..
• My Subscriptions is where you can see detailed information about your subscription(s). This will be particularly useful to you if you manage multiple subscriptions for a clinic.
• My Notifications lists any notifications we have sent to you, for example when you set up your account or assign subscriptions to yourself or others.

To create a basic session note:

• **Please keep in mind that Note Designer does not store or save your note, except as you do it deliberately. As you start to build a note you could use the COPY button from time to time to keep a copy of your work in case something goes wrong with your browser. Then when you are finished you can use the Export button to store the finished note on your computer.
• You begin a note by clicking the Start a new note button and choose Basic Note (or SOAP, BIRP, DAP)
• Name and Date: Introductory information is entered in the first tab, titled Headings. Type the client/patient’s name (or other identifier; e.g., initials) and the session date in the relevant lines.
• Duration and Fee: If you wish, you can add Session Duration (Start and End times) and Fee, using the fields below Name and Date.
• CPT and Diagnostic Codes: If you wish, you can add CPT and diagnostic codes. We do not include the codes directly in the program by default, as this would require us to charge you significant licensing fees applied by the copyright holders. However for your educational use we suggest that you consult these handy links to find all of the codes and terminology you may require:

Common diagnostic codes: Links to external lists

Diagnostic codes:  https://psychcentral.com/disorders/dsm-iv-diagnostic-codes#list-of-codes

CPT codes:  https://psychcentral.com/lib/cpt-codes-for-psychology-services#cpt-codes

ICD code lookup: https://icd10cmtool.cdc.gov/

• • Link to an article discussing ethical issues relating to diagnoses in couples therapy
• Selecting Statements to Describe the Session: Click on the tabs to find statements relating to (1) the person’s affective and mental STATE, (2) the THEMES of the session, (3) the interventions made (‘TREATMENT’) and (4) the PROGRESS made and plans for future treatment. Simply scroll through the statements listed and click on the statements that apply. As you do, you will see the statements appear as the note is generated to the right of the screen. When a statement is highlighted on the left, it is selected and should appear in the note on the right. You may select as many of the statements as you like. When you first use Note Designer, you may find it takes a bit of time to locate the statements you want, but after awhile you will become familiar with the statements and their location on each tab and sub-tab. You can also use the Like and Hide functions described below. Or you can use the search function, above the statements, to find particular items.
• Removing Statements: If you wish to remove a selection from your note just click the statement again and it will be deselected.
• Introductory and Concluding Statements: If you have additional introductory or concluding comments to add, you can type them into the note on the right screen.
• Signing your note: There is a function to add a signature to the end of your note. Use the Create Signature button to either upload an image file of your signature or to draw your signature on the screen. Then use the Sign button to apply that signature to your note.

Editing the Note:

• After you have built the note as you like it, using the pre-programmed statements, you may wish to do a ‘final edit’ in which you modify the statements or add specific content.
• Use the FINAL EDIT button above the note. This will open a final edit window where you can make changes to the note.
• Once a note has been edited to your liking, you can COPY or EXPORT it.

Exporting and copying:

• When your note is finished, click the “EXPORT” button above the note and this will send it to temporary window, from which you can download (as pdf) or print the note. If the format of the printed note does not appear quite as you would like it, use “OPTIONS / PREFERENCES” (see below) to make modifications.
• If you would like to edit or format the note further, or save it to your regular files, you can use the “COPY” button to copy it. Then you should be able to paste the note into Word or your regular text-editing program: just open an empty document and choose edit/paste (or use standard editing shortcuts such as ctrl-v on Windows or cmd-v on Mac). Any of the styling done by Note Designer (e.g., font size and style) may be lost in this operation; the note will likely take on whatever formatting that you have set up in your word processor, where you can then format the note however you like.
• Remember: Note Designer does not store your note. Most users either store it on their own computer (kept securely, and/or encrypted using tools available in most pdf or document programs) or they paste or upload the note into a secure Electronic Health Records system.

Clearing your work:

• Use the “CLEAR” button when you have finished printing, copying, or saving the note and you wish to start a new one. This will completely clear the note and all statement choices from the workspace so you can start fresh.

Note Types:

• Using the NEW NOTE button at the top of the screen, you can access a variety of progress note formats such as Basic Note (which is the default session note), SOAP, BIRP, or DAP, as well as an Intake Report, a Termination Report, a Treatment Plan, a Risk Assessment note, and a blank Session Note.
  • The Basic Note and other progress note formats give full access to all the statements, to create a standard session or progress note. We now include Basic Note Plus and SOAP Plus, which are expanded versions of our original note-types.
  • The Intake Report provides slots for the person’s address and phone number, presenting difficulties, medical history, and so forth. Plus there are point-and-click sections for relatively generic content such as Affective State and Diagnostic Impressions.
  • The Treatment Plan provides slots and pre-set statements for Presenting Difficulties, Diagnostic Impressions, Treatment Goals, Planned Interventions as well as Significant Developments.
  • The Termination Reports provides slots for information appropriate to a termination note. There are currently no point-and-click sections in this note-type, since content for this kind of note tends to be highly idiosyncratic rather than generic.
  • The Blank Session Note is organized much the same as the standard Basic Note however rather than using the statement-selection approach, only blank textboxes are provided for you to fill in as you see fit.

Simple Customization:

• ADDING STATEMENTS: Each section of statements includes the possibility to add your own phrases and sentences. Click the green +Add Statement button. Format your choices according to the style of the section (i.e., whether single words or phrases or sentences). Then click the green “floppy disk” button that will be available at the right of the item during editing, to save your addition (which will also make it available for future notes). Then click the item to add your choice into the note.
• LIKING STATEMENTS: You can Like any statement that you tend to use a lot. Just hover over the statement and choose the heart icon. This will place a heart beside that statement.
• HIDING STATEMENTS: You can Hide any statement that you do not wish to use. Just hover over the statement and choose the gray ‘eye’ icon. You can always Un-Hide statements using the Filter button at the top of the screen to view the statements you have hidden, and un-hide them if you wish.
• ADDING INITIAL HEADINGS: If you wish to have additional headings at the top of your session note, go to the ‘Headings’ tab. Here you can add headings that would be useful to you (e.g., ‘DOB’, ‘Diagnosis’, ‘Billing Code’) and add the content you wish to put for this note (e.g., ‘Major Depressive Disorder’). And you can save headings for use in future progress notes and treatment plans.

Advanced Customization: Design Your Note to create your own customized notetype:

• You may find you want to do some advanced customization, such as adding an entirely new Subtab in one of the notes (e.g., pertaining to an issue particular to the clients you tend to see, or pertaining to an intervention modality that is not fully covered in the provided content).
• You can do that by clicking the Design Your Note button at the top left of the screen. This will prompt you to save and name a copy of the note-type you’re in (e.g., to create “my edited SOAP note”) which you can then customize fully.
• Once you do that you will be able to, for example, drag-and-drop phrases, subtabs or even entire tabs. Just click and hold the mouse button down on the content you want to move, drag it to where you want it, and release the mouse button.
• You can use the green +ADD buttons to add a new Tab at the top, or a new Subtab at the left. Or you can look for other +ADD buttons to add a new category (which is the level below “subtab”) or a new statement.
  • When you do add a Tab, Subtab, or Category you’ll be asked to name it. You can change the name later, by hovering over it and looking for a pencil icon.
• When you start a new Subtab you’ll need to pick which kind of content will be on it, including:
  • A simple textbox where you can type in what you want to say
  • A list of various kinds, whether with a stem sentence (“The client’s affect appeared”) or as standalone sentences instead.
  • A more complex list, such as the one you’ll find in the Treatment Plan notetype, where you can create 2 or 3 different sentences from the same content (e.g., one sentence listing primary goals and a second sentence listing secondary goals)
• More details on fully customizing note-types can be found in the videos listed at the top of this help menu.

PREFERENCES:

• To view and set your PREFERENCES, click on the Preferences menu at the top of the screen. Your currently-selected preferences are highlighted.
• You can choose the terminology you are most comfortable with: “client” versus “patient” and “psychodynamic” versus “psychoanalytic”, for example.
• You can choose whether to include a ‘Session Note:’ or ‘Progress Note:’ subheading, or neither.
• Pick ‘behavior’ or ‘behaviour’.
• You can choose to insert paragraph breaks between the sections of the progress note, and/or insert section headings.
• You can choose the vertical spacing of the items.
• You can choose the format of the date displayed in your note.
• You can adjust the font size of the in the note you will print.

DASHBOARD and Managing Your Account:

• For information about your account, or to change your signature line or accomplish other administrative tasks, you can access your Dashboard. Use the link at either the top left or the top right of your screen. When you get to the dashboard you will find a menu at the left with information about how to manage basic tasks. There is also a video, in the video section near the top of this help menu, that you might find helpful.
• Some quick outlines of how to handle simple tasks (and you can also find this information in your dashboard):

  • To change your payment information

    • Look for the “Billing Information” heading near the top of your dashboard
    • Click the button to get a temporary link to Fastspring, our billing partner; follow that link
    • Look for the “Subscriptions tab” and find your subscription
    • Click “Manage” where you will be able to change your payment information

    To switch between plans (monthly, annual, group, etc.)

    • First go to our website at notedesigner.com, and start a new subscription the way you want it to be.
    • As long as you use the same email address you will still have access to all your customizations.
    • Then cancel your previous subscription (following the steps below, or send us an email and we’ll do it)

    To restart a subscription after it has been cancelled

    • Once a subscription is deactivated you can simply start a new subscription, beginning at notedesigner.com
    • As long as you use the same email address you will still have access to all your customizations

    To cancel your account

    • Look for the “Billing Information” heading near the top of your dashboard
    • Click the button to get a temporary link to Fastspring, our billing partner; follow that link
    • Look for the “Subscriptions tab” and find your subscription
    • Click “Manage” where you will then be able to cancel your subscription

    To get copies of your payment invoices

    • Look for the “Billing Information” heading near the top of your dashboard
    • Click the button to get a temporary link to Fastspring, our billing partner; follow that link
    • Look for the “Orders tab” where you will find a link to each invoice

Other Questions?:

• If you cannot find the answer you are looking for, feel free to contact us at info@notedesigner.com.