Keywords: document editor, questionnaire, merge fields, letter, new patient exam, recipient, questionnaire questions, treatment plan, clinical letter, merge, new exam letter, patient exam letter, new patient letter
Summary
This article reviews how to build a questionnaire-linked letter in the Cloud 9 Document Editor. It explains how to add recipient and patient merge fields, pull questionnaire answers into the body of the letter, insert images, and attach the finished document to a questionnaire.
Overview
The Cloud 9 Document Editor allows you to create letter templates that automatically pull in information from a completed questionnaire when merged. This is useful for any letter where the content depends on answers a patient or staff member provided during a questionnaire, such as a New Patient Exam letter, a treatment plan summary, or a clinical findings letter.
This article uses a New Patient Exam letter as an example, but the same steps apply to any letter you want to link to a questionnaire. Once the letter is built and saved, it is attached to the questionnaire in Edit > Setup > Questionnaires so it is available to merge whenever that questionnaire is run.
Note: Before working through this article, review the following articles. Cloud 9: Document Editor Introduction here and Cloud 9: Using Merge Fields in the Document Editor here. Familiarity with how questionnaires are set up in Cloud 9 is also helpful. See Cloud 9: Creating a Questionnaire here for more information.
Step 1: Open a New Document
Navigate to Home > Letters/Forms > Document Editor.
Under the File tab, click the New dropdown and select Letter.
Click Save As and give the document a name that makes it easy to identify, such as “New Patient Exam Letter.” Select a location if applicable and save.
Important: The document type cannot be changed after it is created. Make sure Letter is selected before proceeding.
Step 2: Add the Recipient Address Block
Before typing the body of the letter, set up the address block at the top. This ensures the letter is addressed correctly to whoever is set as the recipient on the patient’s account, whether that is a parent, dentist, or the patient themselves.
Place your cursor at the top of the document where the address block should appear. Navigate to the Merge Fields tab and use the following fields under the Recipient category:
- Recipient Full Name
- Patient Street Address
- Patient City State Postal Code
Insert each one on its own line to format the address block correctly.
Note: Using Recipient merge fields rather than patient-specific or profession-specific fields ensures the correct address information pulls regardless of who the letter is being sent to.
Step 3: Add the Salutation
After the address block, skip a line and type Dear followed by a space. Then navigate to Merge Fields > Recipient and insert Recipient First Name. Add a comma after the merge field.
This will produce a personalized salutation such as “Dear Sarah,” when the letter is merged.
Step 4: Add the Opening Line
In the body of the letter, type the opening sentence. For a New Patient Exam letter this might read:
Here are the findings from the initial exam for patient
After typing that, navigate to Merge Fields > Patient and insert Patient Full Name. Then continue the sentence or start a new line as needed.
Step 5: Insert Questionnaire Merge Fields
This is where the letter pulls answers directly from the questionnaire. To insert a questionnaire merge field:
- Place your cursor where you want the answer to appear.
- Navigate to Merge Fields > General > Questions > Questionnaire Questions.
- A dialogue box titled Insert Questionnaire Merge Field will appear.
- In the top dropdown, select the questionnaire you want to pull from. For this example, select the NP Exam Questionnaire. All questions on that questionnaire will populate in the field below.
- Highlight the question you want to insert.
- Select the Text Style for the answer:
- Default: Pulls the answer as entered.
- Technical: Pulls the Technical Text entered on the answer in Edit > Setup > Questionnaires. Used when the letter is going to a doctor or professional.
-
Layperson: Pulls the Layman’s Text entered on the answer. Used when the letter is going to anyone other than a doctor.
Note: If the Default field is blank but Technical or Layperson text has been entered on the questionnaire answers, select one of those options rather than Default to ensure the answer populates correctly in the merged letter.
- Click Insert.
Repeat this process for each questionnaire answer you want to include in the letter.
Step 6: Build Out the Letter Body
Using the steps above, continue building the body of the letter by combining typed text with questionnaire merge fields. For a New Patient Exam letter, a typical structure might look like this:
Chief Concerns
Type an introductory line such as “The main concerns noted at the exam are:” then insert the merge field for the Chief Concerns question from the NP Exam Questionnaire. If this question allows multiple selections on the questionnaire, all selected answers will populate as a list when the letter is merged. In the template itself you will only see the merge field placeholder.
Additional Findings
Type “Additional findings include:” and then insert merge fields for the relevant questionnaire questions such as Overjet and Angle Class Cuspids, following the same steps as above.
Treatment Plan
Type “Our customized treatment plan includes the following:” and insert the merge field for the Treatment Time question. On the next line or as a bullet, insert the merge field for Appliances or the Treatment Type question.
Tip: Use the formatting options in the Home tab to add bullets, bold text, or section headers to make the letter easier to read. Any formatting applied in the template will carry through when the letter is merged.
Step 7: Insert an Image Merge Field (Optional)
If you want to include a patient image in the letter, such as a photo from the new patient exam, place your cursor where you want the image to appear.
Navigate to Merge Fields > General > Images > Images. Select the applicable Series Type and Image Type.
Important: Do not merge images into a document until they have been edited in Cloud 9. If an unedited image is merged, subsequent merges will continue to use the original unedited version. See the Cloud 9: Using Merge Fields in the Document Editor article here for more detail on image merge fields.
Note: Keep an eye on the file size indicator in the lower right corner of the Document Editor. The maximum document size is 4 MB. If the indicator turns red, remove images until the document is under the limit before saving.
Step 8: Save the Document
Once the letter is complete, click File > Save to save the document. If this is the first time saving, use Save As to confirm the document name.
Step 9: Attach the Document to the Questionnaire
Now that the document is saved it needs to be linked to the questionnaire so it is available when that questionnaire is run.
- Navigate to Edit > Setup > Questionnaires.
- Find and open the questionnaire this letter is linked to, in this example the NP Exam Questionnaire.
- Scroll to the Documents section at the bottom of the questionnaire setup screen.
- Click the blue + to add a document.
- Select the letter you just created from the dropdown list and save.
The document is now linked to the questionnaire. When the questionnaire is run for a patient and a letter is queued or merged, this document will be available to select and will pull in the questionnaire answers automatically.
As always, if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Cloud 9 Support by emailing us at cloud9support@planetdds.com, or chatting us online using the chat bubble on the lower right at https://cloud9support.planetdds.com/hc/en-us, or giving us a call during our business hours of 8:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST at the 1.800.394.6050 option 2.