Medical letter templates give referral letters and discharge summaries a reusable structure for the reason for care, findings, clinical course, and follow-up. PhraseVault® stores these paragraphs on your computer and inserts them into your record system, word processor, or email wherever normal paste is supported. Press Ctrl+. on Windows or Cmd+. on macOS, search for the paragraph, and press Enter to insert it.
What to save for a referral or a discharge summary
Start with sections you use regularly, leaving the case details as placeholders:
- Opening, with dates and the reason for the letter left blank
- A diagnoses line you fill from the chart
- History and findings, as empty fields
- Your summary, in your own words
- Follow-up, medication changes, and advice you actually gave
- A closing that asks the next clinician to take over care
If you're used to dot phrases, PhraseVault works by summoning a search and choosing a paragraph instead of expanding a code as you type. That means no trigger list to memorize, and you can use the same wording outside your record system.
Examples for referrals and discharge summaries
Save the examples with their placeholders intact. PhraseVault prompts you for details at insertion, as explained in dynamic placeholders; square brackets are an alternative if you prefer to fill them manually. The values are pasted into the document without changing the saved phrase. Keep patient-specific details in the clinical record rather than in your reusable library.
Referral or discharge opening:
Dear Colleague,
I am writing about {{input:Patient name}} (date of birth: {{input:Date of birth}}). Dates of care: {{input:Date or period of care}}. Reason for this letter: {{input:Reason}}.
Diagnoses, from the chart:
Diagnoses for this episode: {{textarea:Diagnoses from the chart}}.
History:
History: {{textarea:History from the chart}}.
Findings:
Findings: {{textarea:Findings from the chart}}.
Clinical summary:
In summary: {{textarea:Summary in your own words}}.
Follow-up:
Follow-up: {{textarea:Who, when, and what will be reviewed}}.
Medication on discharge:
Medication on discharge: {{textarea:Medication and changes from admission}}. Information discussed with the patient: {{textarea:Details of medication discussion, if applicable}}.
Advice and instructions:
Advice and instructions for home: {{textarea:Advice and instructions}}.
Closing:
Thank you for continuing this patient's care. Please contact me if you need any further information.
{{input:Your name and role}}
Adapt the structure to your specialty
A medical admission and a postoperative stay may need different wording, even when they share section headings. Save those sections separately under names such as "Discharge medicine course" and "Discharge postoperative course", so you can choose the appropriate paragraph.
Internal medicine course:
The patient was admitted from {{input:Admission date}} to {{input:Discharge date}} for {{input:Reason}}. Clinical course and relevant findings: {{textarea:Course and findings}}.
After a procedure:
Procedure performed on {{input:Date}}: {{input:Procedure name}}. Postoperative course, including wound status and mobility where relevant: {{textarea:Postoperative course}}.
Describe the course as it occurred for this patient. Avoid saving a default such as "uncomplicated" if it could be carried into a letter without review.
Find and maintain the right paragraph
Use names that identify the document and section, such as "Discharge medication" or "Referral opening". Fuzzy search finds partial words in names and unprotected content, in any word order, and frequently used phrases appear first. Update phrases when your department changes its standard wording; PhraseVault does not keep a version history. For reception messages and other clinical documentation, see the healthcare guide.
One library for the practice
With team sharing, colleagues can use the same approved phrases from a database file in a shared folder. Changes appear on their next search or when they summon PhraseVault. Choose one person to maintain the wording: PhraseVault doesn't merge simultaneous edits or resolve conflicts between offline cloud copies.
PhraseVault stores phrases in your chosen database file, works without an account, and sends no telemetry. Its source is available to read. See the privacy guide for what local storage means when handling personal data. If you store sensitive content, Lock with PIN encrypts that phrase's body; its name remains visible. This protects selected contents, rather than the whole database.
PhraseVault runs on Windows 10 or later (x64) and macOS 13 or later on Apple Silicon. It also runs on Linux (x86_64), built for Omarchy and Arch with Hyprland. Automatic paste and the summon shortcut need Hyprland. The AppImage is best-effort on other distributions. On a Mac, enable PhraseVault in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility so it can paste into your document; without permission, it copies the text for you to paste manually.
Before sending, check patient details, findings, medication, and follow-up against the chart, and remove any sections that do not apply.
Download PhraseVault for a 14-day free trial, no credit card required. Start with the opening, summary, and medication section you use most often.