Overview
Patient profiles give you a persistent record for each patient in Heidi: their clinical context, linked session history, and uploaded documents, all in one place.
Your patient list
To access your list of patients, in the left-hand navigation menu, select Patients. Here, you will find every patient you have created or linked a session to, in one searchable view.
Selecting a patient opens their profile details on the right-hand side - this includes stored fields, linked session history, and any documents you have attached to the profile.
Within a patient profile, you can:
Start a new session that is automatically linked to the patient.
Upload documents directly to the patient profile.
Review and edit stored profile fields.
What's in a patient profile
Patient fields
Each patient profile stores the following fields:
First name and last name
Patient identifier (e.g. patient name, number or code you will recognise)
Date of birth
Gender
Email
Phone number
Past medical history
Current medications
Allergies
Additional Notes
These fields persist across sessions. Once saved, they are available as context every time you work with that patient. You do not need to re-enter them.
Using Heidi alongside an EHR? Your EHR stays the source of truth for patient records. Patient profiles store the clinical context that lives within Heidi: think session history, uploaded documents, and auto-extracted fields.
Patient-level documents
You can upload documents directly to a patient profile, making them available as context for any future session with that patient.
To upload a document to a patient profile:
In the left-hand navigation menu, select Patients.
Select the patient in question:
For existing patients, select their name from the list.
For new patients, select + New patient in the top-right corner and complete their profile.
In the patient’s profile, select Files > Attach files.
Choose the file. Supported file types are the same as session-level Context uploads.
Using patient documents in a session:
When you open a session that is linked to a patient, a control appears on the session's context tab in the bottom-left corner, Use patient documents as context. Use this button to select which patient-level documents you want to include as context for that session.
This is separate from uploading documents directly into the session. Patient-level documents stay attached to the profile and can be reused across multiple sessions for that patient.
💡 Tip: Patient-level documents are a good place for referral letters, specialist reports, or other clinical background that is relevant to the patient regardless of which session you are in.
Hover-over patient view
When you are in a session linked to a patient, hovering over the linked patient's name surfaces a quick snapshot of their profile without taking you out of the session.
The hover view shows a subset of the stored profile fields, enough to check a name, identifier, or key clinical flag at a glance. For the full profile, click on the patient’s name to open the patient profile view.
Auto-extraction from transcript to patient profile
When Heidi detects relevant clinical information in a session transcript, it can extract it and offer to save it to the linked patient's profile.
What can be extracted:
First name and last name
Phone number
Patient identifier
Past medical history
Current medications
Allergies
How it works:
When extraction is available, a notification indicator appears in the session.
A popup shows you what Heidi has detected and proposes to add it to the profile.
You review the suggestions and accept or dismiss them. Nothing is saved without your confirmation.
The recommended changes presented by auto-extraction are optional to accept - alternatively you can dismiss them, or totally ignore them. Unless changes are accepted, no updates to the patient’s data will occur.
How do I link a session to a patient?
Linking a session to a patient profile is how Heidi connects a specific visit to a patient's history.
When a session is linked:
Any patient-level documents you select are available in the context tab
Extracted clinical information can be saved back to the profile after the session
Additionally, the patient’s three most recent sessions can be automatically included as context if this setting is enabled - head to User Menu > Settings > Data Management and toggle Automatically include past sessions to on.
How to link at session start:
When you start a new session, type a patient identifier into the patient field. Heidi will:
Suggest existing profiles where there is a name match,
Offer to create a new patient if one does not yet exist,
Allow the creation of an unlinked session if using a patient profile isn’t needed.
You can also start a linked session directly from the Patients full profile. The new session is automatically linked to that patient.
For a deeper dive into Session Linking, see Managing your Patient Sessions
Returning patients: prior session context
When you open a linked session, Heidi is equipped to pull in the three most recent prior sessions for that patient as context. This means your notes can reference what happened in the last 3 visits without copying and pasting anything.
The three-session cap is fixed. If a patient has more than 3 prior sessions, only the 3 most recent are included.
To link these sessions:
Begin a new linked session for a patient.
In the new session, navigate to the Context tab.
At the bottom-left corner of the context window, select the + Link extra context icon.
Select up to 3 of the most recent sessions with this patient.
For a deeper understanding on how prior session context works in notes and templates, see Linked Previous Sessions.
Deleting a patient profile
When a patient profile is manually deleted, you will have two options:
Delete all linked sessions, or
Unlink and keep those sessions
The default option will be to unlink and retain sessions.
For more detail on session-level auto-delete, see Consult Summary - Retrieving and Deleting Sessions.
FAQs
Why should I link my sessions to a patient?
Linking a session to a patient profile gives Heidi more context to work with, which improves the quality of generated notes. When a session is linked, Heidi can draw on the patient's stored clinical fields (medical history, current medications, and allergies), up to three recent prior sessions, and any documents uploaded to the patient's profile.
Linking also supports session preparation. You can open a patient's profile from the Patients tab before a consultation to review their history and recent sessions without needing to start a session first.
What about my EHR - do I need to duplicate patient records?
No. Heidi's patient profiles store context that is useful within Heidi sessions. Your EHR remains the system of record for patient data. If you start a session from an EHR-integrated schedule, your existing workflow remains the same.
Can I bulk-import my existing patients?
Not at this stage. Patient profiles are created when you first link a session to a patient, or when Heidi auto-creates one at session start.
Does deleting a patient profile delete their linked sessions?
If you manually delete a profile, Heidi will ask whether you want to delete all linked sessions or unlink and keep them. The default is to unlink and retain sessions.
Does deleting a patient profile delete the documents I uploaded to the profile?
Yes. Documents uploaded directly to a patient profile are deleted when the profile is deleted (cascading deletion). Documents uploaded into individual sessions are not affected.
What is the difference between patient profile documents and session Context?
Session Context is per-session: you upload a file into a specific session, and it is only available for that session. Patient-level documents are attached to the patient profile and can be selected as context for any future session with that patient.