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Overview
Patients in Heidi gives you a persistent record for each patient you see: their clinical context, linked session history, and uploaded documents, all in one place.
Your Patient list
To access your Patient list, 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 details on the right-hand side - this includes complete linked session history, stored details and any files you have attached to them.
Within a Patient, you can:
Start a new session that is automatically linked to the patient.
Upload documents directly to the Patient.
Review and edit stored profile fields.
What's stored within a Patient
Patient fields
Each patient can store 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. Patients store the clinical context that lives within Heidi, such as session history, uploaded documents, and auto-extracted fields.
Patient-level documents
You can upload documents to a Patient, making those documents available as context for any future session with that patient.
To upload a document to a Patient:
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 details.
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 button 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 remain attached to the patient, 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 snapshot of their details without taking you out of the session.
The hover view shows a subset of their stored fields - enough to check a name, identifier, or key clinical flag at a glance. For the full details, click on the patient’s name to open the Patient view.
You can also view any linked sessions for the patient by clicking on the date directly beneath the patient identifier.
Auto-extraction from transcript to a Patient
When Heidi detects relevant clinical information in a session transcript, it can extract it and offer to save it to the linked patient.
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 patient.
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 ignore them entirely. Unless changes are accepted, no updates to the patient’s data will occur.
Turning off auto-extraction
Auto-extraction is on by default. If you'd prefer to update patient details manually after each session, you can turn it off at any time.
To turn off auto-extraction:
Go to User Menu > Settings > Data Management.
Toggle Automatically extract patient details to off.
Once disabled, Heidi will no longer surface extraction suggestions after sessions. Your existing patient data is not affected.
You can re-enable this at any time from the same setting.
How do I link a session to a patient?
Linking a session to a patient 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 Patient 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 isn’t needed.
You can also start a linked session directly from within the Patient. The new session is automatically linked to that patient.
To learn more about Session Linking, see Managing your Patient Sessions
Returning patients: prior session context
When you open a linked session, Heidi can include three recent sessions for that patient as context. This means your notes can reference what happened in up to three prior visits without manually copying and pasting between sessions.
The three-session limit is fixed. If a patient has more than three prior sessions, you must select the three most relevant.
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 three recent sessions with this patient.
Deleting a patient
There are two methods to delete patient data: automatic and manual.
Automatic patient deletion
Heidi can automatically delete patient profiles that have been inactive for a set period. This keeps your patient list clean without manual effort.
A patient is considered active if they were created or had a session linked to them. Once a patient has had no activity for your chosen period, Heidi will delete their profile.
To configure automatic patient deletion:
Go to Settings > Data Management.
Locate Automatically delete patients.
Switch the toggle on.
Set your inactivity period - between 30 and 365 days.
To disable automatic deletion, switch the toggle off.
💡 The Automatically delete patients setting is separate to the Automatic delete sessions setting. Changing one does not change or impact the other.
What gets deleted
When a patient profile is automatically deleted:
The profile and its stored fields are removed.
Documents uploaded to the patient profile are deleted.
Sessions previously linked to the patient are not deleted - they remain in your session history, but are unlinked from the patient profile.
If a patient receives a new linked session before their deletion date, the inactivity timer resets and they will not be deleted.
Warning notifications
Before any patient is deleted, Heidi sends a warning notification: "[Number] patient(s) going to be deleted shortly."
The warning appears in the in-app notification bell only. It is not sent by email or push notification.
The Warn before patient deletion setting is on by default for anyone with auto-delete enabled. You can turn it off in Settings > Notifications.
How the timing works
Heidi checks for inactive patients once a day. Warnings and deletions happen on separate days, so you always get notice before any deletion occurs.
When you first turn auto-delete on
On the next daily check, any patients already past the inactivity period are warned - not deleted. Those patients are then deleted on the following day's check (approximately 24 hours later).
Ongoing
Each daily check warns any patient due for deletion within the next 24 hours, and deletes any patients whose time is already up. In normal use, a patient receives roughly one day's notice in the notification bell before being deleted.
Manual deletion
To manually delete a patient, open their profile and select Delete. You will be given two options:
Delete the Patient and all linked sessions.
Unlink and keep those sessions.
The default option is to unlink and retain sessions.
For more detail on session-level auto-delete, see Consult Summary - Retrieving and Deleting Sessions.
Import patients from a CSV
You can create multiple patient profiles at once by uploading a CSV file. This is useful when migrating from another system or onboarding a large batch of patients.
To import patients:
Go to Patients.
In the top-left corner, select Import.
Download the CSV template from within the import flow.
Populate the template with your patient data, and upload it.
Only the patient identifier field is required. All other fields - allergies, medications, history, and any other profile data - are optional.
Note: If you upload a patient identifier that already exists in Heidi, a new duplicate profile is created rather than updating the existing one. To consolidate duplicates, use the merge tool below.
Merge patients
If you have duplicate patients, you can merge them into a single record.
To merge patients:
From your patient list, select the patients you want to merge.
Select Merge.
Choose which patient record to keep.
Review the confirmation steps and confirm the merge.
After merging, all sessions and documents from the removed patients are re-linked to the record you kept. The removed patients are deleted.
A few things to be aware of before merging:
Only the master record's details - medications, allergies, history - are retained. Details from the removed records are not carried over.
Sessions remain separate after the merge. If a session was linked to the wrong patient, you can unlink it from within the session.
Merging Patients is permanent. There is no option to undo a Patient merge. The flow includes several confirmation steps - review your selection carefully before confirming.
FAQs
Why should I link my sessions to a patient?
Linking a session to a patient 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 their record.
Linking also supports session preparation. You can open a patient 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. A Heidi Patient stores 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. Patients are created when you first link a session to a patient, or when Heidi automatically creates one at session start.
Will my sessions be deleted when a patient is auto-deleted?
No. Only the patient profile is deleted. Sessions are unlinked from the patient and kept in your session history. They follow their own separate retention settings.
Where does the deletion warning appear?
In the in-app notification bell only. No email or push notification is sent.
How much notice will I get before a patient is deleted?
At least one day. Heidi always sends a warning notification the day before deletion occurs.
What if a patient becomes active again before the deletion date?
If a new session is linked to a patient before their deletion date, the inactivity timer resets and they will not be deleted on that cycle.
Does manually deleting a patient profile delete their linked sessions?
If you manually delete a patient, 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 also delete the documents I uploaded to them?
Yes. Documents uploaded directly to a patient are deleted when the patient is deleted (cascading deletion). Documents uploaded into individual sessions are not affected.
What is the difference between patient-level 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 and can be selected as context for any future session with that patient.
Can I turn off automatic extraction of patient details?
Yes. Auto-extraction is on by default, but you can disable it at any time. Go to User Menu > Settings > Data Management and toggle Automatically extract patient details to off. Once disabled, Heidi will no longer suggest patient updates after sessions. You can re-enable it at any time from the same place.