Ask Heidi to do something the way you'd brief a colleague who's new to your clinic: say what you want finished, point them at the right records, and tell them where to stop. You don't need a formula for every request, but the shape below will get you a usable result on the first try.
Start with the shape: goal, steps, output
Goal: What do you want finished, and for which patient or list?
Steps: Which records should Heidi use, over what dates, and what should it do with them?
Output: What should come back, and where should Heidi stop for your review?
Here's the difference it makes.
Vague: "Sort out my referrals."
Clear: "From my three sessions today, draft a referral letter for anyone I mentioned referring. Use my referral template, flag anything missing from the record, and show me each draft before sending."
The second one names the source, the date range, the format, the thing to watch for and the stopping point.
Add the constraints that matter to the task: preserve clinical detail, identify missing information, show sources, ask before changing a record. Leave out the ones that don't.
Five things that sharpen a prompt
Name the system: When the work happens off platform, say exactly where. "Do this in Google Chrome." "Go to my EHR, Cliniko."
Name the patient and the dates:"Jane Doe's last three visits" beats "her recent history". Heidi won't guess a date range for you.
Show, don't describe: "Here's how I structure a meal plan, using this table format." Paste the example in. Heidi picks up your preferences from what you show it and from the edits you make afterwards, so you're teaching it once rather than correcting it weekly.
Use Heidi's words: Sessions, patients, notes, templates, Routines. These map to real things in the product, so Heidi knows what you're pointing at.
Say where to stop: "Show me before you send." "Draft it, don't save it." Manual mode already holds external writes for your approval, but naming the stopping point removes any doubt about what comes back.
Where to start
Pick one job you already do every week. Finishing the follow-up list. Drafting a referral. Preparing a handover. Getting ready for the next clinic.
Then build up in three moves:
One completed session. Ask for a follow-up worklist or a referral draft. Check it properly.
A small named set of sessions. Once the single-session result is right, widen it. Name the sessions rather than saying "recent".
Save it as a Routine. Only after you've watched the workflow run correctly. A Routine repeats whatever you saved, including the parts you hadn't checked.
What a longer prompt can't fix
The examples here are prompts to adapt, not a promise that every workflow is enabled on your account. Heidi can only use the Routines, connections and tools your account has. If a source isn't connected or a feature isn't enabled, no amount of rewording will get Heidi access. Connect it or enable it, then ask again.
If the output isn't right
Wrong content or format: Point at the error, narrow the scope and give an example. "Use only these three sessions. Show dates and sources. Return it as the table I gave you."
Something's missing: Check your attachments and source access. Ask Heidi which records it actually read before you run it again.
Wrong field or timezone: Name the exact destination and the timezone, then open the saved result and confirm it landed where you expected.
A tool failed or isn't available: Check the connection, the app state and what your account includes. Rewording the prompt repeatedly won't repair a failed tool.
It finished part of the job: Ask what completed and what's left. Check the existing tasks and records before retrying, so you don't end up with two of everything.
Before you accept anything
Run the same check every time: right patient, right source, right dates, nothing missing, and the proposed action is one you'd take yourself. The clinical decision and anything that goes to a patient stay with you.