# Symptoms and Result Templates

Set up the symptom list and the templates your team uses for test results.

Two of the lists under **Definitions** exist for the same reason: a visit record is more useful when the clinic writes the same thing the same way every time. Symptoms are what your team picks from; result templates are what they fill in.

Both feed the SOAP note. See [Record a visit](/visits/record-a-visit).

## Where to Find This Section

**Clinic Admin** → **Definitions**, then **Symptoms** or **Result Templates**.

## Symptoms

*Manage symptoms available in SOAP assessment for your clinic.*

A symptom is what the owner reports or the examination observes — the complaint. It is not a diagnosis, which is the clinician's conclusion about it. The two are separate lists for that reason. See [Diagnoses](/settings/diagnoses).

### Adding One

1. Open **Definitions** → **Symptoms**.
2. Click **Add Symptom**.
3. Name it, choose the species it applies to, and save.

**Pet Species** keeps the list short where it is used: a symptom tied to dogs does not clutter the list on a cat.

> **Caution**
> Symptoms are not internal. *These symptoms will be shown to pet owners during online appointment booking.* Write them in the words an owner would use — "limping", not "lameness, hind limb" — because the owner is choosing from this list too. See [Users and roles](/settings/users-and-roles) for the setting that lets clients book online.

### Default and Clinic-Specific

As with diagnoses, the list holds two kinds of entry. System-provided ones carry a **Default** badge, can be used but not changed, and only the symptoms your clinic created can be edited or deleted.

Deleting is permanent: *This symptom will be permanently deleted.* If a symptom has simply fallen out of use, leaving it costs nothing and keeps old records readable.

## Result Templates

*Manage your custom result templates used for medical examination/test results.*

A result template is a small form your clinic defines once — a blood panel, a urinalysis, an ultrasound report — so that the same test is recorded the same way on every visit rather than as free text somebody has to interpret later.

### Building One

1. Open **Definitions** → **Result Templates**.
2. Click **Add Result Template**.
3. Name the template, then add a field for each value you want recorded.

Until you add one, the template is empty: *No fields have been added yet. Use the "Add Field" button.*

### Field Types

| Type | Use it for |
|---|---|
| **Text** | A short value on one line |
| **Long Text** | A comment or an interpretation |
| **Number** | A measured value. Put the unit in **Description** |
| **Select List** | A fixed set of answers — positive/negative, or a grade. Add each with **Add Option** |

Prefer **Select List** and **Number** over free text wherever the answer is really one of a few. That is the whole point of a template: a value you can compare against the same patient's last visit.

### Editing an Existing Template

> **Caution**
> *The changes you make will not affect records that already use this template. Records using the template will remain available in their pre-change state. If you want records using the template to also be updated after saving the changes, please remove and re-add the records.*

This is deliberate, and it is the right behaviour for a medical record: a result recorded in March should still read as it did in March, even if the template changed in June. It does mean a template worth getting right is worth getting right early — check the fields and units before the clinic starts using it in earnest.

## Related

- [Record a visit](/visits/record-a-visit) — the SOAP note, where both of these are used
- [Diagnoses](/settings/diagnoses) — the clinician's conclusion, as opposed to the reported symptom
- [Clinic Settings](/settings) — the rest of this section