Encounters & AI Clinical Notes

Watch How to use AI Scribe (English, 2:03)

Record full patient encounters with automatic speaker identification, then generate polished clinical notes with AI. Available on the Professional plan.

Recording an Encounter

Encounter mode captures an entire patient visit (5–60 minutes) and automatically identifies who is speaking.

How to Start

  1. Open the ParrotPadMD Scratchpad (PWA) or extension overlay
  2. In the Scratchpad, tap the Record a visit tab. In the overlay, tap Encounters
  3. Tap Record Encounter
  4. Grant microphone access if prompted
  5. Conduct the patient visit normally
  6. Tap Stop when finished

Tip: Place your device on the desk between you and the patient for best audio capture. A quiet room improves speaker identification accuracy.

What Happens After Recording

  1. Upload — Audio is securely uploaded to our transcription provider (encrypted, HIPAA-compliant)
  2. Transcription — a medical speech model transcribes the full encounter
  3. Diarization — Speakers are automatically identified (Speaker 1, Speaker 2, etc.)
  4. Ready — The encounter appears in your list with a diarized transcript

Processing typically takes 1–3 minutes depending on encounter length.

Speaker Diarization

ParrotPadMD automatically detects different speakers in the encounter. The transcript shows each speaker's portions labeled as Speaker 1, Speaker 2, etc.

  • Supports 2–5 speakers per encounter
  • Works best when speakers take turns (minimal overlap)
  • Speaker labels are consistent within each encounter

Privacy & Data Handling

  • Audio is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256)
  • Audio is automatically deleted after processing — never stored long-term
  • Transcripts are stored in your account only — you can delete them anytime
  • See HIPAA & Security for full details

Generating Clinical Notes

After an encounter is processed, you can generate structured clinical notes with one tap. ParrotPadMD uses a dual-stage AI pipeline for high-quality results.

How It Works

  1. Open a finished visit in Visits and notes, or wait for it on the Scratchpad after recording
  2. Tap Generate Notes
  3. Choose a template (SOAP Note, Clinical Note, etc.), or let your default template generate in one tap
  4. AI extracts key information from the transcript, then generates a polished note
  5. Review and edit the generated note
  6. Copy to clipboard or insert into your EHR

Every note you generate stays with its visit. Open the visit in Visits and notes to find its notes, newest first. Notes made before September 10, 2026 are not linked to a visit, so they are listed under Other notes.

Notes in Your Language

Notes are written in your dictation language, the language chosen on your account page. A physician working in Spanish gets Spanish section headings and Spanish prose. Medication names, doses, units and lab values are kept exactly as dictated, never translated. To write a note in another language, set an output language on a template in Template Studio (for example, Spanish patient instructions after an English visit). Sources and transcript quotes always show the transcript's own words.

Available Templates

ParrotPadMD includes 6 built-in note templates, and you can add your own (see Your Own Template below):

SOAP Note

The classic four-section format: Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan. Best for structured documentation of any encounter type.

Clinical Note

A narrative clinical documentation style. Good for encounters that don't fit neatly into SOAP format.

Progress Note

Problem-oriented follow-up documentation. Ideal for return visits where you're tracking existing conditions.

Brief Note

A concise encounter summary. Perfect for quick visits, phone calls, or simple follow-ups.

Patient Instructions

After-visit instructions based on what was discussed during the encounter. Written in patient-friendly language.

Referral Letter

A formal referral to another specialist, drawing from the encounter discussion.

Getting Better Results

  • Speak clearly — Mention diagnoses, medications, and plans explicitly during the encounter
  • Structured encounters help — Following a natural HPI → exam → assessment → plan flow gives the AI more to work with
  • Review and edit — Always review generated notes before inserting into your EHR
  • Try different templates — If one template doesn't capture what you need, try another

Your Own Template (Template Studio)

Open Template Studio to build a template with your own sections and instructions, or choose From a sample note, paste one of your past notes, and ParrotPadMD turns its structure into a template. Mark one template as your default and the encounter page generates with it in one tap. You can keep up to 20 custom templates.

Sources: Where Each Section Came From

Below a generated note, the Sources strip lists every section of the template. Click a section to see the transcript lines it was written from. A section marked [Not discussed] means the visit never covered it; the note leaves it empty rather than filling it in. Sources show where the text came from, not that it is correct, so read them before you sign.

Refining One Section

Pick a section in the Refine row and choose Expand, Condense, Bullets, or type your own instruction (for example, "include the medication doses"). Only that section is rewritten; the rest of the note is unchanged. Each refinement is saved as a new version and the previous one stays in History. Edits you type into the note box are saved automatically.

Inserting the Note into Your EHR

With the extension installed, Insert via Extension places the finished note at your cursor with its headings intact, formatted as plain chart text. The extension names the page it is about to insert into and asks you to confirm. You can also copy the note to the clipboard.

AI Text Cleanup

AI Text Cleanup is a separate feature that post-processes your regular dictation transcripts to fix common speech-to-text errors.

What It Fixes

  • Common medical misrecognitions (e.g., "hyper tension" → "hypertension")
  • Grammar and sentence structure
  • Punctuation the voice commands missed
  • Medical terminology spelling normalization

How to Enable

  1. Open the extension popup
  2. Go to Settings
  3. Toggle on AI Text Cleanup (Beta)
  4. Future dictations will be automatically cleaned after recording stops

Note: AI Text Cleanup processes the complete transcript after you stop recording. It does not change text in real-time during dictation. Your original dictation is preserved — cleanup only affects the final inserted text.

Saved Scratchpad Notes

Everything you dictate or type in the Scratchpad is saved to your account as you go: a few seconds after you stop typing, and whenever you stop recording. A line under the text says Saved or Not saved yet. If you are offline, the text stays on screen and saves when you are back.

  • Find a note under Recent in the Scratchpad, or under Notes in Visits and notes, on any device you sign in on
  • Start another with New note. The one you were on stays saved
  • Delete a note under Notes in Visits and notes. It is gone from your account at once
  • Keep them for less time by choosing 30 or 90 days under Security on your account page. The default keeps notes until you delete them

Dictation you send straight into your EHR with the extension is never saved. Your EHR keeps that text.

Usage & Billing

  • Encounter recording counts against your monthly transcription minutes (same rate as regular dictation)
  • Note generation is included with the Professional plan at no extra per-note charge
  • AI Text Cleanup is included with the Professional plan