Once you've built your first template, the next question is how to get more out of it. This guide covers the two levers that do the most work — precise fields and powerful rules — plus the structural choices that tie them together.
Everything here is still plain text. No syntax, no code. The skill is in the wording.
The quick recap
A Vero template is made of three things:
Plain text — appears in the final note exactly as written (section headers, boilerplate, sign-offs).
[Fields] — square brackets are filled from the transcript, your notes, and uploads. If there's no source material, the line disappears.
(Rules) — round brackets are instructions Vero follows. They never appear in the final note.
Most template problems are field or rule problems. This article fixes both, then shows how to structure them.
Part 1. Writing precise fields
How Vero treats a field
Anything inside
[ ]is replaced with real content from the source material.The square brackets themselves never appear in the final note.
If there's no relevant information for a field, Vero omits the entire line.
Fields can contain multiple comma-separated items — Vero fills in what's available and drops the rest silently.
Specificity is everything
The single biggest determinant of placeholder quality is how specifically you label the field.
Generic | Specific |
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Specific labels tell Vero three things at once: what to fill in, how much to fill in, and in what order.
Split big fields into smaller ones
A giant field like [Full assessment and plan] asks Vero to make every structural decision on its own — which is exactly where output gets unpredictable. Split it into the parts you want.
Before:
Assessment and Plan:
- [Full assessment and plan]
After:
Assessment:
- [Primary diagnosis]
- [Supporting reasoning in 1–2 lines]
- [Differential diagnoses, if discussed]
Plan:
- [Investigations ordered]
- [New medications with dose, route, frequency]
- [Non-pharmacologic management or counselling]
- [Referrals]
- [Follow-up and return precautions]
Each line now has a clear intent. If the source doesn't have it, the line disappears — not as "[Not discussed]", but as nothing at all.
Combine multiple items when you want one clean line
A comma-separated label gives you a one-line summary that Vero fills in from whatever's available.
[Patient name, age, gender, presenting complaint]
If only age and complaint are in the source, Vero outputs:
45-year-old presenting with chest pain
Three questions before you commit to a field
What? — is the label descriptive enough that a new colleague would know what goes there?
How much? — one word, one line, one paragraph? Say so.
What if it's missing? — if there's no source data, do you want the line to disappear (default) or be replaced with structure? If it's the latter, add a rule.
Part 2. Writing powerful rules
Rules — anything in (round brackets) — are how you teach Vero your preferences. They're the single most powerful feature of the template system, and the difference between a template that mostly works and one that produces the exact note you'd have written.
Rules never appear in the final note. They're instructions only.
How rules interact with everything else
Rules override Vero's default formatting behaviour and your user settings — if you write a rule, Vero follows it. The only thing that outranks a rule is clinical accuracy: Vero will never invent information to satisfy a rule. If you write (always include blood pressure) and no blood pressure was recorded, Vero leaves it blank rather than make one up.
Where to put rules
Inline — for instructions that apply to one field only. Place the rule immediately after the bracketed placeholder.
[Past medical history] (Only include if explicitly mentioned. Use bullet points.)
Whole-template — for instructions that apply to the entire note. Place them at the very bottom of the template, or at the top of a section.
(Write in a professional but concise tone. Avoid abbreviations unless standard. Use DD/MM/YYYY for all dates.)
Use both freely. A common pattern: whole-template rules for voice, tone, dates, and units; inline rules for per-field quirks.
The five kinds of rules
Every useful rule falls into one of five categories.
1. Formatting rules — control how output looks: list style, line breaks, capitalization, dates, units.
(Use hyphenated bullets)
(One finding per line)
(Use DD/MM/YYYY for all dates)
(Include units after every vital sign)
(Capitalize medication names)
2. Content rules — inclusion and exclusion — tell Vero what to include, what to leave out, and under what conditions. The most powerful category; these are how you keep notes defensible.
(Only include if explicitly mentioned)
(Do not include stable chronic conditions)
(Exclude any information not stated by the patient)
(Only list investigations that were actually completed)
(Do not infer diagnoses from symptoms)
3. Tone and voice rules — shape the clinical voice of the note.
(Write in the third person)
(Use plain language suitable for a patient summary)
(Use sentence fragments, not full sentences)
(Use "denies" rather than "no" for absent symptoms)
(Introduce each symptom with "reports")
4. Placement rules — tell Vero where information belongs. Useful for non-standard sections or when you want to override Vero's default placement.
(Include vital signs here, not in the examination section)
(Place all ordered investigations under Plan, not Objective)
(Medications started today go here; existing medications go in PMH)
5. Conditional rules — "if / only / unless" logic. Enormously useful for keeping templates lean.
(Only include this section if a mental status exam was performed)
(Use clinical terminology unless the patient requested a summary in plain language)
(If no family history was discussed, omit this line entirely)
The language that works best
Rules behave like instructions to a meticulous new scribe. They work best when they're direct, specific, and unambiguous.
Vague | Precise |
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Good rule-writing habits:
Write rules as complete commands, not fragments.
Use absolute words — always, never, only, exactly.
Give an example inside the rule when the instruction is structural.
Combine related rules with periods inside a single set of parentheses.
Part 3. Fields and rules together
A specific field tells Vero what to fill in. A targeted rule shapes how it appears. Pairing them is where templates start to feel professional.
[Physical exam findings] (Format as "System: findings", one system per line. Only include systems explicitly examined.)
[Medication list] (Include dose, route, and frequency. Preserve the exact spelling from the source.)
[Suicide risk assessment] (Include direct quotes from the patient. Document even if negative.)
Proven patterns by section
Drop-in starting points. Adjust labels and rules to match your own voice.
Chief complaint and HPI
[Chief complaint in the patient's words, one line]
[History of present illness, chronological, including onset, character, severity, duration, modifying factors, associated symptoms, pertinent negatives]
Vitals
[HR, BP, RR, Temp, SpO2 with units, on one line]
Physical exam
[Physical exam findings] (One system per line, format "System: findings". Only include systems examined. Use standard terminology.)
Medications
[Medication name, dose, route, frequency] (Preserve exact spelling. Do not add medications not mentioned in the source.)
Assessment
[Primary diagnosis with one-line reasoning]
[Differential diagnoses, if discussed]
[Active issues being managed today only — do not list stable chronic conditions]
Plan
[Investigations ordered today]
[New medications: name, dose, route, frequency, duration]
[Counselling or non-pharmacologic management]
[Referrals and urgency]
[Follow-up timeframe and return precautions]
Part 4. Structuring a template
Great fields and rules are only half the job. Templates also benefit from a structure that mirrors how you actually think through a visit.
Order sections the way you work, not alphabetically
Vero reads top-down. Fields appearing earlier in the template influence how later fields are interpreted. A useful default:
Patient identifiers (age, gender, reason for visit)
History (CC, HPI, ROS)
Examination (vitals, exam)
Investigations
Assessment
Plan
Patient education, disposition, follow-up
If you think about Assessment before Examination in your own head, put Assessment first. Match the template to your actual clinical flow.
Don't double up labels and fields
Pick one or the other for a given row — a section header in plain text, or a field. Not both. Medications: [Medication list] works. [Medications] - [List] produces awkward output.
Keep global rules in one block
Rules that apply to the entire template — tone, dates, units, abbreviation policy — work best in a single block at the bottom. They're easy to find, easy to edit, and Vero applies them across the whole note.
(Write in a professional but concise tone. Avoid abbreviations unless standard. Use DD/MM/YYYY for all dates. Preserve drug names exactly as dictated.)
Mix narrative and bullets on purpose
Some sections read better as prose (HPI, Assessment reasoning). Others read better as a list (medications, vitals, differentials). You can specify this per section with an inline rule — the whole template doesn't have to be one or the other.
Keep the template shorter than you think
More fields and rules does not mean better notes. A tight template with five well-written fields usually outperforms a bloated one with twenty generic fields and fifteen rules. Start small. Add only when a real visit exposes a gap.
Part 5. Specialty recipes
Worked rule blocks you can drop into a template as a starting point.
Cardiology
(Always list NYHA class and CCS class if discussed. Use mmHg for all blood pressure values. For murmurs, include location, intensity grade, timing, and radiation.)
Mental health
(Use the patient's own words in quotation marks when describing mood, suicidal ideation, or psychotic symptoms. Use clinical terminology elsewhere. Document safety assessment even if not explicitly discussed — write "not assessed" if so.)
Urgent care / ED
(Prioritize red flags and pertinent negatives. Use sentence fragments, not full sentences. Always document disposition and return precautions, even if they were brief.)
Paediatrics
(Always include weight in kg and centile if discussed. Document immunisation status if mentioned. Note developmental milestones only if assessed today.)
General practice / primary care
(Keep HPI to one paragraph maximum. Use bullets from Assessment onwards. Always end with a one-line follow-up plan.)
Part 6. Iterating on a template
Templates rarely land perfectly on the first draft. When the output isn't matching what you want, work through three questions in order:
Is the information in the source? If the transcript never mentioned vitals, no template change will put them in the note. Rules shape what's there — they don't invent content.
Is the field specific enough? Swap
[Exam]for[Physical exam findings by system examined]. Half the time, this solves it.Is the rule in the right place? If a global instruction is being applied inconsistently, move it from an inline rule on one field to a whole-template rule at the bottom.
A small example
The same Objective section, rewritten with better fields and rules:
Before:
Objective:
- [Vitals]
- [Examination findings]
After:
Objective:
- [Vital signs with units on one line, in the order HR, BP, RR, T, SpO2]
- [Physical exam findings] (Format as "System: findings", one system per line. Only include systems that were explicitly examined. Specify laterality only if stated.)
- [Completed investigation results with units] (Only include results already back. Planned or pending tests belong under Plan.)
Pitfalls to avoid
Contradictory rules. If one rule says
(use bullets)and another says(write in paragraphs), Vero follows whichever appears later. Keep rules consistent.Rules inside placeholders. Write
[Diagnosis] (medical terminology), not[Diagnosis (medical terminology)]. Rules must sit outside the square brackets.Over-constraining one field. Fifteen rules on one placeholder produces mechanical output. Stick to 1–3 rules per field, and move broad rules (tone, formatting, language) to the bottom of the template.
Nesting brackets. Vero treats only the outermost pair as a placeholder.
Using the bracket label as visible text. Commit to either a section header (plain text) or a placeholder — not both.
Over-specifying inside a small field.
[Brief one-line chief complaint in the patient's own words without any interpretation, quoted if possible, following standard medical notation]is too much. Move constraints into a rule:[Chief complaint in the patient's words] (Quote if distinctive.)Expecting fields or rules to generate content. Both are mapping instructions, not generators. If it's not in the source, it doesn't appear.
What's next
You now have everything needed to write a template that reliably produces the note you'd have written by hand. When you want to understand how Vero actually assembles the finished note — the priority system, how Learnings interact with the template, and how your user settings layer in — read Template Mastery: How Vero Turns Your Template Into a Note.
New to templates? Start with Templates: Getting Started.