A safe end-to-end workflow for clinic letters
A repeatable, six-step workflow for using an AI tool to draft clinic letters while keeping patient data out of the tool.
Before you start
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. You will need: a fictional patient template, your usual letter template, and an AI tool you have signed in to.
Write your skeleton in your own system
Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore. Type the bullets that capture the clinical picture — no names, no dates of birth, no hospital numbers.
De-identify before you paste
Replace any potentially identifying detail with a generic placeholder such as “a woman in her sixties”. This is the step that protects the patient.
Ask the tool for a first draft
Use the prompt below. Be specific about the audience and the desired length.
Read the draft critically
Look for invented details: doses, dates, investigations. Cross-check against your own notes.
Edit and re-personalise inside your own system
Paste the draft into your usual letter template. Re-add identifiers there, never in the AI tool.
Sign and send through normal channels
The AI tool is a drafting aid only. The clinical responsibility and the sign-off remain yours.
The prompt to use in step 3
When not to use this
Ut enim ad minim veniam. If a letter touches a sensitive area — safeguarding, a complaint, a serious incident — draft it yourself. AI tools are best for routine, repetitive shapes of writing.
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