The Art of the Simple Template: Why Less Is More
February 27th, Empathia Editorial Team
Most clinicians are deeply familiar with traditional EMR templates. These templates are often highly structured, filled with detailed prompts, placeholders, and embedded instructions designed to ensure nothing is missed. Over time, many clinicians come to believe that the more detailed the template, the better the note. As a result, when they begin using an AI scribe, they often try to recreate that same level of complexity. However, bringing the same density of instructions, placeholders, and formatting rules into an AI-assisted template can actually make the output more redundant and harder to review. Unlike EMR templates, which rely heavily on the clinician to manually structure and format the note, AI-assisted templates are designed to offload much of that organizational work to the system. When overloaded with excessive detail, they can produce cluttered outputs that are harder to maintain and less consistent across visits.
The goal of a good AI template is not to “tell the system everything,” but to provide a clear clinical structure that makes the story easy to capture and fast to verify.
Below are practical principles to keep templates simple, reliable, and easy to scale across common primary care workflows.
Make Structure Do the Work
A template is most effective when it acts as a map, not a paragraph of instructions. Instead of writing long directives about layout or flow, define the structure directly through clean section headings and consistent ordering.
For example, clearly separating sections in Assessment and Plan helps keep problems organized and prevents a note from becoming a single long block of text. When the structure is explicit, the output is easier to scan, easier to edit, and more consistent from one visit to the next.
Use Short Examples to Set the Level of Detail
If you want a consistent level of clinical detail, a brief example can be more helpful than extensive instruction. The purpose of an example is not to prescribe exact wording, but to communicate the expected depth and style for that section.
For instance, a short sample line can indicate whether you want the assessment to include clinical rationale, and whether the plan should be written as concise actions. Keeping examples short reduces noise while still guiding the output toward the style you want.
Avoid “Meta Prompts” and Focus on Clinical Content
It is tempting to include broad meta instructions like “be professional” or “only use facts.” However, these lines often consume space without improving the clinical usefulness of the note. Templates work best when they focus on what needs to appear in the note, rather than adding generic directives that do not change the structure or content requirements.
In general, prioritize the clinical sections and the information you want captured. Keep the template focused on what supports review and decision making.
Additional Guidance for Clean, Maintainable Templates
Use standard clinical headings. Familiar headings such as SOAP, HPI, ROS, Assessment, and Plan reduce ambiguity and make the note easier to review.
Prefer scannable formatting. Notes are reviewed quickly. Templates that encourage concise phrasing and scannable organization reduce cognitive load during review.
Keep templates purpose built. Avoid a single “mega template” meant to cover every scenario. It is usually more effective to maintain a small set of templates for common workflows, such as new patient visits and follow ups. Purpose built templates are easier to maintain and produce more consistent notes.
A simple template is easier to use, easier to improve, and more reliable over time. The goal is not to control every sentence, but to create a structure that supports accurate capture and fast review.
