Building & Managing Templates

Templates help standardize reporting, improve consistency, and reduce repetitive dictation. In Sirona, users can search, preview, apply, clone, and configure templates directly in Reporter. Clinic templates can be shared across the organization, while personal templates remain available only to the individual user.

Access templates in Reporter

Open Reporter from a patient study. The template currently applied to the report appears above the report window. Select the template name to open the template panel, where you can browse available templates and macros.

Tip: To work with templates without keeping a study open, select Discard in the lower-left corner of Reporter. This clears the report, returns the study to Pending, and keeps the Reporter window open.

Browse and filter templates

The template panel includes both clinic-level templates and personal templates. Use the search box to find templates by name. You can also filter the list to narrow results by template type and owner. Available filters include:

• Relevance
• Global: templates not tied to a specific study description
• Study: templates tied to specific study descriptions
• Owner
• Clinic: templates shared across the organization
• Personal: templates owned by the logged-in user.

Clinic templates are identified by a building icon next to the template name. Templates without that icon are personal templates.

Preview and apply a template

Select a template name once to preview it below the template list. To apply a template to the active report, double-click the template name. The template name at the top of the report updates to reflect the selected template.

Clone and edit templates

Cloning an existing template is often the fastest way to create a new clinic template. Hover near a template name to reveal available actions, including Clone and Edit. When you clone a template, the copy opens in edit mode. Update the Template Name and Trigger Phrase so the new template does not conflict with an existing one.

 

Tip: The trigger phrase can be used with voice recognition to insert the template into the report body.

• If Global is selected - the template will appear to all and any of the exam descriptions listed in Sirona.
• If Selected procedure description(s) is chosen, the template will be attached to the procedure descriptions you choose.
• Use the search to make it easier to find correlating procedure descriptions.
• Click on the green button to add the study description to the template.

NOTE: When they are added, they disappear from this list and populate to the window underneath. Clicking anywhere off of this list will close it.

• Once added, procedure descriptions can easily be removed by clicking the red button.
• Turning on Autoload will pull this template into the report each time the study description matches.

Note:  The autoload will need to be turned on individually for each study description attached to the template.

NOTE:  When saving the template/macro, if a study has already been set to autoload for another template - there will be a warning screen under the save button that will not allow saving until the autoload is turned off or the procedure description is removed.

Map templates to procedures

Templates can be made broadly available or limited to selected procedures. You can choose:

• Global to make the template available across all exam descriptions
• Selected procedure descriptions to attach the template only to specific study descriptions.

When mapping a template to selected procedures, use the search field to find the correct study descriptions. Select the add button to attach a procedure description to the template. Once added, it appears in the mapped procedures area. To remove a mapped procedure later, use the remove option next to it.

Autoload automatically inserts a template when the opened study matches a mapped procedure description. This can help streamline reporting for common exams and improve consistency. Autoload is configured separately for each mapped procedure. If a procedure description is already assigned to autoload for another template or macro, Sirona displays a warning and the conflict must be resolved before saving.

Build template content

Sirona includes tools to help you create structured and dynamic templates.

Merge fields

Merge fields automatically insert patient or exam information into the report. To add one, select the merge fields icon and choose from the available list. Merge fields appear highlighted within the template.

Formatting tools

Formatting tools support numbered lists, bullet points, paragraph formatting, and other text formatting controls. Highlighting text also opens additional formatting options such as headings, bold, italic, and underline. Confirm that the Impression field uses the expected heading style so the final report structure remains consistent downstream.

Fields and required fields

Typing [ begins a field in the template. Selecting the field opens the field editor, where you can name the field and configure its behavior. Clear, unique field names can make templates easier to navigate during dictation. You can also mark a field as Required to prevent a report from being signed until a value is entered. Once a required field is created, changes to that requirement should be made at the template editing level. 

Note: Avoid creating nested fields, since a field inside another field can make the template difficult to edit.

Picklists

Picklists are fields in a template that provide predetermined text options, allowing you to quickly choose text without dictating. To create a picklist, type [ in the template and select the Picklist option in the right sidebar. The picklist editor allows you to add options — each with a name (the trigger phrase) and insert text (the text placed into the report).

Note: Picklists are not reusable elements. They exist only within the template or macro in which they are created.

Tip: The star indicates the default value that will populate to the report on opening.

Related to

• templates