Business Letters
When creating letters for business use, consider using templates for each type of letter.
Within smaller clinics, a full EMR/EHR with reporting capabilities may not be installed. You may be asked to create new patient letters. These will hold repetitive text that is used in each letter conveying the information. This information would be the hours of operation, address, contact information, parking, etc. This information rarely changes. There will be unique text such as the date, the name and address of the recipient and any targeted information for that recipient.
Templates allow you to create a document that holds the repetitive information, and generally, with a few clicks or the use of an icon, the letter with the general content launches. The only additional content to be added is the unique information. The use of templates makes document production efficient.
Common ExamplesÂ
Common examples of clinic-oriented documents are:
- New patient letters welcoming a new patient to the clinic
- Accounting letters for outstanding balances
- Change of appointment letters
These documents may be sent via secured email or regular mail. If the letter is being sent via email, any accompanying documents are indicated as attachments, as the documents will be attached to the email. If the letter is being sent through regular post, any accompanying documents plus the letter will be inserted into an envelope. The accompanying documents are indicated as enclosures, as they will be enclosed within the envelope.
Remember to include the postal code in all letters. An address is considered incomplete without the postal code.
Here is a guideline of the three items listed above showing the various parts for most business letters:
