Pausing and resuming a recording lets you pre-chart, post-chart, or switch between patients mid-session without losing your recording. Use the pause, Finish Later, and Create Note controls to manage recordings across your workflow.
When to use pause and resume
- Alternating between patients: Tap Finish Later during a visit with one patient — for example, while waiting for a test result — see another patient, then return and resume the original recording to discuss results and the treatment plan.
- Adding detail after the visit: Resume a recording after the patient leaves to verbalize additional medical terminology, clarifications, or context before generating the note.
- Resident presentations: Record a resident's patient presentation, pause before entering the patient's room, then resume when you round on the patient.
How to pause and resume
Three controls manage recording state in the Abridge for Clinicians mobile app:
- Pause: Tap the pause button to temporarily stop recording while staying in the current visit. Tap the record button to resume.
- Finish Later: Tap Finish Later to stop the current recording and move to another patient or task. The recording is saved and can be resumed at any time from your worklist.
- Create Note: Tap Create Note to complete the recording and submit it for note generation. Your Abridge-generated note will appear in the web editor at notes.abridge.com. See Completing a recording for next steps.
FAQs
What is the difference between Pause and Finish Later?
Pause keeps you in the current visit and temporarily stops recording — tap the record button to continue. Finish Later stops the recording and lets you move to a different patient or task; you can return to resume it from your worklist later.
Can I resume a recording after navigating away from the visit?
Yes. If you tapped Finish Later, the recording appears in your worklist with a resume option. Select it to continue recording for that visit.
What happens if I receive a phone call while recording?
Abridge automatically pauses the recording when you answer an incoming call. After the call ends, bring the Abridge app back to the foreground and the recording should resume. See Answered an incoming call while recording for details.
Is pause and resume available on the web editor?
Pause and resume controls are available when recording via the web editor at notes.abridge.com. Click the pause button to pause and the record button to resume. Click Create Note when finished.
Related troubleshooting
- Encounter is stuck in processing — Steps to resolve when a recording that was paused and resumed does not generate a note as expected.
- Cannot find an encounter note in the Abridge web editor — What to check if a completed recording does not appear in the web editor after tapping Create Note.