What Is This?
Physical Exam (PE) templates let you define the system headings and normal findings that appear in the PE section of your notes. Abridge provides standard templates for common use cases, and you can also create your own custom templates from the Library in Note Settings.
Note: not all template options may be available. Available options are set by your organization's administration.
Product Availability
The first time you select your specialty in note settings, Abridge automatically assigns you the standard template mapped to that specialty. If you've already selected a template yourself, your existing selection is kept — it's never overridden.
Standard templates by specialty:
- General Medicine Exam — available to all users; covers major systems and common normal findings
- Dermatology Exam — available to Dermatology specialists (including Cosmetic Dermatologic Surgery, Micrographic Dermatologic Surgery, and Pediatric Dermatology)
- Ophthalmology Exam — available to Ophthalmology specialists (including Ophthalmic Pathology, Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Neuro-Ophthalmology, and Pediatric Ophthalmology)
- Neurology Exam — available to Neurology specialists
- Mental Status Exam — available to Psychiatry, Addiction Medicine, and Behavioral Health specialists
- Pediatric Newborn Exam — available to pediatricians. This template is opt-in only and not auto-assigned — even pediatricians must manually select it from the Physical Exam dropdown.
You can select and use templates from your mobile device, but creating or editing a template must be done from a desktop or laptop.
How to Use
Create a custom template starting from a standard template
- Go to Settings and scroll to Physical Exam Settings, or open Note Settings in the web editor menu.
- Select Add a Custom Template.
- Choose a standard template from the Base Template dropdown. Its system headings and findings will automatically populate your new template.
- Customize the headings and findings as needed.
- Select Save Template to add it to your Library.
Create a custom template from scratch
- In the web editor, select the menu icon (three horizontal bars) in the upper left corner.
- Select Note Settings.
- Open the Library tab and select +, or select Add a Custom Template within the PE Settings panel.
- Enter a name for your template.
- Enter a System Heading and Normal Findings for each section.
- Use the arrow buttons next to Normal Findings to reorder your sections.
- Select Save Template.
Edit or delete a custom template
To view, edit, or delete a saved custom template, select the template. Two options will appear: an info option to view template details, and an edit option to edit or delete it.
FAQs
Which base templates can I start from?
General Medicine Exam is available to all users. Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Neurology, Mental Status Exam, and Pediatric Newborn Exam templates are gated by specialty.
Can I create a template from my phone?
You can select and use an existing template from your mobile device, but creating or editing one requires a desktop or laptop.
Additional Notes
For guidance on structuring effective custom templates, see Custom Physical Exam Templates Best Practices, which covers recommended approaches for system headings, normal findings, and template organization.
Effective July 13, 2026: existing clinicians in Psychiatry, Behavioral Health, and related specialties who were on the default template or had never set one were migrated to the Mental Status Exam template as part of this auto-assignment rollout. Clinicians already on a custom or non-standard template were not changed.