How Rebrief works

Rebrief turns what's said in an appointment into a clinical note and an updated chart. Here is what happens, from the moment the mic turns on to the note you paste into your chart.

Transcribing

When an appointment starts, Rebrief transcribes the room through the mic. That includes you, your patient and anyone else who speaks.

The line under the top bar shows when the appointment started and how long it has run. End sits in the middle, and the mic menu sits on the right. On a phone, End is in a bar at the bottom of the screen.

The appointment keeps transcribing until you select End, and you can Resume it later. Each computer transcribes one appointment at a time.

If nobody speaks for a few minutes, Rebrief shows No audio detected and counts down. Say anything, or select Keep transcribing, to carry on. Otherwise the appointment ends by itself. The Auto-end switch in Settings, under This computer, turns this off for that computer.

Writing the note as you talk

The note starts blank, with no template. As you talk, Rebrief fills standard sections, such as findings, diagnosis, procedure and plan.

Anything you type yourself is kept exactly as you wrote it. The note and the chart save as you go.

Refining the note during the appointment

In a longer appointment, Rebrief rereads the note every so often against everything said so far. The note's bar shows Refining while it works.

This careful pass fixes misheard words, and any tooth or number written differently from what was said. It follows corrections you say aloud, such as "not 14, 15". It keeps work done today apart from work that is only planned.

Lines it changed are highlighted, and the highlight fades once you've seen it. Your own edits are kept.

Charting

When you name a tooth and what you found, such as "crown on 24", the tooth chart updates that tooth.

Probing numbers fill the perio chart once you start charting. Say "start charting", click a tooth, or select Charting on the charting card. A soft tone confirms each charted finding.

Tabs on the appointment page

Everything the appointment holds has its own tab, starting with Transcript and Note. On a computer, the chart stays beside whichever tab is open.

+ Create makes a document, a form, an AfterCare™ summary or a note on one of your templates. Rebrief may suggest one under Suggested for this appointment, but it never makes one until you pick it.

When you select End

End finishes the appointment. Rebrief stops transcribing and saves the note and the chart. Then it works through these steps.

1. It transcribes the last of the audio again, more carefully.
2. It gives the note one last careful pass. If the note was refined during the appointment, this pass changes only what still needs changing. If not, Rebrief rebuilds the note from the whole appointment.
3. It adds clinical facts that were said but missed, and fixes misheard words.
4. It writes work done today as done, and work only discussed as planned.
5. It puts back a "no" the note lost, such as "no vertical root fracture".
6. It removes lines about someone other than the patient.

A note on one of your templates is refined in place and keeps its headings. Your own typing is kept word for word.

While Rebrief works, the line under the top bar reads Refining note. It reads Note ready once the finished note is on screen.

Checks after End

When the note is finished, Rebrief checks three things.

• The chart. Rebrief reads the careful transcript again. It marks each item charted today as done today, planned or already there. It adds what the live chart missed, such as a surface, a restoration done today or a probing depth. It charts a tooth taken out today as missing. It removes an item charted from words that weren't about a tooth.
• The medicolegal check. Rebrief reads the note on the Note tab for details a records reviewer would expect, such as consent or the anesthetic. It offers up to three as faded lines, each with Add and Skip. A line whose findings and conclusion disagree is underlined in red. Change it, or select Dismiss if it stands.
• Sources. Sentences in the note link back to the words said during the visit. Click in a linked sentence, then select its Source button to see them.

Rebrief also writes the appointment's follow-ups from the finished note. You'll find them on the appointment's Tasks tab and on the Tasks page.

Polish your note

Some details a note needs are rarely said aloud, such as the anesthetic, the shade or which X-rays were taken. After End, Rebrief looks for them. If it has questions, a short chat called Polish your note opens once they're ready.

Pick an answer, type your own under Something else, or select Skip. Rebrief writes your answers into the note and highlights them. Undo takes any of them back. If the note already has what it needs, nothing opens.

To stop the chat opening at End, switch on Don't open this at End at its foot. You can also switch off Polish the note in the chat in Settings, under Notes & dictation.

+ Create also opens once at End, in case the visit needs a document. Don't open this at End at the foot of that menu stops it.

What Rebrief keeps

While you work, the audio also goes to Rebrief in pieces. Each piece is transcribed a second, more careful time, then deleted.

Rebrief keeps the transcript and the note. It never keeps the audio.

Changing the note afterwards

You can still change anything after End. Type in the note, or highlight words and type what you want changed. You can also ask in the prompt bar, such as "shorten the plan in the note".