For Physical Therapists ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have ChatGPT configured as a personalized documentation assistant that knows your clinical style, your common diagnoses, and your preferred note format. Instead of starting every session from a generic prompt, it'll already understand that you're a PT specializing in orthopedics and that you like concise, functional goal-oriented language.
What you'll need
What you should see: Two large text boxes for entering your persistent preferences.
Troubleshooting: If you don't see "Custom Instructions," your account may need to enable it in Settings → General.
This is where you tell ChatGPT who you are. Type something like:
I am a licensed Physical Therapist (DPT) working in an outpatient orthopedic PT clinic. My patient population is primarily adults with musculoskeletal conditions: post-surgical rehab (knee replacements, shoulder repairs, ACL), orthopedic injuries (rotator cuff, lumbar disc, cervical), and sports injuries. I see 14-16 patients per day. I supervise one PTA. My documentation is in WebPT using SOAP format.
Customize with your actual specialty, setting, and EMR. The more specific, the better the output.
This tells ChatGPT how to write notes. Type:
When I ask you to write clinical documentation:
- Use professional medical terminology appropriate for outpatient PT
- Use SOAP format unless I specify otherwise (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan)
- Write Assessment goals as functional, measurable outcomes (not vague "improve strength")
- Keep progress notes under 200 words unless I ask for more detail
- For prior auth letters, use medical necessity language emphasizing functional limitations and their impact on ADLs
- For physician letters, use brief, colleague-to-colleague professional tone
- Never include patient names or identifying information in output — I will add those later
- When I give you bullet points, expand them into complete clinical sentences
Click "Save" on the Custom Instructions screen. Now open a new chat. ChatGPT will apply your custom instructions to every conversation automatically.
Test it: type "Write a SOAP progress note for post-op TKR, 6 weeks. Flex 105, quad 4/5, tolerated 15 min bike, progressed quad sets." Compare the output to what you got before setting up custom instructions.
What you should see: A more clinically appropriate, structured note that matches your documentation style without you needing to re-explain your context.
Over the next week, save the prompts that work best for you. Create a simple note or text file with your go-to prompts:
SOAP Note: Write a SOAP progress note for [diagnosis], [visit number]. [bullet points]
Initial Eval: Draft an initial eval narrative for [diagnosis]. Age: [age]. ROM: [measurements]. Strength: [grades]. Functional limitations: [list]. Goals: [goals]. Recommend [frequency/duration].
Prior Auth: Prior auth letter to [insurer] for [diagnosis]. Functional limitations: [list]. Requesting [visits] for [treatment].
Keep these prompts somewhere accessible (a sticky note on your desk, a note on your phone, a text file on your desktop).
Daily progress note — quick version:
SOAP note for [diagnosis]. Subj: [pain level, patient report]. Obj: [treatments performed, key measurements]. Plan: [next session]. Under 150 words.
Initial evaluation — full narrative:
Initial eval narrative for [diagnosis], [age]yo [sex]. History: [mechanism/onset]. ROM: [measurements]. Strength: [grades]. Special tests: [results]. Functional limitations: [list]. Rehab potential: [good/fair]. Recommended plan: [frequency/duration]. Goals: [functional goals].
Prior authorization — Aetna/commercial insurance:
Prior auth letter to [insurer] requesting [number] PT visits for [diagnosis]. Patient [age]yo [sex]. Functional limitations: [specific limitations affecting ADLs/work/activities]. Objective findings: [key measurements]. Treatment plan: [interventions]. Medical necessity rationale: focus on functional restoration and preventing further decline.
Physician progress update:
Brief progress letter to referring [specialty] Dr. [name]. Patient [age]yo with [diagnosis]. Status: [current functional status]. Progress: [improvements]. Remaining issues: [deficits]. Estimated discharge: [timeframe]. Requesting [anything needed — referral extension, imaging, etc.].
Discharge summary:
Discharge summary for [diagnosis]. Episode: [duration, visit count]. Initial status: [baseline]. Final status: [outcomes]. Goals: [met/partially met]. Discharge plan: [home program, follow-up instructions].