SmartPhrase vs SmartText: A Clinician’s Guide to Epic’s Documentation Shortcuts

EHR documentation takes time away from patient care. That’s a documented driver of clinician burnout, and Epic’s SmartTools exist to reduce the burden. Two of the most useful are SmartPhrase and SmartText. They get confused constantly and treated as interchangeable. They aren’t.

If you chart in Epic, you already know SmartPhrases. You type a dot, a short abbreviation, press the spacebar, and a block of text appears. SmartPhrases are the backbone of fast clinical documentation, and most providers build a personal library within their first few months on Epic.

SmartText is less familiar to many clinicians, even those who use it every day without knowing it. When you open a new progress note and the sections are already there, pre-populated with standard language and placeholders? That’s SmartText. It runs in the background. SmartPhrases are what you actively type.

SmartPhrase is a reusable text block in Epic’s electronic health record (EHR) system, triggered by typing a dot-prefix abbreviation (such as .hpi or .pe) that expands into a longer phrase, paragraph, or full template. SmartPhrases are sometimes called “dot phrases” and function as text expansion shortcuts within Epic.

SmartText is an Epic template framework that is the default text for note types, letters, and structured documentation. SmartText can embed SmartPhrases, SmartLists for selecting from predefined options, and SmartLinks for pulling live patient data from the chart. Clinical informatics teams typically configure SmartText and deploy it at the department or organization level.

This guide covers the practical differences between SmartPhrase and SmartText, when to use each, how they fit into Epic’s broader SmartTools suite, and how to handle documentation that happens outside Epic.

What is an Epic SmartPhrase?

A SmartPhrase is a text shortcut that lives inside Epic. You type a period followed by a short name, press the spacebar, and Epic replaces that abbreviation with a longer block of text. The concept is identical to text Snippets in other tools, but SmartPhrases only work within Epic’s interface.

Common SmartPhrase examples include:

.hpi for a history of present illness template

.pe for a physical exam template

.plan for a treatment plan outline

.meds for a medication reconciliation block

.avs for after-visit summary instructions

.hpibackpain for a condition-specific HPI noting the absence of red-flag symptoms

These names are examples. Every organization names its SmartPhrases differently, so .hpi at one hospital might be .hpigen or .HPITEMPLATE at another.

Personal vs shared SmartPhrases

SmartPhrases come in two categories. Personal SmartPhrases are created by individual clinicians for their own workflow. A hospitalist might build .admit to insert their preferred admission note structure. A dermatologist might create .biopsypath for a standard pathology follow-up paragraph.

Shared SmartPhrases are available to a team, department, or the entire organization. These are usually built and maintained by clinical informatics staff. Shared SmartPhrases ensure consistent documentation across providers and can be updated centrally when guidelines or protocols change.

To create a personal SmartPhrase, go to the Personalize menu in Epic, select My SmartPhrases, and click New User SmartPhrase. Type or paste the text you want, assign a dot-prefix name, and save. You can also highlight text in any note field and click the green plus icon to save it as a new SmartPhrase directly.

If you build a SmartPhrase that your colleagues would find useful, you can add other users to its sharing settings. You can also grant specific people editing permission, so a team can collaborate on maintaining a shared phrase without involving IT.

What is an Epic SmartText?

SmartText is a template layer that sits above SmartPhrases in Epic’s documentation hierarchy. Where a SmartPhrase is a single block of text you insert on demand, SmartText is a pre-configured template that is the default content for an entire note type.

When you open a new progress note, discharge summary, or letter template in Epic, the text that pre-populates is often SmartText. It provides the scaffolding for the document, including section headers, standard language, and embedded dynamic elements.

SmartText can contain:

SmartPhrases embedded within the template for reusable text blocks

SmartLists, shown in yellow for single-select or teal for multi-select, that present dropdown menus of predefined options

SmartLinks, which use the @ symbol as a delimiter to pull live patient data from the chart, such as @FNAME@ for the patient’s first name, @DOB@ for date of birth, or @CMED@ for current medications

The key distinction: SmartPhrases are user-initiated, triggered when a clinician types a dot-prefix abbreviation. SmartText is system-configured, loaded automatically when a note type opens. A provider might never type a SmartText abbreviation directly because the template is already assigned to the note type by an informatics team.

SmartText templates are most commonly used for progress notes, consultation notes, letter templates, patient instructions, and discharge summaries. Because they standardize documentation structure across an organization, SmartText changes typically go through a governance process rather than being edited by individual clinicians.

SmartPhrase vs SmartText: side-by-side comparison

This table summarizes the practical differences clinicians and informaticists encounter when working with these two tools.

Feature | SmartPhrase | SmartText
What it does | Inserts a reusable text block into a note or message | Provides a structured template for an entire note type or document
How it triggers | User types a dot-prefix abbreviation (e.g., .hpi) and presses the spacebar | Loads automatically as the default text when a note type opens, or can be inserted manually
Scope | A phrase, paragraph, or section of a note | A full note template with multiple sections
Dynamic content | Can include SmartLinks and SmartLists | Can include SmartPhrases, SmartLinks, SmartLists, and conditional logic
Who creates them | Individual clinicians (personal) or informatics teams (shared) | Typically clinical informatics or IT teams
Sharing | Personal by default; can be shared with specific users, departments, or organization-wide | Usually deployed at the department or organization level
Governance | Users can create and edit personal SmartPhrases freely | Changes typically go through an informatics governance process
Best for | Quick insertions, repeated phrases, personal shortcuts, condition-specific text | Standardized note structures, full documentation templates, organizational consistency

Think of it this way: SmartText is the blueprint for a house. SmartPhrases are the prefabricated components you drop into specific rooms. Most clinical documentation uses both, even if you only consciously interact with SmartPhrases on a daily basis.

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When to use SmartPhrases

SmartPhrases shine when you need to insert specific, repeatable text quickly. The best candidates are text blocks you type, or wish you could stop typing, multiple times per shift.

Common SmartPhrase use cases:

HPI templates for frequently seen conditions (chest pain, back pain, upper respiratory infection)

Normal physical exam findings that you document on most patients

Standard treatment plans for common diagnoses

Patient education paragraphs for discharge instructions

Signature blocks with your name, credentials, and contact information

After-visit summary language tailored to specific visit types

Providers who build condition-specific SmartPhrases instead of relying on generic templates document faster and produce more detailed notes. Start by identifying the five phrases you type most often in a typical shift. Build those first. Expand your library as patterns emerge.

When to use SmartText

SmartText is the right tool when you need a standardized template that structures an entire document. If you find yourself rebuilding the same note layout from scratch each time, or inserting the same SmartPhrases in the same order every time a particular note type opens, that workflow belongs in a SmartText template rather than your personal phrase library.

Common SmartText use cases:

Default templates for progress notes by specialty or visit type

Consultation note structures with required sections pre-formatted

Discharge summary templates that pull in patient data automatically via SmartLinks

Referral letter templates with dynamic patient demographics

Procedure note frameworks with SmartLists for documenting technique, findings, and complications

How to request a SmartText template from your informatics team

Because SmartText templates affect documentation across entire departments, building or modifying them usually requires coordination with your informatics team. Coming prepared with a well-defined request makes the process faster.

Draft the structure you need. Write out the section headers and standard language you want in the template. Note which sections should be free-text and which should offer SmartList selections.

Identify SmartLink candidates. List every data point the note should pull automatically from the chart: patient name, date of birth, current medications, problem list, recent vitals. Each of these is a SmartLink your informatics team can embed.

Flag SmartList locations. Anywhere providers routinely pick from a short, predictable list, such as laterality, wound classification, or discharge disposition, is a candidate for a SmartList instead of free text.

Bring the draft to your informatics liaison. Most organizations have a clinical informatics contact for each department. Submit your draft through that channel, noting the note type it should apply to and which roles should have access.

Review and test before go-live. Request a test encounter so you can verify the SmartLinks pull correctly and the SmartLists include the right options before the template is deployed department-wide.

Common SmartPhrase mistakes to avoid

SmartPhrases accelerate documentation when they’re well-built and maintained. When they’re not, they create problems that are easy to miss until something goes wrong.

The most common issue: static text where SmartLinks should do the work. If your SmartPhrase has a blank where you manually enter the patient’s current medications, that blank is a source of errors. The medication list already lives in the chart. Use @CMED@ to pull it automatically. Any data you’re entering by hand that Epic already has is extra friction and lower accuracy.

Naming collisions are harder to diagnose. Name your SmartPhrase .hpi and your organization has a shared SmartPhrase using the same trigger, and which one wins depends on your Epic configuration. Use a personal prefix: your initials, your specialty abbreviation, anything that separates your library from the shared one. .jchpi instead of .hpi is a small change that prevents confusing behavior down the road.

Stale phrases cause real problems. A SmartPhrase that references outdated dosing guidelines or a discontinued medication is worse than no SmartPhrase at all. Set an annual reminder to audit your personal library and watch department communications for guideline changes that affect shared phrases you rely on.

If you’ve built a personal workflow that chains together the same SmartPhrases in a fixed order to reconstruct a standard note type, your informatics team can build that as a SmartText template. One template handles what you’re currently doing manually on every encounter.

Finally: prune. SmartPhrases you used twice and haven’t touched since slow down searches and add clutter. Delete what you don’t use.

SmartPhrases, SmartLists, and SmartLinks: how they fit together

Epic’s SmartTools are designed as interlocking components. Understanding how they connect helps you build better documentation shortcuts and make more effective requests to your informatics team.

SmartLists present predefined options within a note. The highlighted fields you encounter in note templates are SmartLists. Yellow indicates single-select. Teal indicates multi-select. Clicking either opens a dropdown where you choose from options instead of typing free text. They enforce consistency, such as always documenting wound size using the same measurement format or selecting laterality from a standardized list rather than typing “left,” “L,” or “lt.”

SmartLinks pull live data from the patient’s chart directly into your documentation. They use @ delimiters: @FNAME@ inserts the patient’s first name, @DOB@ inserts date of birth, @VSRANGES@ inserts the last 24 hours of vital signs, and @PMH@ inserts the patient’s medical history. No manual transcription of data that already exists in the chart.

A single SmartPhrase can contain both SmartLists and SmartLinks. A SmartText template can contain all three. The nesting works like this: a SmartText template for an orthopedic consultation might include a SmartLink that pulls in the patient’s imaging results, a SmartList for selecting the affected joint, and an embedded SmartPhrase with the surgeon’s standard post-operative instructions.

The more familiar you are with how these pieces fit together, the more useful your personal SmartPhrases become. A SmartPhrase that includes @CMED@ for current medications is far more efficient than one that leaves a blank to fill in manually.

Text expansion outside Epic

Text expansion that works outside Epic

SmartPhrases stop at the Epic border. TextExpander puts your clinical phrases, assessment templates, and note starters in every app where you type: Email, telehealth platforms, billing portals, and beyond.

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SmartPhrases solve documentation speed inside Epic. The problem is that clinicians type in many places that are not Epic.

Emails to referring physicians. Messages in team communication platforms. Referral coordination in separate portals. Administrative documentation in HR or credentialing systems. Patient outreach through non-EHR platforms. Letters, forms, and reports that live outside the chart.

SmartPhrases don’t work in any of those contexts. They’re tied to Epic’s interface, so the moment you leave the EHR, you’re back to typing everything from scratch or copying and pasting from a document kept open on the side.

TextExpander fills that gap. It works everywhere you type on Mac, Windows, Chrome, iPhone, iPad, and Android, providing text Snippet shortcuts across every app on your device. You create abbreviations that expand into longer text, set up fill-in-the-blank fields for personalized templates, and share standardized messaging across your care team.

Virta Health, a virtual care organization focused on reversing type 2 diabetes, deployed TextExpander across their care operations team. The result: 69,000 hours saved, with each team member reclaiming roughly 24 working days per year. Their coaches use shared Snippet groups as frameworks for member communication, keeping messaging consistent while personalizing every interaction.

For organizations handling protected health information, TextExpander maintains HIPAA compliance with a Business Associate Agreement, SOC 2 and SOC 3 certifications with regular third-party audits, and AES-256 encryption at rest with TLS 1.2+ encryption in transit. TextExpander integrates with Epic, Cerner, Elation, and other major EHR platforms, so it works alongside your existing SmartPhrase library rather than replacing it.

The setup is straightforward: SmartPhrases for everything inside Epic, TextExpander Snippets for everything outside it. The two tools work together. Start a free 30-day trial, no credit card required.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between SmartPhrase and SmartText in Epic?

A SmartPhrase is a user-triggered text shortcut. You type a dot-prefix abbreviation like .hpi and it expands into a block of text. SmartText is a template framework that is the default content for a note type and can embed SmartPhrases, SmartLists, and SmartLinks. SmartPhrases are typically created by individual clinicians for personal use. SmartText templates are typically configured by clinical informatics teams for department or organization-wide use.

Can I use SmartPhrases outside of Epic?

No. SmartPhrases only work within Epic’s EHR interface. For text expansion in email, web browsers, messaging tools, and other apps, you need a separate tool like TextExpander that works across your entire device.

How do I create a SmartPhrase in Epic?

Go to the Personalize menu in Epic, select My SmartPhrases, and click New User SmartPhrase. Enter the text you want to save, assign a memorable dot-prefix name, and save. You can also highlight existing text in any note field and click the green plus icon to create a SmartPhrase directly from that text. Each organization’s exact steps may vary slightly based on their Epic configuration.

How do I share a SmartPhrase with colleagues in Epic?

Open the SmartPhrase you want to share from the Personalize menu, go to its sharing settings, and add the users, departments, or roles you want to give access. You can grant view-only or editing permissions. Your informatics team can also promote a personal SmartPhrase to a departmental or organizational shared SmartPhrase for broader distribution.

Where can I find SmartPhrases in Epic?

Your personal SmartPhrases are in the Personalize menu under My SmartPhrases. To browse SmartPhrases available from your organization or department, look in the SmartPhrase Manager, typically accessible from the Tools or Epic Menu. You can search by keyword or trigger abbreviation. If you’re looking for a shared SmartPhrase a colleague mentioned, ask your clinical informatics team for the trigger name. Every organization names its phrases differently.

How do I copy or borrow a dot phrase from a colleague?

If a colleague shares a SmartPhrase trigger, for example .hpibackpain, find it in the SmartPhrase Manager, open it, and save a copy to your own library. In some Epic configurations, your colleague can also share the phrase directly with you through the sharing settings on their SmartPhrase. Once shared, it appears in your My SmartPhrases list and you can edit your copy without affecting theirs.

Does TextExpander work with Epic?

Yes. TextExpander works in any app on your device, including Epic. Most healthcare teams use SmartPhrases for documentation inside Epic, since SmartPhrases support Epic-specific features like SmartLinks and SmartLists, and use TextExpander for everything outside Epic, such as emails, messaging, referral portals, and administrative systems.

What are SmartLists and SmartLinks in Epic?

SmartLists are dropdown menus embedded in note templates that let you select from predefined options instead of typing free text. SmartLinks pull live patient data, such as name, medications, or vital signs, from the chart directly into your documentation using @ delimiters. Both can be nested inside SmartPhrases and SmartText templates.

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