See how a consultation note changed, and put it back

Last updated: 2 September 2026

What this does

The redesigned consultation module keeps snapshots of a note as you write it, so you can see how it changed and put it back to an earlier state if something goes wrong.

When a snapshot is taken

Snapshots are taken at meaningful moments, not on every keystroke:

  • when you file the consultation
  • when you leave it part-written (Save as draft)
  • when you clear or swap a problem that has notes written under it
  • when you change a problem's code

Ordinary typing does not create a snapshot, so the list stays short enough to read.

Seeing the history

  1. Open the consultation.
  2. Open the More actions menu (the ⋯ button) at the top of the note.
  3. Choose Version history.

Each entry shows when it was taken, who was writing, and what happened.

The option is unavailable until the note has been saved at least once — a consultation you have only just opened has no history yet.

Restoring an earlier version

Select a version and you will see its actual content before anything changes, so you can tell two similar-looking versions apart. Choose Restore to put the note back to that state.

Restoring is reversible. Where you are now is saved as its own version first, so you can return to it.

What a restore changes — and what it does not

Restoring puts back the note: the problems, and everything written under them. It also reattaches observations, medications and documents to the problems they belonged to at that point.

It does not remove anything from the patient's clinical record. If a medication, allergy or observation was recorded after that snapshot, it stays on the record. Rolling back a note never deletes clinical data — if a patient is taking a drug, the next clinician needs to see it.

On a filed consultation

Open a filed consultation from the patient record and its Change history shows the whole story: created, revised, restored, filed, and any amendments made after filing.

On a filed note the history is read-only — a signed consultation is not rewritten. Use an amendment to change a filed note.

Availability

Version history is part of the redesigned consultation module, which each clinician switches on for themselves using the toggle at the top of the consultation screen.