Daily Progress Note Template

Get access to a free daily progress note template, helping healthcare practitioners assess their patients' progress and improve the quality and accuracy of their documentation.

By Joshua Napilay on Jul 02, 2024.

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Fact Checked by RJ Gumban.

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Daily Progress Note Template PDF Example
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What is a Daily Progress Note Template?

Healthcare practitioners are required to write various kinds of clinical documentation. These records help ensure that care is delivered transparently and that practitioners are well-informed.

One of the most common forms of clinical documentation is called progress notes. As the name suggests, these documents are written by practitioners to track their patients' progress. Progress notes are legal documents that can be shared amongst third parties, including other patient healthcare team members, insurance providers, lawyers, and the patient's family.

Although progress notes are a requirement and most practitioners will have a general idea of how to write them, they can still be highly time-consuming. To help practitioners improve the accuracy and organization of their notes while reducing the time spent writing them, we have created a Daily Progress Notes Template.

When patients are in an inpatient facility and/or are in contact with their provider every day, a daily progress report needs to be written. This daily notes template records the progress that the patient has been making and helps to guarantee both compliance and high-quality care. These templates ensure everyone is on the same page regarding patient's health status.

Printable Daily Progress Note Template

Check out these daily progress note templates to improve your clinical documentation, productivity, and treatment outcomes.

How to use this template for daily progress note

We understand that the daily lives of healthcare providers are typically hectic. To effectively utilize a tool like our Daily Progress Note Template, follow these steps: 

Step 1: Download the PDF

The first thing you need to do is download the PDF template file. We've included a link to the template further down on this page.

Step 2: Complete the note 

After a session or an encounter with a patient, it's time to write your progress notes. You can use the daily report template to write your progress notes. You can edit the note on your computer or print the template and complete a physical copy. 

Step 3: Save the progress note securely 

Progress notes contain confidential information that must be stored according to HIPAA regulations. Once again, you can choose whether to store your documents online or in a physical location, although typically, online locations have more security safeguards in place. Practitioners frequently refer back to older progress notes to track progress, so these notes must be easily accessible.

Daily Progress Note Template example (sample)

You can find many daily report templates online, but we don't want you to go through the trouble of looking for them. Since you're here, we'd like to show you a sample document so that you can visualize what a Daily Progress Note Template looks like.

This daily note template example is based on a fictional encounter with a patient. Although the template's contents will change depending on what healthcare field you work in, the general structure of the document will remain the same.

Download this Daily Progress Note Template example (sample) here:

Daily Progress Note example (sample)

Who can use this printable Daily Progress Note Template?

Every practitioner treating patients must write progress notes in the healthcare industry. We have tried to ensure that our printable Daily Progress Note Template is applicable to as many fields of healthcare as possible, including the following:

  • Psychologists
  • Psychiatrists
  • Counselors
  • General practitioners
  • Physical therapists
  • Occupational therapists
  • Mental health therapists
  • Aged care workers
  • Social workers

However, while these practitioners may find some use for this progress note template, it has been designed for providers treating patients daily to document their achievements, completed tasks, or progress.

For this reason, this template may be best suited for nurses, disability workers, and aged care workers who are working at an inpatient facility. These practitioners are more likely to have an encounter or session with a patient at least once daily. The types of patients who receive care every day will differ, but they will be those treated at a facility for longer than one day.

Why is this template useful for healthcare practitioners?

This daily progress note template has various uses for healthcare practitioners. Considering the various clinical and administrative tasks that practitioners are required to complete, it makes sense that they are looking for tools to boost their productivity: which is exactly what our daily progress report template aims to do. Other uses of implementing our daily progress report template into your healthcare practice include: 

Promotes organization

Maintaining organization for a patient's daily status report is important in every facet of clinical documentation, but this is especially true if you write progress notes daily. Tracking patients' daily progress is very important, but these documents can become complicated if they are not organized. With our daily note template, you can streamline the organization of these progress notes and ensure they are all equally well-formatted. 

Saves time

One of the best outcomes of implementing this Daily Progress Note Template is the time it will save at your practice. You no longer have to worry about organizing the formatting and structure of your progress notes. Instead, you must access the PDF template and edit it directly.

Enhances communication and tracks progress

These daily reports can be a communication tool. Share them with other healthcare team members to ensure everyone has up-to-date information on patient care. They help coordinate treatment plans, track patient progress, and ensure continuity of care across different providers. Additionally, the template gives insights and details about work completed by the team member, as evidenced by the progress note.

Why use Carepatron for Daily Progress Notes?

Writing progress notes can be an extremely time-consuming aspect of healthcare work, but it is nevertheless necessary. To streamline the process of writing clinical documents effectively, we think practice management software like Carepatron could be the best solution.

Carepatron is an all-in-one cloud-based platform integrated with various tools designed to simplify writing clinical documentation. In addition to granting access to a robust set of note and form templates, Carepatron also offers voice-to-text transcription software, guaranteed to save you countless hours typically spent writing. Further, Carepatron takes compliance very seriously and has sophisticated storage capabilities, allowing you to store your documentation securely and protectively.

If you are looking for a solution to more than just clinical documentation, don't worry – Carepatron still has you covered. What are you waiting for? Get started with Carepatron for free today.

How long should a daily progress note be?
How long should a daily progress note be?

Commonly asked questions

How long should a daily progress note be?

Although there is no exact definitive answer to this question, a good rule of thumb is to keep a progress note between 1 – 2 pages. This ensures you have included enough information to cover all necessary details without being overly lengthy or wordy.

What do I do if I make a mistake on my daily progress note?

Although everyone makes mistakes and this is an expected aspect of working in healthcare, you need to keep in mind that there is a specific error protocol that needs to be followed. If you make a mistake, you simply have to draw a single line through it and then write the date and your initials. This ensures that there is transparency surrounding the error and you can trace it at a future date.

Does HIPAA apply to daily progress notes?

Yes, HIPAA applies to all progress notes. Not only are you legally required to write progress notes, but you are also required to store them appropriately. This means storing them somewhere where they are protected by electronic and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized access.

How do I secure all my daily notes?

Store all your daily notes securely, like a locked file cabinet or an encrypted digital folder. Using a clinical documentation or EHR platform will automatically provide a secure way to store your notes.

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