This tool is very simple yet powerful.
When the form starts it will show you a list of old letters which you could view/edit. It also has a new button which starts a new letter.

Starting at the top
To address a letter you can type the details into the addressee fields OR choose the addressee from the contact list and click on the insert address button. Below the insert address button is a toggle address button. This is designed for addressees who have 2 different work addresses. If you put their two different addresses in the database using both the “residential” and “mailing” address slots on the edit patient form, when you want to refer to them you can toggle these addresses using the “toggle addresses” button.
The fax number which is inserted is the Work phone number, so the convention we suggest for consultants, agencies etc is to put the regular phone # in the “Home Phone” field, and the Fax number in the “Work Phone” field.
If you have used the insert address buttons you can always edit it a bit afterwards. For example I address lots of letters to Ashburton Hospital. I use the insert address button to insert the basic details then in the last field I add ATTN: Surgical Outpatients (or whatever).
The printing format is designed so that with careful folding the address can be displayed through a window envelope to save have to address the envelope.
The practitioner popup will be filled with the default doctor for this machine. If you put no practitioner it will still print the letter, and put the address at the top, but without a practitioner - useful for visiting practitioners and locums who can then put their name at the bottom.

The next really useful bit (I think) is the “insert history” buttons. The will insert into the body of the text a short or long “history”. The short history has past history, regular medications, and drug sensitivities. The long history has problems, past history, family history, regular medications and drug sensitivities. These details are inserted into the text at the marker “\**\.
The marker has been left in the text so that you can insert this information more than once. - If you make a mistake or want to revise it. Don’t forget to delete the marker before you type the letter (doesn’t really matter but it looks untidy).

Windows uses a convention of CTRL+C for copy and CTRL+V for paste. This is enabled in most places in MedCen. You can copy the text of a single test result eg a histology report or Xray and CTRL+V paste it into the text of a letter you are writing. (Alternatively you could print it on a separate page using the print functions in the test results form). You can copy some text from the old notes (although the current formatting isn’t great for that) and paste it into the letter. The new clinical data summary page holds information similar to the history buttons and you might prefer to copy and paste this into your letter. Or for that matter you can copy part of the letter and paste it into a new clinical notes entry!
This is all particularly easy as you can leave as many windows as you like open when you are working on a letter ..…
You can print as many copies of the letter as you like BUT remember if you want to save a letter click the save button, because you can choose to discard a letter even after it is printed - This can be useful if you want to write some instructions for a patient, but don’t want to store this in their letter file - Just write, print, then cancel. Short Note written with the patients name at the top - maybe complex instructions for medication, beyond what goes to the pharmacy, but this isn’t stored in the patient’s letter file cluttering it up!
Of course you could “address” the note to “Prednisone Instructions” and save it and it would appear in the Filed letters list with “Prednisone Instructions”.
Talking about prednisone instructions Standard Forms are probably the best way to go. Using the standard forms are well documented in both the help and new manual.

I really like the letter writer when I am on duty and need make an urgent admission. It easily and quickly inserts a full medical history, meds and allergies, as long as we have kept the data up to date. Sometimes I will print this part out and then add observations manually, as I’m waiting for the ambulance to arrive!