Why does writing SOAP notes take me so long?

Brief Answer

SOAP notes usually take too long when you are trying to capture the entire conversation instead of the clinical story, using templates that are too heavy, and starting from a blank screen for each section. The goal is not more words. It is clear medical necessity, a small number of focused findings, and a specific plan per problem.

If you tighten what each SOAP section is responsible for and use sentence stems or AI to fill the structure, you can usually get most notes down to about three to seven minutes without losing quality.

The Longer Answer

1. Quick self check: why your SOAP notes are slow

Use this as a mirror.

If two or more of these feel familiar, the problem is structure and expectations rather than your ability.

2. Where the time usually leaks in SOAP

Subjective (S)

• Trying to retell the full dialogue.
• Including history that does not change decisions today.
• Mixing in your interpretation instead of sticking to patient report.

Objective (O)

• Auto inserted full normal exams that you then adjust line by line.
• Re documenting every stable chronic finding at each visit.
• Copy forward that you then need to debug for each encounter.

Assessment (A)

• Overly general wording that you rewrite repeatedly.
• Unclear link between symptoms, function, and diagnosis.
• No consistent pattern for multi problem visits.

Plan (P)

• Writing free form paragraphs instead of brief lists.
• Trying to record every detail of counseling.
• Leaving PDMP checks, labs, or follow up out until the end then hunting for them.

Most of the time, the note is slow because you are deciding what the visit was about while writing. The fastest notes are written after decisions are already clear.

3. What a lean, solid SOAP note actually needs

You can keep this as your personal standard.

If each section covers these pieces, most insurers and auditors have what they need.

4. Small changes that speed up SOAP without losing quality

You can test these over a single week.

A. Use sentence stems instead of starting from zero

Create three to five stems for each section.

Examples:

• Subjective
  • “Today presents for …”
  • “Since last visit, reports … with impact on …”
• Objective
  • “Exam notable for … otherwise as prior.”
• Assessment
  • “[Diagnosis] with [better or worse or unchanged] symptoms, affecting …”
• Plan
  • “Will [start or continue or adjust] [med or intervention] because …”
  • “Safety: [no SI or HI, or risk and plan]. Follow up in …”

Stems remove decision fatigue about phrasing, which is surprisingly time consuming.

B. Decide in the room, not at the keyboard

At the end of the encounter, say a one or two sentence recap to yourself or the patient:

“Today we focused on medication side effects and updated the dose, you will track sleep and we will check in four weeks.”

When you sit down to write, you are documenting decisions that already exist instead of thinking them through for the first time.

C. Limit time per note based on visit type

If you routinely go beyond these, you are likely including detail that does not change care or billing.

D. Clean your template once, not every day

Take 20 to 30 minutes once to remove extra auto text and unused fields in your SOAP template. Focus on the sections you actually use. A lean template saves minutes every day.