Arlo can use a Cliniko treatment note as context when you record and generate today’s note. There are two different situations. They look similar in the diary because both can show View Session instead of Start Session.
1. The note was saved in Cliniko first (this appointment)
If you already created or saved a treatment note in Cliniko for today’s appointment (for example intake details such as medications or family history), Arlo loads that note content onto the same appointment when you open it.
The appointment button will say View Session, not Start Session. That is expected.
Open the appointment in Arlo. The Cliniko note content is already in the treatment editor.
When the patient is with you, click Record (top right) and complete the consult as normal.
When you generate, Arlo uses that loaded note as context. It should keep the clinician-written Cliniko content (even if it was never said out loud) and add today’s consult on top.
You do not need View previous or Load this note in this case. The note is already today’s Cliniko note for this booking.
2. Load this note (a previous visit, used as context)
Load this note / View previous is for a treatment note from a previous appointment for the same patient. It adds that older note to today’s Arlo session so generation can use it as background.
Open today’s appointment in Arlo.
Click View previous.
Choose the prior Cliniko note and click Load this note.
The diary button then says View Session.
Click Record when the patient is with you, then generate as usual.
This does not duplicate the original Cliniko note and does not overwrite it. The earlier note stays in Cliniko. Arlo writes today’s treatment note, using the previous note as context for continuity.
Will it duplicate the note?
No. Loading a previous note does not create a second copy of that Cliniko note.
It does not merge two Cliniko notes into one.
After you record and generate, you get a note for this appointment. The original previous note is unchanged.
Why does it say View Session instead of Start Session?
The button says View Session when Arlo already has something on that appointment — either a Cliniko note saved for this booking, or a previous note you loaded with Load this note. You can still press Record in the session and continue.
Follow-up workflow
For a follow-up where intake was typed in Cliniko the night before:
If that Cliniko note is attached to today’s booking: open Arlo → View Session → Record. The loaded note is used as context. Do not also Load this note.
If that Cliniko note belongs to an earlier visit: open today’s appointment → View previous → Load this note → Record. Today’s generated note uses it as context and does not duplicate the old note.
If the wrong note appears on today’s appointment (for example a blood-test note from another visit showing as Final), check in Cliniko that the note is attached to the correct booking, then continue from View Session and Record.