The status quo
Workup Desk vs EHR notes and Word documents
Comparison last verified November 2, 2026.
The short answer
Writing the assessment yourself, straight into the EHR or a Word document, is the default, and it works. It costs nothing extra and fits your habits, and the note lands where it belongs. For a patient with a short history and few outside documents, a good template and ten focused minutes may be all you need.
It strains in predictable places. The referral, old letters, results and medication lists sit on different screens or arrive as scanned PDFs, so you read and retype. The fact you need for the differential sits in a letter from three years ago. You write the referral letter, the handover and the patient summary separately, each from scratch, and nothing shows which document a statement came from.
Workup Desk keeps what works and changes the gathering step. You put the patient's documents in one workspace, ask questions of them with the source named, and draft the assessment or letter with the history and results already in place. You still review and edit the draft, then export the finished document to PDF or Word for the record.
Compare them side by side
| EHR notes and Word documents | Workup Desk | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Nothing beyond the EHR and office software you already have | One paid plan, with billing through Stripe. Early access is by invitation from the waitlist |
| Gathering the history | You open each letter, result and scan and retype what matters | You upload the documents once and ask questions of them, with the source named |
| Finding one fact | You search from memory or scroll through old letters | You ask in the chat panel and see which document the answer comes from |
| Drafting | A blank page or a fixed template, written line by line | A first draft from the patient's sources, shaped by document type, purpose, audience, tone and length, which you then edit |
| Related documents | You write each letter and summary separately | You draft the referral letter, handover and patient summary from the same workspace |
| Where the note ends up | Already in the record | You export to PDF or Word and file it in the record. No EHR integration |
Choose EHR notes and Word documents if
- Your patients mostly have short histories and few outside documents
- Your organization does not yet allow patient documents in any tool outside the EHR
Choose Workup Desk if
- You often receive long referrals or many results before a first visit
- You write a referral letter or handover after the assessment and want to draft it from the same sources
- You want to check which document an answer comes from before you write it down
Try it on one patient's documents
Open a workspace, add the referral, letters and results, and draft the assessment from them. Early access is by invitation.
Common questions
Can Workup Desk write straight into my EHR?
No. Workup Desk has no EHR integration. You export the finished document to PDF or Word and file it in the record the way you file any letter.
Is a good template enough?
For a simple case, often yes. A template fixes the structure. It does not gather the history, find the old result or keep the referral letter consistent with the assessment.