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SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures)

SOPs are step-by-step instructions that define how a task should be done in your practice. They make sure every team member follows the same process, whether it is verifying insurance, sterilizing instruments, or greeting a new patient. When everyone follows the same playbook, patients get a consistent experience and nothing falls through the cracks.

Creating a SOP​

Navigate to SOPs in the sidebar and click New SOP. You have two ways to get started:

  • Write it yourself -- Type your title, fill in the details, and write the steps in the editor. This is a good choice when you already know the procedure inside and out.
  • Generate with AI -- Click the Generate button to have SOPHIE draft the SOP for you. You provide a title, select the roles involved, and SOPHIE writes the content. See the AI Generation section below for details.

Either way, the SOP starts as a Draft that only you can see until you submit it for approval.

SOP Details​

Every SOP has a set of properties that control who sees it, when it appears, and how it is organized. You fill these in on the details card at the top of the SOP editor.

Title​

Start every title with an action verb in ALL CAPS. SOPHIE auto-capitalizes recognized verbs as you type and suggests completions. Press Tab or Space to accept a suggestion.

Good examples:

  • PROCESS new patient insurance verification
  • STERILIZE dental instruments after use
  • HANDLE emergency walk-in patients

If the title does not start with a recognized verb, you will see a red warning. Click the info icon next to the warning to see the full list of approved verbs.

Quick Start Presets​

If you create SOPs for the same department often, use the Quick Start buttons at the top of the details card. Each button represents a department and fills in the owner, assignees, and department in one click. You can also save your own custom presets by clicking Save current settings as preset after configuring the fields you want.

Properties​

PropertyWhat it does
OwnerThe role responsible for maintaining and updating this SOP. Always a role, not an individual person.
AssigneesThe roles that perform this SOP. When assigned, the SOP appears in those team members' My Day task lists.
DepartmentsAuto-populated from the assignee roles. You can also set this manually.
SpacesIf your practice has multiple locations, choose which locations this SOP applies to.
FlowCategorizes the SOP by area: Patient (direct patient care), Admin (back-office), or Office (facility and operations).
ScheduleOpens the scheduling modal where you configure frequency (Daily, Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly, As Needed, Custom, Days After), time of day, and assignment type. See Scheduling & Assignment Types for details.
TagsOptional labels you can add for extra filtering. Type a tag name and press Enter.

Compliance Fields​

Expand the Compliance section at the bottom of the details card to set:

FieldWhat it does
DomainThe operational area: Clinical, Compliance, Operations, HR, Financial, or IT.
Risk LevelLow, Medium, High, or Critical. Critical means patient safety, legal, or financial consequences.
Regulatory SourcesApplicable regulations such as OSHA, HIPAA, CDC Guidelines, ADA Standards, State Dental Board, FDA, or EPA.
SubcategoryA free-text field for more specific categorization.

Writing Content​

The SOP editor is a rich text editor where you write the actual steps of your procedure.

Formatting​

  • Headings -- Use H1, H2, and H3 to organize sections.
  • Bold and italic -- Emphasize key words or warnings.
  • Numbered lists -- Ideal for step-by-step instructions. Most SOPs should use numbered steps so the order is clear.
  • Bullet lists -- Use for lists of supplies, tools, or options where order does not matter.
  • Tables -- Useful for reference information like dosage charts or fee schedules.

Embedding Loom Videos​

Click the Loom button in the toolbar to embed a video directly in your SOP. This is a great way to show a visual walkthrough alongside the written steps, especially for clinical procedures or software workflows.

SOP References​

Use the Link SOP button in the toolbar to insert a reference to another SOP. When a team member reads the SOP, they can click the link to jump directly to the referenced procedure. This keeps your SOPs connected without duplicating content.

AI Generation​

Click the Generate button on a new SOP to open the AI generation dialog. You provide:

  1. Title -- What the SOP is about (must start with an action verb).
  2. Owner Role -- The role responsible for this SOP.
  3. Assignee Roles -- The roles that will perform this SOP.
  4. Writing Tone -- Standard operations, Training-focused, or Audit-ready/regulatory. The default comes from your workspace AI settings.
  5. Generation Style -- Choose Focused (just the steps for this specific task) or Comprehensive (includes related workflows, follow-up steps, and cross-system integrations).
  6. Additional Instructions -- Tell SOPHIE anything specific, like "focus on patient communication" or "keep it under one page."
  7. Practice Software -- If your Practice Profile has your software configured, it appears automatically. Otherwise you can type your practice management system name for this generation.

Click Generate and SOPHIE writes the SOP content for you. You can then edit, rearrange, or add to the generated content before saving.

For a deeper look at AI-powered SOP creation, see the AI Generation doc.

Editing and Refining​

Entering Edit Mode​

  1. Open any SOP from the SOP list.
  2. Click the Edit button in the top-right corner.
  3. The title becomes editable and the content editor activates.

You can change any detail (title, owner, assignees, frequency, content) and click Save when you are done. The save button only appears when you have made changes.

Using Refine​

Highlight any section of text in the editor and use the Refine tool to ask SOPHIE AI to rewrite or improve just that section. This is useful when most of the SOP is good but a few steps need clearer language or more detail. You do not have to regenerate the entire SOP.

Permissions​

ActionPermission needed
Edit a SOPsop:edit
Delete a SOPsop:delete
Submit for approvalsop:publish
Approve or rejectsop:approve

If you do not see the Edit button, ask your workspace administrator to check your permissions in Settings > Roles.

Owner and Assignees​

Owner​

The Owner is always a role (such as Office Manager or Lead Hygienist), not an individual person. The owner role is responsible for keeping the SOP up to date. If someone leaves the practice, the SOP stays with the role, not the person.

You can assign one or more owner roles. Roles are displayed in org-chart order so you can see the hierarchy.

Assignees​

Assignees are the roles that actually perform the SOP. When you assign roles, the SOP appears in the My Day task list for every team member who holds one of those roles. This is how your team knows what to do each day.

Departments are auto-populated based on the roles you select as assignees. For example, if you assign the Dental Hygienist role, the Hygiene department is automatically added.

SOP Schedule​

SOPHIE uses a flexible recurrence rule engine that supports Daily, Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly, As Needed, Custom, and Days After frequencies. Click the Schedule button when editing a SOP to open the scheduling modal with a calendar preview.

You can also create split schedules where different roles on the same SOP follow different schedules — for example, daily for assistants but weekly for the manager.

Each schedule group also has an assignment type (Everyone, Round Robin, or Workload) that controls how tasks are distributed among team members in a role.

For full details, see Scheduling & Assignment Types.

Saving Your Work​

After making changes, click the Save button in the header. The button only becomes active when changes have been detected.

  • Save as Draft -- The SOP is saved but not visible to the team until submitted.
  • Submit for Approval -- Sends the SOP into the approval workflow for review by the appropriate approver.

If you navigate away without saving, unsaved changes are lost.

Deleting SOPs​

  1. Open the SOP and enter edit mode.
  2. Click the trash can icon in the header bar.
  3. Confirm the deletion in the dialog.

Deleted SOPs are not permanently removed right away. They move to the Trash and can be recovered for 30 days. After 30 days, they are permanently deleted.

caution

Deleting a SOP removes it from all assignees' My Day task lists and clears any pending acknowledgements. This affects the entire team immediately.

For more on recovering deleted SOPs, see the Trash doc.

Tips for Writing Great SOPs​

  1. Start with a clear action verb -- "STERILIZE dental instruments" is better than "Dental instrument sterilization process."
  2. Assign the right roles -- Make sure the owner role is someone who can keep the SOP updated, and the assignee roles match who actually does the work.
  3. Use AI to get started, then refine -- Let SOPHIE generate a first draft, then edit it to match exactly how your practice operates.
  4. Use numbered steps -- Procedures should be in order so nothing gets skipped.
  5. Embed a Loom video -- For hands-on procedures, a short video alongside the written steps makes training much easier.
  6. Keep it specific -- One SOP per task. If a procedure has multiple sub-tasks, link to separate SOPs instead of writing one long document.
  7. Set the right frequency -- A daily SOP appears in My Day every day. A quarterly SOP only surfaces four times a year. Match the frequency to how often the task actually needs to happen.

Next Steps​