Records vs. Matters

ChartInsight separates two related but distinct concepts: records and matters. Records hold original treating-provider documentation. Matters layer legal context on top, so you can analyze one or more records together with the other documents that make a med-legal case make sense.

If you only need to summarize medical history, you want a record. If you need to analyze that history alongside legal documents, you want a matter.

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What is a record?

A record is a group of files representing original medical documentation from a treating provider. It is the ground-truth, firsthand source material — the same paperwork that came directly out of a clinic, hospital, or pharmacy.

Typical contents of a record:

• Treating provider notes and progress notes
• Encounter and visit summaries
• Prescriptions and medication administration records
• Lab and pathology results
• Imaging and radiology reports
• Operative and procedure reports
• Discharge summaries
• Vitals, intake forms, and referrals

A record is intentionally narrow in scope: it should contain only original treating-provider material. Keeping records "clean" this way means every AI-generated summary, chronology, vitals timeline, and medication list is grounded in primary medical evidence — not mixed with attorney work product or third-party reports.

If you have records from multiple providers (e.g., the ER, an orthopedist, and a physical therapist), upload each provider's documents as its own record. You can later combine them inside a matter.

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What is a matter?

A matter is a tool for analyzing one or more records together with other documents — typically the legal documents that surround a case. Matters are the right home for anything that isn't original treating-provider material but still needs to be considered alongside it.

Typical contents of a matter:

• One or more records (the underlying medical history)
• Depositions
• QME, AME, and IME reports
• Medical-legal narratives and rebuttals
• Pleadings, briefs, and discovery responses
• Correspondence and demand letters
• Settlement documents and prior awards

Inside a matter you can use the AI Assistant to ask questions that span medical and legal sources at the same time — for example, "Where does the QME's account of the mechanism of injury conflict with the treating provider's notes?" or "Cite every place the deposition references the lumbar MRI."

Matters are a good fit any time you're analyzing a med-legal case rather than a purely clinical question. If you find yourself wanting to upload a deposition or QME report, that is the signal to move from a record to a matter.

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When to use which