What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have a simple ChatGPT-based system for generating personalized bereavement letters at each required follow-up interval (1, 3, 6, and 13 months), and a spreadsheet tracking when each letter is due. Writing a bereavement letter will take 5 minutes instead of 20.
What you'll need
- ChatGPT account at {{tool:ChatGPT.url}} (free tier works)
- Google Sheets or Excel for tracking bereavement due dates
- A list of bereaved families currently in your 13-month follow-up program
- Time needed: 45 minutes initial setup; 5 minutes per letter after that
- Cost: Free
How-To Guide: Build a Bereavement Letter System with ChatGPT
Step 1: Create your bereavement tracking spreadsheet
Open Google Sheets or Excel and create columns: Family Name | Patient Name (initials OK) | Date of Death | 1-Month Letter | 3-Month Letter | 6-Month Letter | 13-Month Letter | Personal Details | Notes. Fill in your current bereaved families. The date columns will hold the due dates (calculate 1, 3, 6, 13 months from death date). Color-code by status (due, sent, not applicable).
What you should see: A spreadsheet where each row is a bereaved family and you can quickly see what's due this week.