Utilizing online forms for patient intake: Pros and cons

In the healthcare industry, managing patient information is crucial for operational, financial, and clinical success. Proper documentation and patient data collection are vital in providing quality care and efficient business operations. Moreover, gathering information and handling medical histories effectively will improve your patient experience and overall business success. 

Many healthcare businesses turn to electronic systems and tools instead of filling out paper forms. Patient intake, which involves collecting demographic, medical, and personal data, is the main part of this sphere. Our article will give you valuable insights into digital patient intake forms. Also, you will learn how to create an online patient intake form in just a few minutes. 

What is a patient intake form?

A patient intake form is a document that collects essential data about a patient's health, medical history, and other relevant information. 

This basic information is crucial for healthcare workers to better understand the patient's health condition, enabling them to offer accurate diagnosis and treatment. 

Additionally, the details of your digital form may include legal consent and insurance information, ensuring that clients can pay for services and helping the organization follow all legal regulations. It is incredibly important for building trust with customers and enhancing success in financial operations. 

Advantages of patient intake forms

Creating a patient intake form online is much more convenient for both the company and the client. Patients don't need to fill out the form while sitting in a waiting room, so you can quickly receive the information. There are many more surprising benefits of creating patient information forms. Consider exploring them to streamline your work process: 

➕Fast data collection: Handling forms manually can be extremely time-consuming, especially for large organizations with numerous clients. Online intake forms enable quick data collection, reducing client wait times and providing easy access to contact information. 

➕Providing high-quality care: Client safety is paramount in the healthcare system. A new patient intake form helps clinicians understand a client's medical background, which is vital for treatment plans that are safe and appropriate for the patient's current health status.

➕Better client understanding: While crafting the medical patient intake form, you can add questions about lifestyle, family history, or triggers, and emergency contact information. It will help you gain insight into clients beyond their medical history. 

➕Accessibility across devices: Online forms are accessible from multiple platforms, including PCs and mobile devices. It makes it convenient for clients to fill them out on the go and for a company to speed up the work process. 

➕Improved customer experience: Well-designed client intake forms lead to a smoother care process, minimizing frustrations and increasing overall client satisfaction. It will enhance relationships with customers and improve your business outcomes. 

Pros and Cons of utilizing online intake forms

Disadvantages of patient intake forms

Weakly created online patient intake forms can lead to several issues, potentially harming both the business and the client experience. Managing online forms is crucial for all kinds of companies. However, it requires particular attention in the healthcare industry. It's essential to consider these disadvantages below and build your form accordingly to ensure success and safety in your business: 

➖Form complexity: Complexity in online forms means they can be too long or confusing, making it challenging to fill them out. Patients may feel overwhelmed by the number of questions or the form's layout. Simple language and health survey questions will make the process easier for everyone.

➖Unclear form instructions: If form fields or instructions need clarification, it can be hard for people to manage them. It can lead to mistakes and slow down the work process. Ensuring instructions are easy to understand, and questions are easy to read can help avoid these issues.

➖Poor form customization: Using a generic intake form without customization for your specific industry can lead to missing or irrelevant information. It can create confusion for clients who may not understand why certain questions are being asked, leading to potential dissatisfaction with your services.

➖Data security and privacy concerns: Your clients can hesitate to share sensitive information online due to fears about data security and privacy breaches. Ensuring your online forms are HIPAA compliant and using secure methods for data collection can help build trust with patients. 

💡HIPAA compliance means following rules to keep sensitive patient information safe. It includes physical security, network security, and following specific processes to ensure patient information is kept private.

How to create an online patient intake form (in 5 steps)

If you want to create a comprehensive patient intake form, we have a powerful tool to elevate your workflow to new heights. forms.app is a perfect platform tailored for creating any type of web form. Whether you need an evaluation form, a patient satisfaction survey, or a social media quiz, forms.app has you covered. 

forms.app offers many useful features for your business and seamlessly integrates with popular platforms such as Slack, WordPress, and Google Sheets. With its innovative AI features and many ready-made templates forms.app helps you build and customize forms to suit all your needs effortlessly. This easy, step-by-step guide will show you how to create a free patient intake form: 

1. Login or create an account on forms.app

Log into your forms.app account

To begin, you'll need to log in to forms.app platform. If you don't have an account yet, you can quickly create one for free using your email, Google account, or Apple account.

2. Choose a template, start from scratch, or generate with AI

Choose a beginning opiton

To create a form on forms.app, you have several options. You can start by selecting a ready-to-use patient intake form template specifically designed for this need. Then, click the Use Template button to begin the customization process instantly. 

If you prefer to build your form from scratch, you can begin with a blank page and add your questions and fields. Alternatively, you can utilize the AI-powered form generation feature for a faster approach.

3. Add your questions

Once you've chosen a template or started from scratch, improve your patient intake form by adding the necessary questions to collect the patient information. Use the drag-and-drop feature or click on the form fields to add your questions.

Add your patient intake questions

If you are unsure how to collect patient information correctly,  start by adding standard fields like name, address, and contact information, as well as custom fields for specific information related to your practice field.

💡To enhance your questions, you can try forms.app's innovative Rewrite with AI feature. Simply press the 3-star icon next to a question to adjust its language and improve clarity. 

4. Customize your form

You can customize your form further by adding new fields or modifying existing ones to suit your specific needs better. Head to the Design tab to personalize the appearance of your form. Also, consider exploring the Customize area to adjust design elements such as colors, form titles, and fonts.

Customizing the design of your patient intake form

Especially for your patient intake process, you may require additional fields, such as a document upload field and an online signature. To add these fields, navigate to the Field tab and find them in the list of available options. Simply click on them to include these fields in your form. 

5. Share your patient intake form

After completing your form, you can easily embed it into your website or share it via email. You also have the flexibility to post it on social media platforms or generate a QR code for convenient access. 

Choosing a sharing option for your quiz

Key points to take away

In summary, regarding statistics, 78% of respondents said they would share information with their doctor using a secure online approach to view their medical data. Patients feel comfortable sharing their information when they know it is handled securely and professionally. Healthcare providers can build trust with their clients and improve business by creating a correct and efficient patient intake form.

Utilizing online patient intake forms offers numerous advantages for healthcare providers, including effective data collection, better customer experience, and more. However, it's crucial to consider potential disadvantages, which we showed you in this helpful article. Also, with our simple 5-step tutorial on creating a powerful online patient intake form, you can build a perfect web form for your business.