How to create the perfect medical intake form for patients

Although medical intake forms are necessary for all practices, few people enjoy filling them out. So, how do you make things easier on your patients and potentially improve how they experience the initial part of their visit? Create the perfect patient intake form — or, ideally, forms.

To make things as easy as possible for your patients, you should have 2 types of patient intake forms: one for new and the other for established patients. There are also portions of forms that are negotiable and others that aren’t. After all, a patient’s family medical history doesn’t change. However, they may need to add additional information at some point in the future.

So, how do you create an effective intake form? Let’s look at what information needs to be on your new patient intake form template and how you can significantly shorten what data is asked of established patients.

There is almost always a grimace or a groan, audible or not, that patients give when handed a packet of information to complete. Letting patients know that this is the only time they have to fill in these blanks will alleviate some of that angst.

You can also tell them that they will review an abbreviated form for established patients in the future. This condensed medical intake form will allow them to verify their existing information is accurate and correct or update what your office has on file, which will reduce a portion of resistance to required form completion.

Many of these crucial elements are consistent in most forms we encounter in our everyday lives. As you create your new patient intake form template, make sure to include these fields:

Many online systems still need to catch up with how people prefer to identify themselves. Therefore, before creating your medical intake form template, learn about any systematic constraints of adding fields or a comment box to capture patient preferences.

The information you ask lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients on intake forms can help you identify and address specific healthcare needs and disparities. This step is important for delivering healthcare services for this community of patients.

Because this can be a topic some don’t understand, the CDC suggests the following approach. 

What gender were you assigned on your birth certificate at birth?

Do you think of yourself as:

Do you think of yourself as:

This will be a consistent question on both your established and new patient intake forms.

Why have you come to see us today?

You know why this information is essential. Rationally, your patient does, too. However, putting this request below why they are visiting your office helps them feel their focus on the now is as important to you as it is to them.

Share details about your medical history. Information that may seem irrelevant or unrelated may provide critical information to your ongoing care. Please be thorough:

Tell us about your family’s medical history. Please share health disorders or significant illnesses they have experienced: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tell us about how you like to spend your time:

What hobbies do you have? ________________________________________

What type of exercise do you like to do, and how often? ________________________

Have you ever had a problem with the overuse of alcohol? Y/N

Do you smoke or vape? Y/N. If yes, how often? _________________________

Do you currently use recreational or illegal drugs? Y/N. If yes, what and how often? ______________________________________

Have you previously used recreational or illegal drugs? Y/N. If yes, what and how often? _____________________________________ When did you use last? ________________

This question has intentionally been placed near the bottom of the intake form. You want to subconsciously make the patient feel that getting to know about them is more critical than their wallet. However, as nice as that sentiment is, this information is essential to your business’ solvency, so it needs to be captured.

Have you provided a copy of your current insurance card? Y/N

Ensure you provide written confirmation that you comply with HIPAA and your office’s printed HIPAA notice. Within the context of this confirmation statement, you will also disclose that you may need to provide insurance provider(s) or additional consulting medical providers with the patient’s protected health information (PHI).

The patient will need to sign the form providing consent for the release of medically necessary information. The signature must be executed electronically or physically, depending on the medium used to complete the form.

The best answer to this question is actually, in some cases, both. Giving your patients an option for how they want to receive and manage the questionnaire that will hold their personal information sends a subtle message that your patients’ preferences matter to you.

So, how do you format an intake form? Patient satisfaction is essential, but your practice is also a business, so you should consider the cost of creating and managing these forms.

Electronic forms require programming and additional fees to your existing EHR process. Additionally, your patient intake forms are temporarily inaccessible if systems are down for any reason.

As a general rule, aging patients typically prefer paper over electronic options. Paper forms require a secure, physical filing space that complies with HIPAA and other regulatory requirements. They also incur additional costs due to the postage necessary to mail them to your patients — sometimes multiple times. 

Considering the functionality of anything within this industry is not a new practice. In terms of patient intake forms, several considerations must be thought through.

Just as there are 2 sides to a coin, there are 2 ways to consider the font size you use for your patient intake forms — particularly the printed ones.

One way to think about font size is from the perspective of using less paper. Therefore, the smaller the font, the fewer pages you will need for your patient intake forms. While this may lead to an insignificant amount of cost savings, it is also likely to lead to angst and frustration for anyone with vision limitations.

Ideally, documents should be published in a 14-point (19 pixels) font. A 12-point (16 pixels) font is currently considered the standard. This helps those with older eyes that have started degenerating.

Additionally, ensure your web developer incorporates the option allowing users to adjust the size of the view shown on the screen.

It may seem nearly incomprehensible that there would be those without access to electronic mediums; however, it is a reality. As of 2023, 8% of American households did not have access to the internet.

With that in mind, it is ideal to offer your patients the choice of:

The other consideration is that there are those with access to the internet, but they’re neither comfortable nor proficient with the platform. Creating a mandatory option that results in frustration and feelings of inadequacy is not how you want to begin your relationship with new patients.

America is a proud, proverbial melting pot. That said, some are not fluent in English. Therefore, offering language alternatives or access to translators is beyond optional; it’s essential. At a minimum, all written information should be available in both English and Spanish.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 brought the phrase, ‘reasonable accommodation,’ into the forefront of most business owners’ minds. It boils down to ensuring you do what you can to help someone with a disability be able to complete the basic tasks necessary to receive treatment in a way that doesn’t cause your practice ‘undue hardship.’

In practice, as it relates to this article, it means that you provide a staff member to assist a vision-impaired or mobility-impaired individual in completing their patient intake paperwork.

Collecting your patient’s information can be challenging for all involved. However, setting the expectation that the next time the patient visits you will be a much easier and faster process will make them feel better.

Whether you design your medical intake form to have a combination of checkboxes, options to be circled, or blanks to be filled in, you will be able to gather the data you need to help your patient.

Tebra is always here to help. Check out our patient intake solution and take some of the stress off your shoulders.