How digital patient forms work
A patient fills the form on their phone before the visit. The answers become an encrypted PDF, and for nine EHR systems that PDF is filed into the patient's chart automatically. Nobody rekeys anything and nobody scans paper.
From a text message to the chart
Four steps, and staff touch none of them.
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The form goes out
A link is texted or emailed to the patient ahead of the appointment. It opens in a browser, so there is nothing to download and no account to create.
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The patient fills it in
On a phone, a tablet or a computer. Forms can be signed, and multi-signer forms let a parent or guardian sign alongside the patient.
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An encrypted PDF is built
The answers are rendered into a properly formatted PDF, named to your convention and stored encrypted rather than sitting in an inbox.
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The PDF is filed in the chart
For supported EHRs the finished PDF is pushed into the patient's chart through the EHR's own API. Where no API exists, it can be delivered by secure file transfer instead.
The part most form tools do not do
Collecting a form is the easy half. Getting it into the chart without someone printing, scanning and attaching it is the half that saves the time.
- athenahealth, Azalea Ambulatory, ModMed, Nextech FHIR, Nextech Select, CureMD, Kareo and SmartLink are supported through their APIs
- Where a practice has no usable API, forms are delivered by secure file transfer instead
- Each pushback is recorded with a timestamp and the response from the EHR, so a failure is visible rather than silent
- Failures are logged and emailed rather than being left to discover later
- Duplicate submissions within a twelve hour window are skipped automatically, so a patient who taps the link twice does not create two chart entries
How forms get to patients
One screen holds every way a patient can reach your forms, from a texted link to a QR code on the front desk.
- A master link that shows a patient every active form in one place
- Separate new-patient and existing-patient links, so a returning patient is not asked to fill in everything again
- Custom bundles: name a set of forms, and the bundle gets its own link and QR code
- QR codes can be printed for the front desk, so patients fill forms on their own phone in the lobby
- A direct upload link for documents a patient needs to send in
- Document retention is a setting, not a guess
Questions we get about digital forms
Does the completed form reach the EHR automatically?
For athenahealth, Azalea Ambulatory, ModMed, Nextech FHIR, Nextech Select, CureMD, Kareo and SmartLink, yes, through each system's own API. Where no API is available the PDF can be delivered by secure file transfer instead.
What happens if a patient submits the same form twice?
Duplicate submissions within a twelve hour window are detected and skipped, so a patient who taps the link again does not create a second chart entry. The skip is logged rather than being silent.
Do patients need an app or an account?
No. The link opens in a browser on whatever device they already have. Nothing to install and nothing to sign up for.
Can a form be signed?
Yes, and multi-signer forms allow a second signature, which is what a parent or guardian consent form needs.
What if a patient prefers paper?
A blank printable PDF of any online form can be generated, so the same form works on a clipboard and the office is not maintaining two separate versions.
Where are completed forms stored?
As encrypted PDFs, not as email attachments. Staff view or download them from the completed forms screen, and each one records when it arrived and whether it reached the EHR.
How do we know a form actually made it into the chart?
Each pushback records a timestamp and the response from the EHR. Failures are logged and emailed rather than being discovered weeks later when someone goes looking for the document.
Can forms be sent before the appointment automatically?
Yes. Forms are sent by text or email ahead of the visit, which is the point: the intake is done before the patient arrives rather than in the waiting room.
See a form go from a text message into your chart
We will send one to your phone, fill it in, and show you where the PDF lands.
Talk to our team