Send an intake form
Create the intake template, send it once, and have clients fill it in before they walk in. Plus how to reuse, share, and pre-fill with their existing data.
Why intake should run before the first session
Sessions are short. The first one is shorter when you spend ten minutes of it on paperwork. A well-built intake form, sent before the appointment, gets you the history, consent, and context you actually need, in your client's own words, in their own time. The session itself starts from a richer baseline, and reception runs cleaner.
Create an intake template
Templates page → choose or create a collection (think 'New patient intake' or 'PHQ-9') → give the template a title → click the + in the editor toolbar to add fields. Field types include text, paragraph, email, phone, single- or multi-choice dropdowns, date pickers. Type / in the editor for a quick-insert menu (lists, images, headings, AI prompts). Save when done.
Pre-fill with client data
Tedious to ask clients for their name and email again when you already have it. Use data chips, the pill-shaped icon next to a field type in the editor. Drop a chip in and Carepatron pre-fills it from the client's profile when the form is shared.
Send and reuse
Open the template → Share (top right) → pick the client → mark them as Responder → adjust the covering email if needed → Send. The client gets an email link, fills the form, and submits. To send the same template to many clients, use Use template from the Templates library, each client gets their own fillable copy. Or set the form as your default intake: it then auto-sends every time you add a new client (we'll automate that in Lesson 2.5).
Five intake forms practitioners send the most.
Copy the structure, swap the questions to fit your practice.
PHQ-9 + GAD-7 + 'what brings you in today?' (paragraph). Three pages, takes ten minutes.
Body chart, pain scale (0–10), injury date, mechanism, prior imaging, goals. One page.
Allergies, current medications, family history, smoking and alcohol screens. Two pages.
Medical history, last cleaning date, anxiety screen, anaesthesia history, insurance details.
Goal (single choice), constraints (paragraph), schedule availability (multi-choice), success metrics in your own words.
How do I create an intake form?
Templates → choose a collection → title the template → click + to add fields → Save. Use / in the editor for quick-insert (lists, headings, images, AI prompts).
Can I pre-fill a client's name and contact details?
Yes, use data chips. The pill-shaped icon in the field editor lets you map a field to the client's profile so it pre-fills when the form is sent.
How do I send the same intake to multiple clients?
From the Templates library, Use template → select a client → Share. Each client gets their own fillable copy. Or set the form as your default intake to auto-send when a new client is created.
Can multiple clients edit the same shared form together?
By default, yes, if you Share a template to several people without using Use template, they all edit the same document. To send separate fillable copies, use the Use template flow per client instead.
What happens when a client submits the form?
The completed form saves to the client's record under their documents, so you and your team can review it before the session.
Can clients fill an intake form on their phone?
Yes, the email link opens in any browser. They don't need to install anything.
Can I require certain fields?
You can build required questions into your template, check the field options when adding each field. If you're not seeing the option you need, ask the in-app Help channel; the template editor evolves quickly.