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, and the first one is shorter when ten minutes of it goes 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 and their own time.
The session starts from a richer baseline, and reception runs cleaner.
Create an intake template
- Open the Templates page and 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: text, paragraph, email, phone, dropdowns, date pickers.
- Type / in the editor for the quick-insert menu: lists, images, headings, AI prompts.
- Save.
Pre-fill with client data
There's no need to ask clients for their name and email when you already have them. 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 and click Share (top right).
- Pick the client and mark them as Responder.
- Adjust the covering email if needed, then Send.
The client gets an email link, fills the form in any browser, and submits. To send the same template to many clients, use Use template from the library; each client gets their own fillable copy. Or set the form as your default intake so it auto-sends to every 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 to 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.