How to Automate Patient Intake Forms To Save Time & Boost Care

How to automate patient intake forms to save time? Many healthcare providers are asking this question as they look for ways to improve efficiency and the patient experience.

No one wants to spend time filling out paperwork, especially at a doctor's office. Technology can transform this often-dreaded intake process.

In this blog, we'll talk about how automating patient intake forms saves time, improves accuracy, and simplifies the process for everyone. Learn how to improve the client intake process through automated client intake.

You'll also learn how to collect patient information and essential documents with digital patient intake forms and improve patient onboarding with intake software and patient intake solutions.

Transforming the Intake Process: Why Automation Matters

Traditional paper forms are cumbersome. Patients feel rushed, staff spends time deciphering handwriting and manually entering data, and errors happen. This impacts efficiency and patient satisfaction.

Boosting Staff Efficiency and Patient Satisfaction

Automating patient intake frees your staff from tedious data entry. It allows them to focus on patient care, boosting overall client relationship management. A Lobbie Institute survey shows that 81% of patients prefer digital forms.

Patients can complete forms on their own time and on their preferred device, increasing patient engagement and satisfaction. Digital forms eliminate frantic form-filling in crowded waiting rooms.

Accuracy and Compliance: Minimizing Errors and Risks

Automated systems minimize human error and maintain HIPAA compliance. Data validation and automatic updates create reliable information within your EHR.

This means fewer issues caused by lost paperwork or misplaced medical histories. You can rest assured knowing your information is stored safely and accessible, eliminating paper forms and files.

Editor's Note: Many of the errors that occur during patient intake or eligibility verification are due to data entry mistakes. Many companies in the healthcare industry, like United Healthcare, are turning to Magical to help with these errors.

Magical is an automation and productivity tool that eliminates repetitive typing tasks like patient registration and transferring patient data between systems. You can set up automations with Magical to autofill forms, thereby reducing errors.  

How To Automate Patient Intake Forms To Save Time: A Step-by-Step Guide

Ready to ditch the clipboards? Transitioning to automated patient intake is easier than you think. Below are seven steps to take when looking for patient intake solutions to automate repetitive tasks.

Step One: Evaluate Your Current Intake Process

Begin by mapping out your existing patient intake process from start to finish. Identify all the steps involved, from initial patient contact to data entry and integration into your electronic health record (EHR) system. Understanding this workflow will help you identify which steps can be automated and any potential pain points that need addressing.

Step Two: Choose the Right Automation Tool

Research and select an automation tool that integrates well with your practice’s current systems. Look for tools designed for healthcare that support HIPAA compliance, such as those that can collect patient data securely and integrate seamlessly with EHRs. Options could include platforms like Formstack, Jotform Healthcare, or specialized intake automation software.

Step Three: Customize Digital Intake Forms

Design your patient intake forms to capture all necessary information in a user-friendly format. Ensure the forms include required fields for insurance details, medical history, consent forms, and any other relevant data. Most automation platforms provide customizable templates that you can tailor to suit your practice’s needs.

Step Four: Integrate with Your EHR and Other Systems

Once the intake forms are set up, link them to your EHR or practice management system. This integration ensures patient data flows directly into the appropriate records without manual entry. Many tools offer direct integrations or can be connected using tools like Magical, which automates data transfer.

Step Five: Test and Optimize the Process

Run a pilot test of the automated intake process with a small group of patients or staff. Monitor for issues such as data entry errors, system lags, or patient confusion.

Gather feedback and make necessary adjustments to improve the workflow. Ensure that the automated process maintains data security and complies with all relevant regulations.

Step Six: Train Staff and Inform Patients

Educate your staff on how to manage and troubleshoot the new automated system. Provide them with a clear guide on the new intake workflow. Additionally, inform patients about the change through emails, your website, or during scheduling calls, emphasizing the convenience and time savings of the new system.

Step Seven: Monitor and Update Regularly

Automation needs regular updates to stay efficient and compliant. Keep an eye on patient feedback and any changes in healthcare regulations that could affect your forms or data collection practices. Periodically review the workflow and update it as needed to ensure continuous improvement and efficiency.

Creating User-Friendly Forms: First Impressions Matter

A streamlined intake form ensures quick patient adoption. A clear design, consistent with your branding, makes a positive first impression. Online intake forms allow patients to complete forms online, improving the client intake form experience.

Start With the Patient Essentials

Start by collecting essential contact details, medical background, and insurance information. Use form builders for online patient intake. Incorporate online intake forms into your client portal, and use the patient intake software for patient intake solutions.

Make it easy for patients to share contact details and other information in your intake solution. This improves patient relationship management by making it easier for patients to give you their information and essential documents for the onboarding process.

Use Digital Signatures

Integrate digital signatures and file uploads for relevant documents. Offer instant submission via e-signature.

Get feedback from test patients or staff. This improves the patient intake solution, making the client intake form a paperless intake solution, allowing patients to easily upload essential documents and streamlining how they collect patient information.

Empower Your Patients with Pre-Arrival Access

Early form submission maximizes efficiency and reduces wait times. Secure emails or SMS links allow patients to share medical data and upload insurance cards in advance. Digital patient intake forms and online intake forms save time in the intake process, allowing patients to submit intake solution forms before arrival.

Catering to patients' digital habits increases completion rates. Many prefer completing forms on their mobile phones. Over 80% of patients use mobile phones for healthcare questionnaires. Early submission minimizes on-site wait time.

Addressing the Top Concern

Hygiene is a major concern, especially in healthcare. A contactless intake process addresses these concerns. Using a contactless approach ensures the client intake form minimizes shared surfaces, contributing to a safer intake process overall.

Automating patient intake forms saves time, creating a smoother check-in that enhances the digital process. It helps collect patient contact details and simplifies onboarding, reducing check-in times and lessening your workload.

Prioritizing Hygiene: A Contactless Approach

Digital intake transforms healthcare interactions. Clipboard pens carry a surprising number of germs—over 46,000 times more than a toilet seat.

Digital forms create a cleaner, more efficient process. They help avoid in-office virus transfer. Patients easily add information at their convenience.

Maximizing Time Savings: How to Streamline Further

Automation streamlines intake tasks. With e-signatures, submission and storage are electronic and nearly instantaneous within secure file storage. This eliminates paper forms and filing headaches.

An all-in-one approach reduces workflow burdens for everyone. Digital patient intake forms and online patient intake make collecting patient information quick and easy.

Templates and Prefilling: Efficiency at Your Fingertips

Reusable templates combined with automation boost efficiency. Prefilling sections reduces duplication, accelerates completion time, and improves accuracy. Data automatically transfers from intake forms into your system, minimizing staff workload.

Automated workflows create relevant queries based on initial answers. Clinically intelligent automation enables a truly paperless shift. Smart intake streamlines processes with fewer questions.

Physicians access concise digital summaries for accurate diagnoses. Patient intake software assists in how you collect patient data, creating a smooth digital patient experience that saves staff time with repetitive tasks.

Final Thoughts

Automating patient intake forms transforms healthcare operations. Digital solutions save time, reduce stress, and improve the quality of care, enhancing patient loyalty.

If you're part of a healthcare admin team and want to know how to manage patient data and other administrative tasks more efficiently, try Magical. Magical is used at more than 50,000 companies like Dignity Health, Optum, and Nuance to save 7 hours a week on their repetitive tasks.