Paper forms have been the go-to for medical clinics, businesses, and other organizations for decades, but as technology has evolved, so have the benefits of switching to digital forms. Jane’s intake forms offer a secure and efficient way to collect vital patient or client data while saving your clinic time and money.
Natasha Wilch is a physiotherapist and the owner of Symphony Rehabilitation. She is also the founder of Concussion Nerds – an online virtual program that mentors clinicians. Natasha agrees that using online intake forms saves time for her and her clinic staff. “When forms get filled out beforehand, it saves me intake time. It means they’ve already put their past medical history in there. This means I have an initial idea of what their symptomology is so I can start to dig deeper faster. The higher-level stuff has been covered. And it also saves them brain power so they can get through more of the assessment in their session time, too.”
More treatment time = better outcomes
Using electronic intake forms can free up more face-to-face time between patients and their practitioners. Natasha notes that paperwork used to eat up roughly 15 minutes of a patient’s session on average. Since switching to online intake forms, her practitioners are now spending nearly two extra hours each day in session with their patients rather than filling out forms with them.
For Natasha, time spent in session is top priority – but she’s also found that giving her patients the time to complete their forms pre-appointment has led to better information. Not only are these forms reducing wait times, but they’re also improving the accuracy of the data clinics are collecting. Natasha says, “When [patients] complete their forms in their time, they can work through it at their own pace without worrying about it eating into their session time. You get more detail I would say.”
Less admin time: good for you, good for your patients
The time savings associated with using electronic intake forms is also a major advantage for clinics. Natasha agrees: “[Jane’s Intake Forms] saves my admin time from explaining the form, telling them what to do, scanning the form, shredding the form, and then scanning it into our system. So it saves time on every level of the customer experience. And our whole job as clinicians and as business owners is to create the most optimal, welcoming, warming customer experience we can create.”
“Our whole job as clinicians and as business owners is to create the most optimal, welcoming, warming customer experience we can create.”– Natasha Wilch
Being able to automate the forms also reduces wait times and smooths out the check-in and checkout process. “We don’t have a big waiting area. So the fact that our patients know they can just walk straight into their practitioner, and right out the door after their session, creates that flow we need for our space. We don’t have to worry about our practice being congested,” Natasha adds.
Building better practices for a better practice
People are often in a hurry and forgetting to collect pertinent information can mean a payment goes uncollected or an insurer goes unbilled. Knowing that you can securely collect all of that information for your clients prior to their appointments means every visit ends on a healing note and not a transactional one.
“It lets clients be prepared and gives them accountability which leads to fewer no-shows. Especially if they want us to direct bill. It again saves that face-to-face admin time and keeps client flow moving smoothly through the clinic.”
The flexibility to work anywhere
Electronic intake forms enable clinic owners, practitioners, and admin staff to access patient information and work remotely.
Natasha explains: “It’s cloud-based, we can access anything anywhere, and we have the freedom to do our work from any device… that’s huge. Being able to access everything from anywhere gives me the freedom to support my team and my clients. I think in this day and age, that is crucial to success in business.”
First visit without the jitters
Patients can also conveniently access their own online intake forms from wherever they are, whether that’s at the time of booking online, through their secure patient portal, or via a secure link from their email. Meaning patients no longer need to worry about the inconvenience of printing, scanning, and emailing their forms. This not only eliminates the need to complete forms during appointments but also ensures they are submitted on time, so practitioners and patients don’t have to worry about form-filling taking up appointment time.
“Meet[ing] a new practitioner in a new space is already anxiety-provoking enough. So anything we can do to help ease that anxiety and help prepare them is going to bode for a better appointment. Having those intake forms and those surveys done beforehand is a piece of what helps make that happen.”
Better security without a padlock
Electronic forms help reduce the possibility of data loss. Businesses don’t have to worry about their confidential information falling into the wrong hands as it’s safely stored in the cloud instead of vulnerable filing cabinets or other locations where it could incur physical damage.
📣 Jane Team Shoutout: Read our blog: Debunking Cloud-Based Practice Management Myths.
When asked about these possibilities Natasha says, “The hardest part about deciding to be a clinic owner at the beginning was learning legally how long I have to store paperwork. No one wants to use space to store paper. It’s wasted space. Knowing that Jane is secure, it’s all in one spot and I don’t need to go digging through boxes is a godsend.”
If you’d like to learn more about Jane’s intake forms, head over to our Intake Form guide.
Want to see Intake Forms in action? Book a demo with the Jane Team and let us show you them in action.