Before a patient sees a behavioral health provider, it is standard procedure for the clinic or facility to collect data about that individual. This includes patient demographics, a history of health conditions and insurance information, as well as patient consent forms.
While the data that behavioral health facilities and clinics ask for may be similar, there is variety in how they go about collecting this patient intake information. It’s not uncommon for facilities and clinics to hand patients a clipboard full of intake forms to fill out on the day of their scheduled appointment. Understandably, this patient intake process comes with frustrations.
How Manually Collecting New Patient Data Impacts Patients
When a patient has to fill out registration paperwork on-site, there’s often an assumption that they’ll need to arrive earlier to their appointment. In some cases, an office will spell out this request, specifically asking patients to arrive 10-15 minutes early to complete intake forms. This can create a sense of inconvenience for patients before they step inside the facility.
While completing patient intake paperwork at the office, patients are likely to feel rushed. They’re watching the clock so they can get their forms completed before they’re called back for their appointment. While leaving patients feeling flustered, there’s also an increased likelihood the forms will include errors or that sections will be inadvertently missed in the process.
At the same time, it’s important to think about the headspace of new patients. Coming in for mental health or substance use treatment can be emotionally taxing. When you pile on intake paperwork for patients to fill out at the office, it can be draining for them to complete. It can also be stressful to be put on the spot, especially if they don’t have required information readily available.
How Manually Collecting New Patient Data Impacts Providers
When there are errors or missed items in patient intake forms, it’s added work for office staff to address. Whether it’s a check-in with the patient after their visit or a phone call to their insurance provider, these steps place added strain on administrative staff that is already spread thin.
Once these patient intake forms are completed, the issue then becomes a matter of time spent doing data entry. Considering the volume of patients, front-office staff can spend a good chunk of their day manually typing in patient data and scanning documents into an EHR. This gives staff less time to spend face-to-face with patients, cultivating positive clinic-patient relationships.
Streamline Patient Intake with an Online Registration Process
When you give patients the ability to complete their intake forms online, it’s a win-win as a patient intake solution.
Patients can be more timely and thoughtful in the patient intake process, as they can complete forms in their own time without the pressure of being in the waiting room. At the same time, they don’t have to arrive as early for their appointment since the patient intake data has already been collected.
Before the patient arrives for their appointment, your behavioral health clinic or facility has everything needed to proceed with the intake. The information flows directly into the patient’s electronic record without any intervention needed on the part of office staff.
ClinicTracker’s Patient Portal Supports Efficient Intake
Recognizing the value patients place on online access to healthcare, ClinicTracker has created a HIPAA-compliant Patient Portal. Embedded in your organization’s homepage, the Patient Portal allows new patients to schedule appointments online and also provide their patient intake information online. From there, the information (including insurance eligibility verification) flows right into the ClinicTracker EHR for ease of access and use.
At the request of your staff via the Secure Messaging system, patients can receive other online intake forms to fill out via our patient intake technology before their first appointment (as well as throughout the course of their treatment). After completing these online forms (which can include digital signature), the information feeds right into the patient record in ClinicTracker and notifies staff accordingly.
ClinicTracker is an EHR with patient intake solutions that actually makes your life easier, not harder. Learn more about the features of our fully integrated solution.
