New patient intake checklist: what to collect before the first visit

A new patient's first visit often starts late for a reason that has nothing to do with care: the forms. A clipboard handed over at check-in means twenty minutes of handwriting, a missing insurance card and a history the clinician reads for the first time in the room. The same forms, sent when the patient books, can arrive complete before anyone walks in.

What to collect

A starting list. Keep what your practice uses, and send it as one online form or packet when the appointment is booked.

The previous-provider line matters more than it looks: it is what lets the front desk ask for records in time. How to word that request, and what HIPAA allows, is in our records request letter.

What the rules require at intake

The notice of privacy practices

A covered health care provider with a direct treatment relationship must give the patient its notice of privacy practices no later than the date of the first service, and, except in an emergency, make a good faith effort to obtain a written acknowledgment that the patient received it. If the acknowledgment is not obtained, the provider documents its efforts and the reason.¹ The notice must also be posted in a clear and prominent place at the office, and available for patients to take with them.²

When the first service is delivered electronically, HHS says the provider must send an electronic notice automatically and at the same time as the patient's first request for service, and make a good faith effort to get a return receipt.¹ The notice may be emailed to a patient who agrees to receive it electronically.²

A good faith estimate for self-pay patients

Under the federal rules that carry out the No Surprises Act, the provider who schedules the care must find out whether the patient is uninsured or self-pay, by asking whether they have health coverage and, if they do, whether they want a claim submitted to it. Those patients must be told that a good faith estimate of expected charges is available, both orally when scheduling and in writing on the website and in the office, and any question about cost counts as a request for one.³

The estimate is due:³

• Within 1 business day of scheduling, when the service is booked at least 3 business days ahead.
• Within 3 business days of scheduling, when it is booked at least 10 business days ahead.
• Within 3 business days of the request, when the patient asks for one.

CMS tells patients they may be able to dispute a bill that is at least $400 more than the estimate.⁴ These rules are about people's own health care, so they do not cover veterinary visits.

Informed consent to therapy

The APA Ethics Code (Standard 10.01) asks psychologists to inform clients, as early as is feasible in the therapeutic relationship, about the nature and anticipated course of therapy, fees, involvement of third parties and limits of confidentiality, and to give them a chance to ask questions.⁵ The ACA Code of Ethics (A.2.b) asks counselors to explain fees and billing arrangements, including procedures for nonpayment of fees, as part of informed consent.⁶ Intake is the natural place for both, together with the late-cancellation policy.

Messages you can copy

Replace the words in brackets. Send the form link as soon as the appointment is booked, and stop the reminders once the forms are in.

Reminders for the visit itself, and what to do when a new patient doesn't arrive, are in our appointment reminder templates and our no-show policy article.

What can run by itself

• The forms link, sent the moment a new patient is booked.
• Reminders that go only to patients whose forms are unfinished, and stop once they are done.
• A list for the front desk each afternoon: tomorrow's new patients, with forms done, forms missing, or no insurance card.
• The records request to the previous provider, started from what the patient wrote on the form.
• The acknowledgment record, kept with the patient's file, including when it was not obtained and why.

What stays with people

• Reading the history. The clinician reviews what the patient wrote, and follows up on anything unclear.
• The estimate. Someone who knows your fees prepares each good faith estimate.
• Patients who can't use a form. A phone call or help at the desk, without making them feel behind.

Count it first

For two weeks, note how many new patients arrive without finished forms, and how many first visits start late because of it. That count is the case for sending forms at booking, and the number to compare afterwards. It is one of the four jobs in our front-desk automation article, and more of what we set up is on our page for practices.

Questions practices ask