Understanding the Patient Intake Process

The main purpose of the patient intake process is to retrieve new patient and established

Patients’, including social, medical and psych records. A patient who has not been seen by the

provider or received any services from him/her in the past three years is considered a new

patient. Established patients have to make sure that their records are up-to-date every time they

visit. This process will differ at each practice. The patient flow can be kept in order by keeping

the intake process efficient.

A provider can help to keep the patient flow effective. The paperwork may be mailed to a new patient before the day of the appointment, and the completed forms mailed back ahead of time or they can bring them in on the patient’s first visit. It would be helpful if a patient had access to the forms on-line so that they could print them off themselves and then again, either mail them to the office before or bring them the day of their appointment. Satisfied patients aids in the effectiveness of the intake process by the doctor keeping to appointment times, the patient should arrive a little before their appointment time to ensure that the intake process goes smoothly. Other ways to keep things moving smoothly is to treat patients properly at their check in and checkout professionally, that they do not wait a long time back in the examination room waiting to see the doctor, and the amount of time the doctor spends with them. If the intake process is not maintained a patient will become irritated for the amount of time they spend waiting for the doctor and the amount of time the doctor spends with them. If patients are not satisfied they will begin to search for a new doctor. With the age of technology growing at such a rapid pace, maybe soon a patient will be able to schedule