In SimplePractice, you can share three types of paperless intakes with a client via the Client Portal: consent documents, intake forms, and PDFs. In this guide, we’ll cover:
Important: When editing consent documents and intake form templates, all updates will replace the previous version of each template. To learn how to retain copies of previous versions for your records, see Creating a new custom form based on an existing form and Printing or saving a custom note or form.
Consent documents
A consent document, also known as a practice document, is a text document that you want your client to read, sign, and agree to. These documents only require an electronic signature from a client to acknowledge that they've read and agreed to the terms.
To manage your consent documents, navigate to Settings > Client Portal > Shared Documents and Files.
Under Consent Documents, you'll find the documents listed below included in your SimplePractice account:
- Default Notice of Privacy Practices Document
- Default Informed Consent for Psychotherapy Document
- Default Practice Policies Document
- Default Consent for Telehealth Consultation Document
- Default Credit Card Authorization Form
You can find the default text of each document by clicking its respective link above.
Important: It’s your responsibility to review and update these consent document templates according to your practice, along with the legal requirements of your state. If you have any questions, we recommend consulting your local regulatory body.
Below, we’ll cover:
- Editing an existing consent document
- Adding a new consent document
- Setting consent documents as default
Editing an existing consent document
To tailor your consent documents for your practice’s needs, you can update your existing consent documents for clients. To do this:
- Navigate to Settings > Client Portal > Shared Documents and Files
- Click Edit next to the consent document in question
- Make edits to the title and/or content
Note: You can update the bracketed text at the top to match your practice’s information.
- Click Save
Adding a new consent document
If you’d like to add a new consent document:
- Navigate to Settings > Client Portal > Shared Documents and Files
- Click + Consent Document
- Fill out the New Consent Document form
- Click Save
Note: For additional details, see Customizing and adding new practice documents.
Setting consent documents as default
You can designate specific consent documents as default, which will make sure they’re pre-selected when you’re sharing an intake packet with a new client. To do this:
- Navigate to Settings > Client Portal > Shared Documents and Files
- Under Consent Documents, select Yes in the Default column next to the form
Note: Multiple consent documents can be selected as default.
When you’re sending a new client their intakes for the first time, default consent documents will be pre-selected under Consent Documents in the Send intakes page.
Intake forms
An intake form allows you to collect responses from a client through the Client Portal. You can create custom intake forms or edit a premade template from our Template Library.
Below, we’ll cover:
- Creating new intake forms
- Using the Template Library to create an intake form
- Enabling or disabling an intake form
- Setting intake forms as default
Creating new intake forms
If you’d like to create a new intake form from scratch, rather than edit an existing template, you can do so from your My Notes & Forms page. To do so:
- Navigate to Settings > Notes and Forms > My Notes & Forms
- Click + Create new template > Create new template
- Use the dropdown menu to select for Intake Forms
- Choose Add New to add a new form element or question to the form
- To learn more about each question type and form element, see Customizing your note or form
Important: When creating new templates or editing existing templates, don’t include client names or any other PHI.
- Click Save
For a detailed walkthrough on creating your own custom templates, see Creating customized templates in My Notes and Forms.
Using the Template Library to create an intake form
You can also edit pre-made templates in the Template Library. To access the library, navigate to Settings > Notes and Forms > Template Library.
Note: To learn more about adding and editing templates from the Template Library to your My Notes & Forms page, see Accessing the Template Library.
Enabling or disabling an intake form
You can enable or disable any form listed on the My Notes & Forms page at any time. We recommend disabling forms as this lets you store them on your My Notes & Forms page for reference, but prevents them from being shareable with clients.
To disable a form:
- Navigate to Settings > Notes and Forms > My Notes & Forms
- Uncheck the box next to the form to disable it
- If needed, you can return to this page at any time to re-enable the form by checking the box
Setting intake forms as default
You can designate specific intake documents as default, which will make sure they’re pre-selected when you’re sharing an intake packet with a new client. To do this:
- Navigate to Settings > Client Portal > Shared Documents and Files
- Under Intake Forms and Questionnaires, select Yes in the Default column
Note: Multiple intake forms can be selected as default.
When you’re sending a new client their intakes for the first time, default intake forms will be pre-selected under Questionnaires in the Send intakes page.
Files (Read-only)
You can also upload your own PDF or Word documents for your clients to download in the Client Portal, such as homework, articles, or documents. You can add them by clicking + Downloadable File in the Files (Read-only) section.
When you’re sharing intakes with a client, you can choose a read-only file under the Uploaded Files section.
