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31 comments

  • Gillian

    Hi Kim, can you give me some more context about what you're trying to accomplish here so I can help?

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  • Camilla Coakley

    I need help with this as well..

     

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  • Gillian

    Hi Camilla, hi Kim, I recommend our Note and Form template and Intakes class and Q&A at simplepractice.com/classes to learn more about how to create these forms in your SimplePractice account. 

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  • ADRP Intervention

    I have issues with this as well. Most of my clients are not computer literate, so i have to input and save all the client information and documentation by myself. How do i do this WITHOUT sharing with clients?

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  • Gillian

    Hi there, one thing you can do is duplicate the Intake Form and remake it as a Progress Note template. Then, when you do it in session with the client, fill out the Progress Note for the session using the template. You can add fields to the Progress Note template that are for your actual Progress Note so that you can include all of the information from the intake in your Progress Note for that session.

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  • Ives Wittman

    Still confused.  How does one link an intake form to client and input information?

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  • Amber

    Hello, 

    I would be happy to clarify how to complete a progress note for your client. Notes are added on the Session Details page. You can access this page from the calendar or from the client's chart.

    Option 1.

    1. Select the appointment from the Calendar page.
    2. A link to Add Note will indicate that a note has not yet been written.
    3. Click the link to access the Session Details page.


    Option 2.

    1. Go to Clients > Client Name.
    2. Click Add Progress Note button.

     

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  • Jodie Shea

    I also have difficulty with this. I have had multiple clients that did not fill out the forms correctly in the client portal but am unable to do them with the client in session. I was only able to do this once for a client by having her sign into her portal account and I typed in her answers but that seemed like it could have been easier. Also, the empty intake she originally submitted is still in her profile.

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  • Gillian

    Hi Ives, I'm glad you were able to get assistance from Amber on this - please don't hesitate to reach out if you'd like further help. Jodie, having clients sign into their Client Portal then filling out the answers with them is a great solution. Please let us know if we can assist further with this.

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  • Jodie Shea

    Hi Gillian, thank you. Is this something that Simple Practice is working on? As mentioned, I've had this issue come up multiple times and my practice has only been open 2 months.

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  • Gillian

    Hi Jodie, I'd like to understand the issue you're experiencing in more depth. If I'm understanding, your clients are not filling out their Intake Forms and Questionnaires correctly in the Client Portal. Have you considered checking the "Required Answer" box on your Intake Forms so clients cannot submit blank forms?

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  • Jodie Shea

    Hi Gillian,

    That may solve part of the problem but it would be helpful as the others mentioned above to be able to complete these forms in session as well. We used therapy notes at my previous job and would complete intake sessions (90791) in which we filled out the documentation through the program while sitting with the client. The only way I've seen to do that with Simple Practice is to have client fill out a paper packet and we scan it in, correct? I'm attempting to cut out all unnecessary paper.

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  • Gillian

    Hi Jodie, SimplePractice has this capability - all you need to do is convert your Intake Form template into a Progress Note template so that you can attach the same information to the session in SimplePractice. To do this, visit My Account > Settings > Notes and Forms, find the Intake Form you'd like to use, and duplicate it using the Copy button. Then, open the copy, and select "For Progress Notes" in the drop-down menu at the top of the screen. You'll then be able to select that form as your template for the session note, and can edit the template to include additional fields for your note along with the intake information. Let me know if this helps or if I'm not understanding your question correctly. 

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  • Amy Harman

    It would be nice if the intake that the client fills out in the Client Portal could be transferred to an intake Progress Note.  Otherwise, it’s a lot of re-typing information that the client already gave.  It also requires some back and forth between the client’s intake and the Intake Progress Note.  Or it would be nice to have a place on the client’s intake form to add notes for each question that the therapist adds, so it could be a complete and thorough intake.

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  • Caterina Jannette

    I am still unclear on how it helps to include a copy of the intake form into progress notes if it doesn't allow for transferring of the information. Is it possible to populate the copied intake form with the client's answers they provided automatically without having to retype everything?

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  • Gillian

    Hi Amy and Caterina, there's no need to transpose your Intake Questionnaire into a Progress Note - once the client completes the Intake Questionnaire, the information is automatically sent to the client's chart. You can then open the Intake Questionnaire to see the client's answers and make private notes at the bottom of the Questionnaire. Let me know if this helps with your question. 

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  • Kendra Allen

    Is it possible to customize the Intake Questionnaire? I'd like my clients to fill out all intake information (basic info like name, address,etc.)  and basic intake questions directly through the client portal rather than me transcribing the information from a paper questionnaire.  However, I'd like to use my own form.  Is there a way to get it into Simple Practice so my clients can access it from the portal?

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  • Gillian

    Hi Kendra, yes! You can customize the Intake Questionnaire on any SimplePractice plan. Just visit My Account > Settings > Notes and Forms and click on the Intake Questionnaire's title to edit it. You can drag and drop questions into a different order, and add questions, to make the perfect Intake Questionnaire for your practice. If you need any support doing this, please don't hesitate to reach out.

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  • Wendie Parsons-Nuhn

    How can I download a hard copy of forms into a client chart as they are filling them out paper/pencil? And is there a way to change the order of the questions on the questionnaires and progress notes? Thank you

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  • Heidi Schnorr

    I am using your free Trial and cannot select the Intake to use as a progress note. I made a copy per your instructions but it doesn't allow me to select it for progress note. The drop down for "For Progress notes" is grayed out. I can only select it as "For Intake Forms" and then it doesn't show up in notes.

    I'd like to manually do the intake with my clients. Please assist with how to do this.

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  • Gillian

    Hi Wendie, you can change the order of the questions by clicking and dragging each Form Element using the lines on the left. To add hard copies of forms to the client's chart, you can scan these files and upload them to the Uploaded Documents section of the client's chat. 

    Heidi, it sounds like you're trialing the Essential plan, which doesn't allow you to customize Progress Notes. To try the Professional plan, visit My Account > Settings > Subscription Information and click "Try the Professional Plan." This will allow you to recreate an Intake Form as a Progress Note template.

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  • Estela Lopez-de Lara

    Hi,

    I too would like to have the capacity to have a meeting with a client (an assessment/intake) and then type their intake data myself, directly into Simple Practice as they are speaking. It is not enough for a client to do it themselves from home. It is appropriate for the clinician to be able to input the data directly, so that we can type a case conceptualization/summary at the end to formulate our thoughts on the whole case. We need a "place" to type in data about the client ourselves. I see the Standard Intake Questionnaire, but I wish there were a way that I, not the client, write in the data.

    I was able to figure out (I think) how to schedule a test-appointment for a test client, start typing in a "progress note", but using the Intake template instead. Unfortunately, when I try to look up this data, it's titled "Progress Note", not "intake". I would like it to be able to say intake/assessment-- something to that effect. If a client wants a copy of their intake/assessment, it looks a little odd if it's called "progress note".

    When I experimented with scheduling an appointment for a client, I tried to schedule an assessment/intake, but the only options I saw where "psychotherapy" or "psychiatric evaluation". I'm not a psychiatrist, so it's not really appropriate for me to select psychiatric evaluation. If anything, at least for non-medication clinicians (social workers, mental health counselors, art therapists, marriage and family therapists), at mental health agencies we generally call the intake something like a "Biopsychosocial Assessment" or a "Comprehensive Assessment" or an "Intake", but not a psychiatric evaluation (since we don't prescribe meds).

    I like the feel of Simple Practice-- it is very nice software, but I'm struggling with making the decision to purchase this software if I don't have a means of typing in an intake/assessment myself and have a way to print it and have it say "assessment/intake" or something like that, instead of "progress note".

    This isn't so much of a question, but moreso feedback.

     

    Thanks

     

     

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  • Estela Lopez-de Lara

    I think I have figured out how to customize a Progress Note to use it as a way that I can manually input an "intake", but I wish there were a way to change it from being called "Progress Note" to intake (if I try to print it, it says "progress note")-- not that I necessarily have to print it, but it just looks better when I look at it in the system. It would be nice to be able to . I could try customizing the top of the form to somehow make it appear like it's an intake form. 

    It would be cool for those of us who are going to use the progress note feature to manually input client intake data ourselves, to be able to click "Save" without having to scroll all the way to the bottom if our progress note/ intake type of form is very long.

    When I click on a client to try to look at my progress note-intake that I customize myself, the link I see is called "Session"... This is vague. I wouldn't know that this is my Intake date, unless I specify it somewhere.

    I went to the Jamie D. Appleseed sample client, and I clicked into the "client info" section, and within that there is a section that says "Date First Seen". I guess I could use that to keep track of the "Intake date", since it just says "Session" when I go into the file. I wish there were a way to customize the "Session" link to say "Intake" or "Assessment" or something like that, just so it's a little easier to find. 

    Glad that I was kind of able to find sort of a solution to the issue. 

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  • Ives Wittman

    Thank you, Estela.  This was of extreme interest of mine as well.  This request is not explained in a clear manner in the help section.

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  • Estela Lopez-de Lara

    Hi Ives- if I choose Simple Practice, I might try to get used to the idea of having a client input their own data into an intake form, but then maybe create my own paper intake and upload it to the EHR if the client does it wrong, etc. Or, create an alternate intake form and just make it part of my policy that the client has to log into their client portal in my office, and that I have to type in their data directly into the portal for my alternate intake. It's awkward and it's not perfect, but I guess so far I like the intuitive feel of Simple Practice over another EHR I am looking at...

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  • Ives Wittman

    Thank you, Estela.

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  • Robert Channing

    Hi - My question is similar... When beginning with a client who doesn’t utilize email at all, how do I access all the intake docs that require signatures & how do I complete those with the client in the initial session?

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  • Gillian

    Hi Robert, happy to help. I'd recommend printing forms for clients who do not use email and thus cannot access the Client Portal. Here's a guide on how: https://support.simplepractice.com/hc/en-us/articles/360009853112-How-do-I-print-blank-forms-

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  • Ruth J. Cohen, LMFT

    How can I input the demographics info for my existing clients without having them go through the patient portal and fill out the form there?  I would like to be able to enter clients and all of their demographic info manually. I’m thinking of moving over to SP from another EHR system. I’m currently using the professional free trial version. 

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  • Ruth

    Hi Ruth - It's Ruth! You can always fill out the demographics information for your client by clicking Edit under their name and then filling out their information in the Client Info tab. 

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