Patient Intake Forms

Streamline the registration, admittance, and onboarding process by using this patient intake form template. Click here to download a free copy for your practice!

By Patricia Buenaventura on Aug 2, 2025.

Fact Checked by Ericka Pingol.

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What is a New Patient Intake Form?

Health professionals use a New Patient Intake Form when onboarding clients into their practice. This client intake form gathers clients' basic details and essential information regarding the patient’s health and treatment goals to ensure the practitioner makes accurate and informed decisions.

Although the specific information in an intake form can differ depending on healthcare specializations, they usually involve patient details, contact details, patient's medical history, the patient’s primary concern, insurance details, and what they want to achieve with treatment. Client intake forms streamline data collection and reduce the likelihood of clinical and administrative staff having to follow up with patients repeatedly regarding their relevant details.

To help healthcare practitioners with this process, we have designed an intuitive New Patient Intake Form that can be downloaded and used whenever necessary. The medical intake form template is easily accessed and edited and has been developed to be versatile in its applicability. In this guide, we’ll explain how you can use our new client intake form template during the patient intake process before diving into some of the benefits of the resource.

Patient Intake Forms Template

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How to use this template for the New Patient Intake Form

Using our medical intake form within your healthcare business is fairly simple. We have written a brief step-by-step guide to implementing the client forms effectively, and as long as you follow it, you'll be good to go.

Step 1: Download the template

The first thing you need to do is access and download the intake form template. If you click on the link we've included on this page, the resource should open in the PDF reader on your device. From here, you should download the document to be easily accessed later. You can store the intake form electronically on your device or print it out using hard copies.

Step 2: Give the intake form to new patients

The next step involves giving the intake forms to new patients for them to complete. You have a couple of options for how you can do this. Now that digital forms and online intake forms are becoming prevalent, they provide convenience. You can send the patient a link to the template, and they can complete it electronically before sending it back to you. Alternatively, you can wait until the day of the patient’s first session, and they can complete the paper intake forms while in the waiting room. Although both options can be effective, we recommend asking the patient to complete the form before their first session, as this will ensure efficiency and timeliness.

Step 3: Upload the data to your system

You must upload the information to your system when the patient completes and returns the intake form. This will ensure the relevant practitioner can access all the client data they need to treat the patient appropriately.

Who can use this printable New Patient Intake Form PDF?

We understand that the healthcare industry is versatile and fluid and have ensured our template is responsive. Some of the many practitioners who will be able to use the patient intake form templates include:

General practitioners
Counselors
Occupational therapists
Psychologists
Psychiatrists
Mental health therapists
Physical therapists

For mental health therapists to gather critical client details, an interview may be conducted to collect mental health input, such as reasons for seeking counseling and family mental health history, which is essential.

If you don’t see your specific healthcare field on the above list, then don’t worry. This doesn’t mean you won’t get value from the template. Our template will suit your needs if you are a practicing physician who refers your patients to other practitioners.

Why is this patient intake form useful for clinicians?

This New Patient Intake Form has a range of different uses for practitioners. As we’re sure you know, the day-to-day schedules of practicing physicians are typically hectic. Here are some reasons why the form is helpful:

Automates the intake process: Onboarding can be both time-consuming and complex. The healthcare practice ensures the patient is prepared to receive treatment, which means gathering all relevant data. Patient intake forms will simplify the onboarding process, ensure the patient’s needs are met, and allow the practitioner to make informed clinical decisions.
Improves organization: Using a New Patient Intake Form will also improve your organization. Staying on top of documentation is a difficult enough task, let alone ensuring these documents are neat, coherent, and easily accessed. Using a template with a layout and clear structure guarantees organization without spending extra time managing it. ‍
Saves time: One of the best outcomes of implementing this template is the time it will save you, even if you give them paper forms. You can access the intake forms and send them to new clients with just a few clicks. The time you save from utilizing the template instead of starting from scratch can be spent completing other tasks, improving productivity.
Leads to better clinical decisions: Practitioners can access accurate client data, and patients can inform their providers about what they hope to achieve with treatment. Facilitating better clinical choices will help improve outcomes for both patients and practitioners.

Since you can also give this as an online intake form, you can focus on optimizing your processes while also saving time.

Commonly asked questions

A patient intake form is important for several reasons. First, it ensures that practitioners can access the information required to treat the new patient accurately. Second, it allows the patient to explain what they are looking for regarding their treatment and specify specific goals or interventions that they want. Finally, intake forms streamline the onboarding process, helping to improve the general workflow at a practice.

Yes, intake forms contain confidential patient information, so they must be stored accordingly. You can choose whether to store your intake forms online, using an EHR platform, or in physical copies somewhere secure. Regardless of your decision, safeguards must be in place to protect your patient's privacy.

It is a good idea to ask your patients to complete the intake form before their first practice session. This will ensure a more seamless experience on the day of their appointment and help improve the workflow at your business.