In Instinct EMR, you can send a published Digital Form to a client manually, via an appointment reminder, or via an automation. The Pet Owner Portal must be enabled, but you can leave record sharing and direct booking off. Nothing is sent to your clients about the Pet Owner Portal, and no portal accounts are created.
Send a form from the patient’s chart
Open the patient's chart and navigate to the Visits tab.
In the Forms section (above Non-Visit Documents), click Send a form.
Select one or more contact methods.
Optionally, link the form to one of the patient's visits or upcoming appointments.
Set the link expiration. The default is 3 days, but you can set it between 1 and 7 days.
Select one or more forms.
Click Send.
Send a form from the dashboard
In Instinct, navigate to your user Dashboard. In the Stay ahead section under Forms, click Send a form.
Under the Existing Client tab, search for the patient.
Select one or more contact methods.
Optionally, link the form to one of the patient's visits or upcoming appointments.
Set the link expiration. The default is 3 days, but you can set it between 1 and 7 days.
Select one or more forms.
Click Send.
Send a form to a new client
In Instinct, navigate to your user Dashboard. In the Stay ahead section under Forms, click Send a form.
Under the New Client tab, enter the new client's email address or phone number, and select a form. Only published forms with Enable account creation turned on are available to send.
Click Send.
If the email address or phone number matches the primary contact of an existing account, after clicking Send, you will see a message telling you that the contact information matches an existing account. Select one of the existing account's patients to send the form, or enter a different email address or phone number.
Send forms via an appointment reminder
Go to Admin → Practice → Forms and open a draft form.
Select one or more appointment types from the Appointment Types drop-down menu.
Navigate to Reminders → Appointments to open the reminder(s) that have your form’s selected appointment type.
Add the {{appointment_forms}} variable to the reminder template message.
Save the template.
The {{appointment_forms}} variable adds a link to every form linked to that appointment type, so you do not need to update the template when you create a new form. The form automatically sends via the method set on the reminder (either email or text).
Send forms via an automation
Link the form to one or more appointment types, as directed in the ‘Send forms via an appointment reminder’ steps above.
Navigate to Admin → Practice → Automations to create a new automation.
Select the Appointment Created or Patient Checked In trigger.
Optionally, add an IF condition for the appointment type.
Choose either the Send Comm Log Message or Create Task actions, then do the following:
When using the Send Comm Log Message action, add the {{appointment_forms}} variable to the automation message to include a form when the automation runs.
User’s view when editing the automation message
Client’s view when receiving the automation email
When using the Create Task action, add the name of the form you’d like the user or role to manually send. When the automation runs, the assigned user or role will receive a task linked to the patient that needs a form sent.
Save and activate the automation.
The comm log message action sends email only.
Note: If you send forms via both a reminder and an automation, clients can receive the same form twice. Use one or the other. |
How appointment changes affect form links
Links sent via a reminder or automation expire 12 hours after the appointment end time.
Appointment changes | Effects on form links |
Appointment rescheduled (date, time, or duration) | The link expiration updates to 12 hours after the new appointment’s end time. |
Appointment type changed | Links for forms that no longer apply are deactivated. |
Appointment canceled | The link is deactivated. Reactivating the appointment does not reactivate the link, so the form will need to be sent manually. |
Form archived | All links for the form are deactivated, including links already sent but not yet completed. |
Link reaches its expiration time | The client sees a “link expired” screen. |
Frequently asked questions
Can I send a form to more than one contact?
Yes. Select multiple contact methods on the client's account. All recipients share one link, and after the form is completed, other contacts who open the link will see that it is already done.
Can I send more than one form at once?
Yes. The same contact method and link expiration apply to every form. Each form gets its own link and its own row in the patient's form list.
Can I link a form to both a visit and an appointment?
No. A form links to either a visit or an appointment, never both.
Can I resend a form's link?
No. A new form link will need to be sent.
What does the client receive?
The client receives an email from [email protected]. Wherever the {{appointment_forms}} variable is placed, the client will see “Please complete the following forms before your visit:” followed by a link to the form(s). The form opens on any device, and answers save automatically, so the client can return through the same link until it expires. After the client submits, the form locks, and they will be directed to a new page that says “Congrats! Your form is complete.”
Still need help?
Contact support via live chat or email [email protected].