Quick answer
Choose the type of intake system your practice needs. IntakeQ focuses on standalone intake, FormDr offers assisted paperwork conversion, and SimplePractice combines intake with broader practice management. Jotform supports configurable forms and approvals. PlatoForms supports original-layout PDF forms, responsive web forms, online signatures, and staff workflows, with Master Forms for sharing answers across several PDFs. HIPAA-enabled use requires the appropriate plan and account setup.
Five Options for Different Intake Needs
This is a use-case shortlist, not a scored ranking. It includes standalone intake tools, configurable form builders, and a broader practice system. The comparison focuses on form preparation, patient completion, staff handoffs, record delivery, and eligible plans. These products overlap, but they do not replace the same parts of a practice’s software.
| Software | Best for | Intake features |
|---|---|---|
| IntakeQ | Intake alongside an existing practice system | Forms, attachments, signatures, reminders, and PDF/CSV export |
| FormDr | Assisted conversion of clinic paperwork | Form packets, signatures, appointment reminders, and patient invitations |
| SimplePractice | Intake within a broader practice system | Client intake forms alongside scheduling, clinical records, and billing; features vary by plan |
| Jotform | Custom medical forms and approval rules | Conditional questions, approvals, and Smart PDF output; HIPAA requires Gold or Enterprise |
| PlatoForms | Configurable patient forms, existing PDF output, and staff review | Original-layout or responsive PDF forms, new web forms, online signing, reminders, Workflow, and shared answers through Master Forms |
An optional PlatoForms signature certificate requires separate configuration. For multiple participants, use the relevant Workflow certificate settings. A signature field alone does not automatically produce a certificate.
Selected Plans, Pricing, and Intake Scope
| Product | Price in USD | Included scope / additional costs |
|---|---|---|
| IntakeQ Forms | Confirm current price: page shows $54.90/month and $49.90/month in different sections | Forms, form reminders, BAA, 2 assistant accounts; additional practitioner seats $20/month |
| FormDr Core | From $99/month, billed annually | Unlimited forms, packets, documents, and signatures; assistant users and invitations; EHR/EMR integration add-on listed at $100/month |
| SimplePractice | Starter $49, Essential $79, Plus $99/month at standard rates | Features vary by plan; Plus adds practitioners from $74/month each |
| Jotform Gold | $1,188/year ($99/month equivalent) | 100 forms, 10,000 submissions/month; HIPAA activation and BAA; individual account |
| PlatoForms Silver | $360/year ($30/month equivalent), or $36 monthly | 20 live forms, 10,000 submissions/month, 20 members; signing, Workflow, and cloud integration; request team HIPAA activation and obtain the BAA |
Prices exclude introductory discounts and taxes. FormDr’s starting rate depends on the quoted setup. Practitioner seats, assistant accounts, and PlatoForms team members are different access models. For PHI, confirm the vendor’s BAA and required configuration as well as price; the table is not a certification of the complete clinical workflow.
1. IntakeQ: Standalone Patient Intake
IntakeQ is an option for practices that want a dedicated intake service alongside an existing practice system. Its Forms offering includes templates, attachments, client and provider signatures, treatment notes, and PDF/CSV/Dropbox export. It also documents automated reminders for incomplete forms, which directly address the front desk’s follow-up work.
IntakeQ Forms handles intake without requiring a practice-system migration. Scheduling, billing, and broader practice management belong to the separate PracticeQ offering.
During a trial, check how the completed record reaches your existing patient chart. A downloadable PDF is useful, but it is different from a direct, structured EHR update.
2. FormDr: Help Moving Paperwork Online
FormDr is worth considering when staff need someone to convert the clinic’s current forms. Its offering includes assisted conversion, packets, and patient invitations, with plan scope based on the practice’s needs.
Assisted setup can save staff the work of rebuilding paper forms. The pricing page advertises included conversion, but its FAQ also lists conversion and training charges. Confirm what is included for your packet and any one-time setup costs in writing. Before choosing a plan, confirm the patient-volume allowance and how its EHR connection transfers answers: as structured fields, PDF attachments, or both.
A useful demo uses your own blank packet, including consent and insurance-card collection. Review the patient view and the staff inbox together.
3. SimplePractice: Intake Within a Broader Practice System
SimplePractice fits a different decision: using intake as part of a larger clinical workflow. Its documentation covers managing intake templates and sending forms and documents to clients.
For existing SimplePractice users, keeping intake in the same system can reduce duplicate work. For other practices, adopting it means a larger migration. Customization and reminder features vary by plan.
If your practice already uses SimplePractice successfully, evaluate its existing intake workflow before adding an external form service solely for a lower subscription price.
4. Jotform: Configurable Intake and Approvals
Jotform is a candidate when the clinic needs flexible questions and internal approval rules alongside other business forms. Smart PDF Forms can also populate the original PDF from online responses, so you can keep the documents your clinic already uses.
The flexibility comes with setup work: activate HIPAA, obtain the BAA, and configure notifications and record delivery. Gold is an individual subscription; teams needing shared administration should check Enterprise.
The Jotform PDF comparison explains how document handling and account access affect the choice.
5. PlatoForms: Patient Forms, PDF Output, and Staff Workflows
PlatoForms lets patients complete an online form with the original PDF appearance or responsive web questions that populate the PDF. Clinics can also build new web forms when no existing PDF is needed. Master Forms reuses a patient’s answers across several documents, while Workflow can collect staff entries after the patient submits.
PlatoForms also has automatic reminders for incomplete invitations and pending workflow steps, signature fields, and file-upload fields in web forms. Staff can receive PDF email copies, while respondents can download completed PDFs when enabled. These capabilities overlap with intake software; their availability and PHI configuration still need to match the chosen form type and account.
For setup, PlatoForms offers AI field detection on an uploaded blank packet, AI Form Generator for a new web form, and AI-generated conditional rules. Its AI form translation suggests translated labels and messages for review. Staff should check generated questions, mappings, and translations against the practice’s approved paperwork.
For a new intake form, you can also start with PlatoForms’ health and medical templates. Adapt the questions to your clinic and review the form using sample data before collecting patient information on an eligible, HIPAA-enabled team.
For a new intake document, PDF Document Creator supports document design and editing, including AI-assisted layouts and fillable PDF export. For clinical charting, scheduling, or insurance billing, use your practice system alongside the form workflow.
Before collecting PHI, enable HIPAA for the relevant Silver or Gold team and obtain the BAA. Configure and test the destination for completed PDFs. Cloud delivery is not the same as a verified native EHR integration.
For HIPAA teams, Voice Filling and MCP-connected AI assistants are off by default, and their processing is outside PlatoForms’ BAA. AI in Insights supports report questions and summaries, but HIPAA teams must explicitly consent before aggregated data is sent to a third-party AI provider. A HIPAA-enabled form account does not automatically extend its coverage to every AI feature.
Patient Intake Software or a Full Practice System?
Patient intake software can mean a standalone collection tool or one part of a broader practice system. Decide which job you are buying before comparing subscription prices.
| Your practice needs | What to compare | Relevant PlatoForms setup |
|---|---|---|
| Patient forms alongside an existing system | Invitations, incomplete-form reminders, and staff access | Pre-filled invitations, reminders, and form permissions |
| Existing PDFs completed online | Patient layout, field mapping, signatures, and final output | Original-layout or responsive PDF forms; Master Forms for shared answers across several PDFs |
| Staff review after patient completion | What each participant can see and enter | Workflow with forms for the required roles; combining entries in one PDF requires the same PDF template across steps |
| Completed records in a storage folder | Destination, naming, access, and PHI arrangements | Cloud Drive integration for generated PDFs; review the destination’s access and applicable BAA |
| Scheduling, charting, billing, or updates to an EHR | The named clinical system, supported integration, transferred fields, and cost | Keep the clinical platform for these functions. A PDF export or cloud connection alone does not establish an EHR integration |
Patient intake management software should reduce work after a patient presses Submit. In a trial, have a staff member retrieve the record, identify a missing answer, and carry out the normal next step. Count any copying or re-entry that remains.
For digital patient intake forms, check the patient’s side too: phone usability, the length of the packet, and whether the instructions make clear what happens next. A shorter-looking form is not necessarily easier if it repeats the same questions across documents.
For PlatoForms, the intake process can begin with a single web form or an existing PDF and expand to shared documents and staff review. If updating a patient chart is essential, ask each shortlisted vendor to demonstrate the specific EHR connection, including which fields or attachments it transfers.
Use your patient intake form as the trial case
Choose one patient intake form your practice already uses, then test it with fictional details. Include the field types and attachments your staff handles routinely. For a patient registration form, check how a correction to contact information reaches staff; for a longer questionnaire, check how they find an unanswered item. If the software generates a PDF, compare it with the document staff expects to receive. These checks help you evaluate the software using your current process without changing the information your practice has decided to collect.
Run One Complete Intake Before Buying
Use fictional patient information to test the whole journey: send the invitation, complete the packet on a phone, leave it unfinished once, finish it, have staff review it, and locate the final record. Note where a person must resend, download, rename, or re-enter information.
For a PHI workflow, review the relevant agreements and access configuration, including connected storage and notifications. HHS cloud guidance explains why a service provider’s role and BAA matter; a product label alone does not establish your whole process.
Choose the system that removes the manual work you actually have. For a broader form-builder purchase, use the HIPAA form-builder comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Can PlatoForms reuse a patient’s answers across several intake PDFs?
Yes. Master Forms maps shared answers to linked PDFs, so patients can enter repeated details once. Review each generated PDF. Before collecting PHI, request HIPAA activation for the relevant Silver or Gold team and obtain the BAA.
How can PlatoForms help a clinic create or digitize intake forms?
Convert blank PDFs into original-layout or responsive online forms with AI-assisted field detection. Staff can also build new web forms from templates or AI prompts, or design a new document in PDF Document Creator. Review questions, mappings, conditional rules, and translations against the practice’s approved paperwork before publication.
Can PlatoForms remind patients and pass completed intake to staff?
Yes. Configure reminders for incomplete form invitations or pending Workflow steps, and add participant forms when staff need to enter review information. Generated PDFs can be saved automatically to a connected Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box folder. These are form-completion reminders; appointment reminders and EHR updates require the appropriate separate system or integration.
Explore Patient Forms with PlatoForms
Start with your existing PDF, a health and medical template, or a new web form. Use sample data to preview patient completion, signatures, and any staff review steps. Before collecting PHI, activate HIPAA on the relevant Silver or Gold team and obtain the BAA.
