In the previous article, Secure Online Patient Forms: Efficiency Without the Risk, we went over why a medical practice should have a secured online patient form and how to make sure it is actually secure.
When someone submits a form on your website, a number of things can happen. The information can be sent to your inbound marketing software, a CRM, or simply to someone’s inbox. In the case of a secure online patient form, we always make sure an email notification is sent to the office manager immediately.
Here, we’ll go over how to setup email notifications the right way.
Let start with the email address.
You want to make sure the sending email address being used in the online form is going to your Administrator. Test the form and make sure the Administrator is receiving the test email. If the Administrator is not receiving them, check for two things. First, check if the Administrator email has any typos. This could be found in the actual code or if you’re using a WordPress form plugin, you would find it in the form’s configuration page. Second, check their Spam box. Sometimes emails end up in your Spam box so it’s always good to check that off your list. If you’re good in both cases and your still not receiving the information from your form, contact your IT or web guy to find out if your form has any coding issues.
Setup a Descriptive Subject Line
With all the emails, including junk mail, we get these days we want to make sure our subject line is descriptive. Let’s just say we have an online patient form. The subject line could read, “Review Online Patient Form for John Doe”. When configuring your online form, it may have the capabilities to add variables like {firstname} or {lastname} to the subject line. (Side note, these variables would only work if the form has a First Name and Last Name field setup.) The end result should look something like this, “Review Online Patient Form for {firstname} {lastname}”. Now, every time a new patient submits the Online Patient form, you know exactly who the patient is before the email is opened.
There’s never enough testing so make sure that online form is running error free. You can always notify more people on staff by adding more than one email. Last, make sure your subject line is well thought out to help everyone save time and improve production at the practice.
Question about online patient forms?
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