Updated July 10, 2020

Since I retired as a massage therapist, I’ve gotten my fair share of massages.

It’s research, of course! 😉

Being in the business of helping LMTs operate more successful practices, I can’t help but take mental notes during my experience of seeing a new therapist.

One thing that never ceases to annoy me?

The dreaded client intake form.

And yet, it’s a really important document that every practice should/must have.

The intake form serves several important functions that I feel many practice owners aren’t aware of:

• It records client contact information, which allows for future marketing efforts.

• It should always include a waiver that specifies your policies and limits your liability.

• It provides a clear and lasting reference for a client’s issues, medications and contraindications.

But as a client, I really, really hate filling out an intake form right before a session.

Why?

I know the time I’m spending filling it out is time that I’m not on the table being worked on. After all, I’m there for a massage, not to fill out a form. I’m essentially paying someone for the privilege of doing paperwork. No happiness in that.

When I was still a practicing massage therapist, I would briefly talk through the completed intake form with a new client and would then file the paper away — rarely to be seen again. I’m guessing that isn’t uncommon.

And yet an intake form IS important and shouldn’t be ignored.

Thankfully — for both clients and therapists alike — there is a better way…

Have clients fill out intake forms online BEFORE appointments!

“Sure, sure,” you say, “but how?”

At MassageBook, we gave this a lot of thought and came up with what I feel is, by far, the most elegant solution anywhere.

So here’s how it works:

First, whenever a new client books with you, you can choose to automatically (or manually), send them an email asking them to complete a secure intake form online.

It’s incredibly simple to fill out and has customizable sections for personal information, complaints, and existing conditions. The all important customizable waiver form is also included.

And to help better protect you and your clients before you even step in the same room with one another, we added a COVID-19 section to assist with your pre-screening process.

Do clients actually fill these out?

They do. Plus, they just bought themselves an extra 5 to 10 minutes of hands-on massage time!

Another bonus? New clients will be impressed with the professionalism of your practice before they even step foot in your door.

I guarantee you that they’ve never been to another massage therapist who allows them to arrive for their session fully prepared to provide them with an excellent experience. (Unless they’re also using MassageBook, that is!)

As we all know, health conditions are always changing, so for an existing client, you can quickly send them a request to update their form using the option inside their client record.

But, to make it even easier for all your clients to be able to continuously update their intake forms, appointment reminder emails now include a direct link that lets each client securely access and make changes to their form.

Let’s take a look at the benefits using an online intake form provides you as a business owner:

• Accurate contact info will be automatically saved to the client’s record in MassageBook, which means no more trying to decode chicken scratch and getting valuable information wrong.

• All client information from the intake form is only a click or tap away, which means no more searching through paper files.

• Along with the SOAP notes you take in MassageBook, you have a complete record from beginning to end of each client’s health and treatment history that can be referenced quickly and easily at any time.

• Any client medications and contraindications are automatically flagged and displayed on the client’s appointment, which means it’s almost impossible to miss vital information for their session.

• You now have a signed waiver form on file for every client, providing you with peace of mind from a liability standpoint.

It should be clear by now that you (and your clients) will save a significant amount of time, be way more organized, and that you’ll end up with much cleaner and better client information in your system.

Our mission at MassageBook is to help massage and bodywork practices succeed and become more profitable by providing them with professional grade tools and ongoing friendly support.

We’d love to help you too.

All you need to do is contact us at 843-352-2026 or support@massagebook.com – we can get started improving your practice today!

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