Once an appointment is booked, the quickest way to get paperwork to the client is from the appointment itself. Open the appointment, select Send Forms & Consents, choose what to send and how, and the client gets a link to complete everything before they arrive.
Nothing is sent automatically when an appointment is booked. Online bookings show linked forms as pending in the client portal, but staff send them from the appointment.
Before you start
The appointment needs a linked client record. An appointment with only a typed-in name can't send forms or consents. The send screen shows a Create or assign client button if this is the case. See Assign a Client to an Existing Appointment.
To send by text, the client needs a valid mobile number, OK to text turned on, and your organization needs an active texting service. Text messages add a texting usage fee.
Only active, client-facing consent documents can be sent. Inactive (archived) consents and volunteer consents never appear.
Send forms and consents from the appointment
Open Scheduler and click the client's appointment on the calendar to open the appointment panel. You can also open it from Scheduler → List.
Select Send in the Forms & Consents section.
The Send Forms & Consents box opens. Forms and consents linked to this appointment type are listed for you and checked by default. Uncheck any you want to skip, and add any additional forms or consents you want to send.
Choose how the client receives them:
Text — sends a link to the client's mobile phone.
Link or QR code — best when the client is on site; open it on a tablet or let the client scan it with their phone.
Select Send.
The client sees your intake message with a link to complete the paperwork. To change that message, see Customize Intake Messages.
After you send
Everything you sent stays on the appointment. There is no separate intake list to check.
Outstanding items show on the appointment until the client submits them.
Completed items can be opened from the appointment right away, before the visit starts. If the appointment is already linked to a visit, they open in that visit's Documents tab. See Viewing Submitted Client Forms and Consents from an Appointment.
Answers that conflict with what's already on the client's record wait in the Field Review Queue on the appointment, so staff decide what to keep.
When you select Start Visit, completed forms and consents are linked to the visit and mapped answers are applied to the client, case, and visit records. See From Booking to Visit: How Records Flow.
Resend or finish paperwork on site
If a client hasn't completed their forms, open the appointment and send the remaining items again with Send Forms & Consents.
If the client arrives with paperwork still incomplete, send it as a link or QR code so they can finish on a tablet in your office. CoolFocus warns you if required forms or consents are incomplete when you select Start Visit, and lets you start the visit anyway so care isn't delayed.
Set which forms and consents go with each appointment type
Link forms and consents to an appointment type once, and they're ready to send every time that type is booked. For example, link your pregnancy test consent to your Pregnancy Test appointment type.
Open Scheduler → Scheduler Settings → Appointment Types (or Settings → Scheduler → Appointment Types).
Select the appointment type.
Open the After booking tab and find Forms & consents.
Under Forms, link the forms clients should complete after booking.
Under Consents, link the client consents for this type. For each one, you can mark it Required and set a renewal rule: once, each visit, yearly, or every set number of days.
Select Save at the top of the page.
Repeat for each appointment type. Forms clients answer during online booking are set separately, under Booking Questions on the Online tab. To create or edit the forms themselves, go to Settings → Care Settings → Client Forms.
For every option on this page, see Appointment Types and Booking Rules.
Other ways to send
Several appointments at once: select them on Scheduler → List and send in one action. See Sending Client Forms & Consents in Bulk from the Appointment List.
From a client or case record: useful when you don't want to look up the appointment. See Send Forms & Consents from a Client or Case Record.