Building forms
Create form templates, import starting points, add questions and conditional sections, and send forms for patients or a parent or guardian to complete and sign.
Forms are built and managed from Forms. A form is a document the patient fills in and signs. Use a form when you want structured questions, acknowledgements or screening answers. If the patient should answer through an interview-style conversation, see Choosing between forms and interviews.
How do I create a form template?
In the left sidebar, click Library, then click Forms. Use Forms to create the reusable template your team sends from a patient chart or visit.
Use Library (1) to open the library area, then Forms (2) to open the form templates page.
- Select New form.
- Enter the template title your team will recognize. If you set a patient-facing title, that title is used on the secure link.
- Add the blocks the patient should read or answer.
- Turn on Required for answers the patient must complete before signing.
- Select Save.
The template becomes available when you add forms from a patient chart or visit.
Use Template title (1) for the reusable name, Blocks canvas (2) to add and arrange the blocks, and Save (3) to store the template.
Watch the preview while you build. It shows the document layout patients use when they complete the form.
What blocks can I add to a form?
On Forms, you can add text, choice, checkbox, scale, free-text, matrix and table blocks.
Use Text (1) for instructions, section headings or policy text the patient reads, and Single choice (2) for a question with one answer.
| Block | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Text | Instructions, section headings or policy text the patient reads. |
| Single choice | A question where the patient picks one answer. |
| Multiple choice | A question where the patient can pick more than one answer. |
| Checkbox | A single statement the patient confirms. |
| Scale | A numeric rating question. |
| Short answer | A one-line free-text answer. |
| Long answer | A longer free-text answer. |
| Single choice matrix | A grid where the patient rates each statement against the same answer options. |
| Multiple choice matrix | A grid where the patient can tick any answers for each statement. |
| Table | Grid-style answers. Table columns can be short text, single choice, multiple choice or checkbox, and choice columns have options in the builder. Tables can use fixed rows, or let the patient add rows. |
Single-choice, scale and single-choice matrix blocks can be scored when the template is set up as a screening form. Multiple-choice and multiple-choice matrix blocks are not scoreable. For scoring setup, see Building self-scoring screening forms.
How do I add conditional questions?
On the same page, use Show if in Forms when a block should appear only after the patient selects a specific answer to an earlier choice question.
- Open the template.
- Select the block that should be conditional.
- Select Show if.
- Choose an earlier choice question.
- Choose the answer options that should reveal the block.
- Select Save.
A conditional block stays hidden until the selected answer is given. If a required block is hidden, it does not block submission. Answers typed into a block that later becomes hidden are not submitted with the form.
Conditional blocks can also share a condition group on the canvas. The group header shows the shared Show if condition, and Add to group adds another block with the same condition. In a block’s Show if popover, you can join a nearby group with Join the group above or Join the group below. To remove a group condition, open Show if and select Always show this block. For a whole group, open the group header and select Always show these blocks.
How do I import a form?
On the same page, use the New form flow when you want a starting point instead of building every block by hand.
- Select New form.
- Choose to start from the library or attach a PDF in the builder.
- Review the imported blocks in the builder.
- Edit the wording, required settings and conditions before sending the form.
- Select Save.
Use Library template (1) to preview the template before you import it, Template title (2) to confirm the form you are bringing in, and Description (3) to read the summary first.
Imported templates are editable after import. Review them before use so the language, required questions and signing flow match how your practice works.
How do I send a form to a patient?
In the left sidebar, click Patients, then click the patient's name; or in the left sidebar, click Visits, then click the visit. In the patient chart, click Forms. You can also add forms from a visit's Forms page. Sending supports one or more forms. Fill on this device works with one selected form at a time.
- Confirm you are on the patient's Forms page.
- Select Add forms.
- Pick one or more forms.
- Choose the send option to send the forms to the patient, or select Fill on this device for in-person completion.
- If you choose Fill on this device, hand the device to the patient when the handoff screen appears.
If the patient can be notified, Ona sends the form link to them. If the patient cannot be notified, Ona shows completion links you can share another way. When forms are added from a visit with a future intake release time, they can be scheduled with that visit.
A patient link opens a secure form page. The link does not require patient sign-in and is one-time use. Some links first ask the patient to confirm their date of birth before they open the form. If a link is revoked, the patient sees a message that the page was replaced by a newer link. If a link is already used, the patient sees a message that the form has already been submitted or signed. If a link is expired, the patient sees a message that the link has expired. If a link's session is invalid, the patient sees a message to reload the page in the tab or device where it was opened.
What does the patient have to do before submitting?
From the secure form link your team sends, the patient selects Fill in & sign form and completes the form in the signing flow.
The signing flow highlights any unanswered required questions and can jump the patient to the next missing answer before they submit. The patient still has to answer every visible required question, accept the electronic-signature agreement, confirm who is signing if they are doing it on the patient’s behalf, draw a signature and select Submit form.
After submission, the patient sees a confirmation that the form was sent to the clinic. The one-time link cannot be used again.
How do I review, resend or archive patient forms?
In the left sidebar, click Patients, then click the patient's name. In the patient chart, click Forms to see forms that have been added for that patient.
Open a submitted form to review the patient's answers inline with the signed document. The form viewer shows when the form was added and its delivery history. Submitted forms show the signature, document hash, hash algorithm, IP address, browser information and who signed on behalf of the patient, when that applies, recorded with the submission.
Use the form actions menu when you need to manage a row:
- Copy link copies a completion link for a pending form whose current link has not expired.
- Resend link sends a fresh completion link for a form that still needs completion.
- Send now releases a scheduled form before its scheduled time.
- Cancel stops a scheduled form from being sent and leaves it in the list as cancelled.
- Archive hides the form from the active list. Staff with permission can restore it later.
Submitted forms keep their own snapshot of the form template, so later template edits do not change what the patient signed.
What can't I do here?
Forms have these limits:
- A form cannot be submitted until the patient reads to the end, highlights and answers any unanswered required questions in the signing flow, accepts the electronic-signature agreement and signs.
- Some secure form links ask for date of birth before they open the form, and the patient uses the date-of-birth calendar picker before the form opens.
- Fill on this device works with one selected form at a time.
- Show if conditions still depend on earlier choice questions, even when blocks share a condition group.
- Multiple-choice and multiple-choice matrix blocks are not scoreable in screening forms.
- A secure form link cannot be reused after the form is submitted.
- If a secure form link is revoked, already used, expired or opened in another tab or on another device, the patient sees a message instead of the form.
Common questions
Do patients see the template title?
Patients see the patient-facing title when one is set. Otherwise, the secure link uses a generic form title. Put instructions the patient must read into a Text block.
Can I make a question required only sometimes?
Yes. Turn on Required for the block and add a Show if condition. The question is required only when it is visible, and the signing flow can jump the patient to the next unanswered required question before they submit.
Can I collect a form at the front desk?
Yes. Open the patient's chart, click Forms, select Add forms, choose one form, then select Fill on this device. Ona shows handoff screens so the patient can complete the form without seeing the dashboard.
What is stored with a signed form?
A signed form includes the submitted answers, signature, document hash, audit details shown on the completed form, and who signed on behalf of the patient when someone signs for them.
Who can sign for the patient?
When the form flow allows it, a parent or guardian can sign on the patient’s behalf. The completed form records who signed for the patient.
What happens if a secure link is locked?
The patient sees a locked-link status message instead of the form. The link does not open until the practice sends a valid one.
Do patients need to confirm their date of birth first?
Some secure links ask for date of birth before the form opens. When that happens, the patient uses the date-of-birth calendar picker first and then continues into the form.
Where should I build PHQ-9 or GAD-7 forms?
Build them as screening forms so they can calculate a score. Use single-choice, scale or single-choice matrix blocks in the scored form. See Building self-scoring screening forms.
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