What to Put on Your Clinic's Inquiry Form (and What to Leave Off)

Your website inquiry form is often the first time a new patient reaches out to your clinic. They have read about you and decided to get in touch. The form has one job: let them do that without giving up halfway.

Many clinic forms ask for far too much. Some read like a full intake questionnaire. Every extra box is a reason to close the page and call somewhere else, and some of those boxes collect information you should not be gathering on a website form at all.

Ask only what you need to call them back

Before adding any box, ask: what do we need to reply to this person well? For most clinics that is short:

• Their name.

• One way to reach them: an email address or a phone number.

• How they would like to be contacted.

• A short, optional note about what they are looking for, such as "new patient" or "booking a check-up".

That is usually enough. Everything else can wait for the call, or for your proper intake process once they are a patient.

Keep health details off the inquiry form

This is the most important point for a clinic. A first inquiry form is not the place for symptoms, conditions, medications, test results or health card numbers.

• People are less likely to send a form that asks personal health questions before they have even spoken to you.

• Website forms often pass through several outside services, such as your website host, email and booking tools. The less sensitive information that travels that way, the better.

• Your clinic already has a proper process for collecting health information once someone becomes a patient. Use that instead.

If you include a "what can we help with?" box, keep it optional and add a short line beside it, such as "Please do not include medical details here. We will ask what we need when we call." Your clinic's own privacy rules and your professional body's guidance come first, so check with them if you are unsure.

Only ask for a phone number if they want a call

Many forms make the phone number required even when the person would rather hear back by email. Ask how they prefer to be contacted first. If they choose phone, ask for the number. If they choose email, leave the phone box out.

Tell people what happens next

A short line near the send button helps people feel safe pressing it. For example: "We will reply by your chosen method, usually within one business day." Only promise what your team can keep.

Be clear about privacy too. Link to your privacy policy beside the form. If you would like to send newsletters or reminders later, ask with a separate box that is not ticked for them.

Make it easy on a phone

Most people will see your form on a phone. Check it yourself:

• Are the boxes big enough to tap?

• Does the number keypad appear for the phone number?

• Is the send button easy to find?

• After sending, is there a clear "thank you, we have your message" screen?

Test it every month

Fill in your own form once a month as if you were a new patient. Did the message arrive? Did it reach someone who will reply? How long did it take? A tidy form that sends inquiries to an inbox nobody checks costs you more than a form with too many boxes.

The short version

• Ask only what you need to reply.

• Keep symptoms, conditions and health card numbers off the inquiry form.

• Ask for a phone number only if they want a call.

• Say what happens next, and link your privacy policy.

• Check it on a phone, and test it every month.

Want a second pair of eyes?

Horizon Acquisition Group builds landing pages and inquiry forms for medical clinics, and runs the social media ads that send people to them. If you would like us to look at your current form, book a free 30-minute call. There is no obligation.