Custom patient intake software
Appfront builds custom software for patient intake: from digital registration and referral to questionnaires, medical history, secure identification and consent, brought together in a structured intake that feeds the patient record. Privacy by design and data minimisation, tailored to your care process. For GPs, mental health services, hospitals and allied health practices that want to digitise intake securely and efficiently.
What is patient intake software?
Patient intake software supports the registration and intake process through which a care provider gets to know a new patient. It covers digital registration or referral, completing questionnaires and a medical history, securely identifying the patient and recording consent. The result is structured information that lets your clinician prepare for the first contact, rather than having to collect basic details during the appointment itself.
The distinction from an electronic patient record is important. An EHR is the complete, ongoing record of treatment; intake software focuses on the stage before that and supplies the first data. If you want the broader record built instead, see our healthcare software. For the social domain we also offer software for Wmo and youth care.
Off-the-shelf packages often force your intake into fixed questionnaires that don't match your type of care. Custom software fits your process and grows with you as guidelines or ways of working change. Also read more about our wider approach to custom software development.
Register where and when it suits
Patients register digitally and complete questionnaires at a time that suits them, at home and at their own pace. This lowers the threshold and produces fuller answers than a rushed questioning at the desk or on the phone.
Complete information in advance
The clinician starts with a structured medical history and completed questionnaires instead of a blank screen. That makes the first consultation more substantive and avoids having to ask for basic details during the appointment.
Secure and with consent
Identification via DigiD and explicitly recorded consent ensure you know who is providing the data and what it may be used for. Every access is logged, in line with medical professional confidentiality.
How we build your patient intake software
We work step by step and involve your clinicians, practice managers and data protection officer early on. From a thorough exploration of your care process and integrations through to go-live and ongoing maintenance, the aim is always software your team trusts and can use safely.
We map out your intake: referral and registration, which questionnaires and history-taking you use, identification and consent, and the integration with your EHR or HIS. Together we establish which data is needed and what can be left out.
We design the architecture, data model and authorisation model with data minimisation and privacy by design as the starting point, along with the approach to logging, retention periods and secure integrations.
We build in short iterations with automated testing and monitoring. You see working versions along the way and help shape the questionnaires, the patient experience and the fit with your practice.
Controlled go-live with data validation and a safety net, followed by ongoing management, monitoring and further development as your way of working or the guidelines change.
What patient intake software actually does
We tailor every application specifically to your type of care, guidelines and integrations. Below are the features we most often deliver for organisations digitising their intake.
Digital sign-up & referral
Patients sign up online, or a referral arrives digitally. The request lands in a structured workflow, so your practice can see straight away who has registered and what the next step is.
Questionnaires & medical history
We put together questionnaires and medical histories that suit your type of care, with logic that shows follow-up questions based on earlier answers. Results come in in a structured form, ready to be processed in the record.
Identification & consent
Secure identification via DigiD and a traceable record of consent for data processing and sharing. We set up the use of the citizen service number in line with the Wabvpz, so you act carefully and demonstrably.
Triage support
Based on the answers, the software can help gauge the urgency or direction of the care need and route the sign-up to the right team or clinic. The clinical assessment always remains with your healthcare professional.
Record building & EHR integration
Structured intake data and questionnaire outcomes flow via HL7 FHIR into your EHR or HIS, with no retyping. Treatment starts with a complete and reliable picture, and administrative work stays limited.
Insight & accountability
Aggregated insight into sign-ups, processing times and outstanding intakes, based on minimised data. This helps your practice keep track of incoming demand and plan workloads better, while preserving privacy.
Who we build patient intake software for
Intake differs by type of care. For each we build software that fits the questionnaires, guidelines and integrations that apply.
GPs & out-of-hours services
Practices and services that want to handle sign-ups and triage questions quickly and safely. A digital intake with questionnaires gives the assistant and GP a better picture in advance and keeps the phone line freer.
Mental health institutions
Organisations with extensive intake questionnaires and measurement instruments. The software supports structured enquiry, repeated measurements and careful consent recording, suited to the sensitivity of the data.
Hospitals & outpatient clinics
Departments that receive referrals and have patients submit what's needed before the first consultation. Integration with the EHR via HL7 FHIR prevents duplicate entry and speeds up preparation.
Allied health practices
Physiotherapy, dietetics, speech therapy and similar practices that want to handle registration and medical history intake digitally. Custom software fits your questionnaires and keeps administration light.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and care integrations
We build on a modern, maintainable web stack and integrate with your care systems where needed. For data exchange we use the standard HL7 FHIR wherever possible, so intake data lands in your EHR or HIS without retyping. Identification runs through DigiD, and use of the citizen service number (BSN) is set up in line with the Wabvpz. We build every integration with data minimisation, so only what the care need requires is exchanged.
Why choose Appfront for patient intake software?
Appfront builds custom software and always begins with a thorough analysis of your care process, your questionnaires and the integrations you need. Intake software must not only work technically, but also respect professional confidentiality and the care you take when handling patient data.
We build in privacy by design and data minimisation from the architecture onwards, and we write clear documentation so that your own team or a future supplier can understand and manage the software. No black box, but transparent code and clear agreements on access control, logging and administration.
You work with a dedicated point of contact who understands both the technology and the practice of care delivery. This keeps lines of communication short and speeds up decisions whenever choices need to be made during the build.
See also our wider healthcare services: custom software development, healthcare software and software for Wmo and youth care. Do you have questions? Get in touch with us.
- Custom software tailored to your care process
- Privacy by design and data minimisation as a starting point
- Secure identification via DigiD and consent registration
- Integration with EHR and HIS via HL7 FHIR
- Logic-driven questionnaires tailored to your type of care
- Role-based access control based on treatment relationship
- Complete audit logging of access and changes
- Accessible interfaces in line with WCAG 2.1 AA
- A fixed point of contact, no account managers passed around
- Ongoing management and further development as new guidelines arrive
Security and privacy in patient intake software
Intake data is special category personal data and falls under medical professional confidentiality. That is why privacy by design sits at the heart of what we do. For each data flow, we record the legal basis for processing, apply data minimisation and set up authorisation based on role and treatment relationship, so that only the treating professionals involved have access. Every view and change is logged, so it is traceable who has accessed which record.
We build in line with the GDPR, with encryption in transit and at rest and alignment with the applicable information security standards in healthcare. Patient-facing interfaces are made accessible to WCAG 2.1 Level AA. We document data flows and authorisations so that your record of processing activities remains complete and you can demonstrably stay in control.
Read more about our security approach: information security policy and vulnerability disclosure policy. Discuss your situation without obligation via our contact form.
- GDPR-compliant processing of special category personal data
- Authorisation based on role and treatment relationship
- Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest
- Consent registration and legal basis per data flow
- Citizen service number in line with the Wabvpz
- Complete audit logging of access and changes
- Alignment with the applicable information security standards in healthcare
- Retention periods aligned with legislation and regulations
Frequently asked questions about patient intake software
Answers to the questions we are asked most often about custom software for patient intake.
Patient intake software supports the registration and intake process through which a care provider gets a new patient on record. Think of digital registration or referral, completing questionnaires and a medical history, secure identification via DigiD, recording consent and building an initial file. Custom software lets you set this up around your own care process and policy requirements, so the patient provides structured information before the first contact and your practitioner starts with a complete picture.
An electronic health record (EHR) is the complete, ongoing record in which a healthcare provider documents a patient's treatment, procedures and correspondence. Intake software focuses on the stage before that: registration, questionnaires and history-taking, and consent, resulting in structured data that then flows into the record. Intake software therefore does not replace the EHR, but supplies it with the first information. If you want the broader record built, see our healthcare software.
Yes. Patients can identify themselves via DigiD, so you can be certain who is supplying the data. The use of the citizen service number in healthcare is governed by the Act on Supplementary Provisions for the Processing of Personal Data in Healthcare (Wabvpz), and we build the processing around it. Consent to share data is recorded explicitly and traceably, with a register of who has given consent for what, so you can demonstrate that you are acting with due care.
We build custom software. An intake differs greatly per type of care: a mental healthcare intake with extensive questionnaires is something different from a registration at a physiotherapy practice or a referral to an outpatient clinic. Custom software fits your actual care process and can grow with you if your way of working or the guidelines change. After an intake conversation, we decide together which components carry the most weight and in which order to develop them, without promising a fixed lead time or price that we cannot yet substantiate.
Yes. For healthcare data exchange we use the HL7 FHIR standard wherever possible, so structured intake data and questionnaire results land in your EHR or general practice information system (HIS) without retyping. Digital referrals can come in from referral platforms that healthcare providers use with each other. We build every integration on the principle of data minimisation, so only what the care need requires is exchanged.
Intake data is special category personal data and falls under medical professional confidentiality. We build in privacy by design and data minimisation from the architecture up, with authorisation based on role and treatment relationship, so that only the treating professionals involved have access. Every view and change is logged. We use encryption in transit and at rest and align with the applicable information security standards in healthcare, so that you can demonstrate compliance with the GDPR.
Ready to build your patient intake software?
Tell us how your intake is set up and where you run into trouble, from registration and questionnaires to identification and EHR integration. We are happy to think along with you on process, integrations and privacy. In a no-obligation first conversation you will get a clear picture of the options for custom software that suits your healthcare organisation.