“Do I really have to fill that all out?”

Intake forms why they are so important.

Paperwork, of any type, is not something that many people enjoy. For some it is about difficulty reading, others may have difficulty writing but none the less, not many really think “oh yay, a whole stack of papers to fill out!” This is especially true when returning to an office that they have been coming to, maybe for years. “Do I really have to fill that all out?” Is a question I hear almost every time I hand over a clipboard with necessary paper-work.

Intake forms, health history questionnaires and consent to treat forms are all extremely important. When returning to an office that you have been to prior, it is still very important to make sure that you answer each question with the most recent, up-to-date information as possible. Most forms of this nature are just different enough so that they cater to the service being provided, and the information that each individual provider needs to know.

• Intake Forms- used to convey important information such as; who to contact in an emergency, whom your doctor is, and important health history.
• Health History- most frequently a section on the intake form, but is very important to convey information that will let us know reasons you may not be currently eligible for a massage, or if there are areas of your body that should be avoided during your massage. While it may not be appropriate for me to ask every female that I would work on if she is pregnant (it could or would be emotionally difficult for so many reasons) there is an area on the form that asks that question for me. While there is conflicting information and studies on what effects massage has on pregnancy and miscarriage, personally I see it as safer to wait until being in the second trimester, hence why it is such important information to know.
• General/ focused information Form- while we will verbally go over this information, having it written out gives us a reference point to look back on as well as a starting point to let us know what areas need to be focused on. It also gives us a visual way to set treatment plan goals.
• Consent to treat- it is important that you know that, while I will do everything in my power and provide you with the best care I know how. Things can and do go wrong. Sometimes it is nothing less than a lack of knowledge on everyone’s part, if you don’t know you’re sick, we can’t know to not work on the affected area. Sometimes individuals think that information asked is unimportant or couldn’t possibly matter in a massage setting and fail to answer, and this causes a reaction.

So, although many of us could think of many things we would rather do than paper work it is very important to complete it to the fullest of our ability! Don’t leave information out, just because you think it is not important, the questions asked are all there for a specific reason!