Patient Sign-In Sheet
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Contrary to popular belief in the United States, patient sign-in sheets are not forbidden by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). But, there are some definite restrictions to the information you can ask for on these sheets.
According to HIPPA privacy laws (and best-practice medicine the world over), medical staff must take appropriate steps to ensure patient privacy. Patient sign-in sheets need to have reasonable safeguards and collect only minimal information. Asking patients to write down their name is reasonable. That way nurses and the receptionist can easily see who is next and call them back.
But, since other people can see the sign-in sheets, they should not request private information. Your patients should not be asked to sign in with their address, telephone number, or reason they are being seen. If you are not in the USA, be sure to review the privacy and confidentiality laws for tracking patient attendance, and customize these sheets to comply.
Also, you want to limit access to your sign-in sheet. Having it by the front door where everyone who comes in and out can access it isn’t a good idea. But, if you keep it near the receptionist, fewer eyes will be on it. You can also consider blacking out each patient who has checked in with a permanent marker after they have been called back.
To help doctor’s offices, clinics, hospitals, medical practices, and other medical facilities, this patient sign-in/sign-out sheet Excel template has four different worksheets. Each of them limits the amount of confidential information requested, to help protect patient identification and ensure you don’t violate privacy laws.
Template Contents
With four unique sign-in sheet template forms, you can select the one that works best for your practice. All of these are designed to be printed on standard US letter sized paper.
To help protect patient privacy, each of these sign-in forms are designed to be used on a single day. That way people can’t use the sign-in form to see who has to be seen multiple times each week. So, you will find a space to manually enter or type in the date on each of the templates.
Here is a quick overview of each of the four included worksheets:
Table Patient Sign-In Sheet
A simple patient sign-in sheet, this form allows you to customize the name of your office in the header. It prints in a portrait format and will fit easily on a clipboard.
Patients are asked to sign in with minimal information. There are six columns for information, plus one for numbering. The form asks patients to record:
- Their name,
- The appointment time,
- Their arrival time,
- Who their appointment is with,
- The date of their last visit, and
- Whether they are self-pay or insurance.
Of course, each of these column headings can be updated if you would rather collect different information.
Patient Sign-In Sheet Portrait
This sign-in form asks for basic information from each patient. They record their:
- Name,
- Arrival time,
- Appointment time, and
- Name of provider.
Additionally, there is a column on this patient sign-in form asking if they are a new patient or not. If your practice has a specific protocol for new patients, this can be helpful.
The final column asks patients to indicate if there have been changes to address, phone or insurance. This can help you track which patients you need to call up to the desk or another private area to learn more and update records.
Patient Sign-In Sheet Landscape
Do you want to give your clients a little more space to write their name or doctor’s name? This patient sign-in sheet has the same content as the portrait-oriented version, but turned into landscape mode. This will provide the space your patients might feel they need.
Daily Patient Sign-In Portrait
This patient sign-in sheet collects as little information as possible to maximize patient privacy. It can be customized with the name of your practice on top. Then, it asks patients to provide the following information:
- Their name,
- Whether or not they are a new patient,
- Any comments,
- Time in, and
- Time out.
Asking patients to sign out can help your practice work on efficiencies. It is also a good way to ensure the patient has any paperwork that is needed. As they sign out the receptionist can provide them with a clinical summary of the visit and schedule any follow up appointments that are required.
How to Customize the Patient Sign-In Sheet
Please see how to customize this free Excel patient sign-in sheet to help you track patient arrival times and expedite your check in procedures.
Table
The Table Patient Sign-In Sheet can be customized in a couple of ways. First, change the prepopulated text at the top to reflect your practice’s name. You can also change the date in this header row.
To make this form easy for your patients to use, consider typing in all of the numbers in the first column. That way patients don’t need to worry about this step.
Each of the column headers can be customized to reflect the information you want to collect. You can also update the prepopulated text in the example row. It might be wise to use one of providers in your practice in the “Appointment With” column, so your patients don’t get confused by seeing a doctor listed who doesn’t work there.
For maximum patient privacy, consider changing the prepopulated text from the Self/Insurance column to just read “Insurance.” That way you don’t have patients writing down which insurance company they use.
Finally, you can change the color scheme of this patient sign-in form. Right now, it’s black and gray. You can select any color you want. To make these cells a different color, please follow the directions in this article:
Add or change the background color of cells
Portrait
This sign-in log is very simple and does not require customization for use. However, there are a few ways to customize this form if you would like.
You can type in the date and location, so this doesn’t need to be written in. You can also change any of the column headers if you want to ask for different information. Just make sure you stay HIPAA compliant with your changes.
Landscape
Please see the directions above for customizing the patient sign-in sheet portrait. These two worksheets are the same, except for the way in which they are oriented.
Daily
You can customize this form three different ways. Start by changing the prepopulated ABC Organization in the header. Then, you can change the color on both the practice name and the word “Patient Sign In” by following the directions in this article:
You can also type in the correct date. Or, you can erase this text and manually write it in each day.
Finally, look over the column headers and make sure you approve of them. You can make any changes to reflect the information you want to ask patients to record.
How to Use the Patient Sign-In Forms
Once you’re done customizing your patient sign-in form, you can print it out and begin using it. You will need to print out a new sign-in sheet each day.
Your front office staff can use this information to ensure they’re calling the right patient's name and to verify any additional data they need to gather.
Protect Patient Privacy and Help Your Office Run Smoothly
The patient sign-in sheets in this template will help ensure you protect patient privacy by not requesting unauthorized information. They will also help your office run smoothly, letting your receptionist document which patients get to be seen next.
