The form builder has a new look. This version has a new design and enhanced features to provide an easier workflow when creating custom templates. The existing form builder remains functional and runs parallel to the new version.
To open the Form Builder (beta version), select Clinical > Form Builder (beta).
Removed features
SOAP Section
SOAP Section was previously located within the Additional tab under Form Tools > New Fields.
Preview field
The Preview field was previously located within the individual tool when editing.
New features
You can use the following new features while building a new custom form.
- Form Type
- Form Archive Tool
Search existing forms
Name column
The new design lists preset and additional forms alphabetically under the Name column. Select the up/down arrows 
Last Modified column
Select the up/down arrows
Action column
In the Action column, you can edit the form 
, archive the form 
, or select Options
to open the menu.
Only one form may be set as the default form.
Custom form best practices
To maximize the use of Clinical Notes, the following best practices are recommended when creating a form.
Build small forms
The larger the form, the greater the risk of encountering timeout issues when loading, saving changes, previewing, unlocking, or signing and locking their clinical notes. To minimize these risks, it's best to design forms according to the following guidelines:
Use a maximum of 55 sub-fields per smart field
Maintain an overall total of less than 200 fields per form
Smart fields
When the smart field toggle is turned on for a field, other fields can be designated as child fields of that parent field.
To set a field as a child field, you must select the name of the parent field in the parent field dropdown.
If the parent field is turned on in the clinical note edit screen, the child fields load into the clinical note edit screen.
Set forms to be persistent for person-level data only
An example of person-level data is social or family history information, such as the patient's father being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Forms for clinical notes should only be set to persistent if they are intended to document person-level data. This type of data should be independent of specific encounters and should not require edits or changes after each appointment.
Persistent forms copy the most recently locked clinical note data within a form field so that the next appointment displays the previously inputted information automatically.
If you want to copy non-person-level data, select Copy Previous Note and then select the desired forms and the appointment date of service. An example of when to use the Copy Previous Note functionality is when you want to copy previously entered values for the current appointment from an appointment that took place a year ago for the patient.
Allow the save process to complete
Each time a clinical note form field is edited, a notification appears indicating that an autosave process has been initiated. Before navigating to another tab within the DrChrono platform or switching to a different tab/form in the clinical note, wait for the autosave notification to disappear. This indicates that the save process is complete.
If the autosave notification is still on the screen and you:
- Navigate to another tab within the DrChrono platform (for example, Calendar, Form Builder), there will be data loss.
- Toggle to another form within the same appointment, the data within this clinical note may potentially be out of sync.
For example, if you turn a toggle switch on with billing codes linked and toggle to the billing section within the clinical note before the autosave notification has disappeared, the linked billing codes may not appear in the billing section as expected until the save process has been completed.
Do not link both billing profiles and clinical codes to fields
When building forms, link either billing profiles or individual clinical codes to form fields, but not both. Linking billing profiles allows for modifiers to be added to the billing codes. In contrast, clinical codes added individually to a form field do not provide the option to include modifiers.
Build the custom form
Updates and changes autosave while you build the form.
- Select New Form.
Like the old version, your blank form appears in the middle canvas screen.
- To label the form, select Options
and select Edit Form Info.
and select Edit Form Info.
- Enter the form name and then select Update.
Once a label has been created, you can build your custom form. In this new version, you can drag and drop the field tools (in the Form Element tab) into the form. - Select a field tool and drag it to an Add Here box.
Additional features
Add field rows
To add a field row, hover between the two field rows and select the plus icon 
.
Manage field boxes
You can edit the field box 
, copy the field to the clipboard 
, or remove the field 
. Hover over the field box to show these icons.
Editing the field tool - there are three tabs within this field (General, Customized Note, and Billing Code Attachment).
*General - label your field, add spacing and/or field width and field requirements.
*Customized Note - create a generated text using the variables (i.e. value).
*Billing Code Attachment - attach a single billing profile.
- Single/Multiple Select - the new version provides a Default Value dropdown option to choose from.
- Form Type - routes specific information to certain parts of the CCDA file when sending patient data to registries or referring patients out.
Form Archive Tool
A pop-up notification appears if the form that is selected to be archived is associated with an unlocked clinical note.
To view archived forms with associated unlocked clinical notes, go to Clinical > Archive (beta).
You can locate the form and either search for unlocked notes or unarchive the form.
Sharing and Emailing Forms
Forms can be shared to the form library or emailed via the share option.
From the form management screen
Navigate to the (...) under the actions column
Click share
Choose upload to library or send as email