Patient onboarding software is the set of tools that takes a new patient from signing up to a first visit, with the agreement signed, payment on file, intake forms and consents complete and the chart ready. For direct primary care practices, onboarding usually starts inside the membership platform or EHR, since Hint offers branded online enrollment forms and Elation describes patient self-enrollment for memberships. Standalone tools fill specific gaps, such as IntakeQ for customizable HIPAA-compliant intake forms sent by text or email, or Phreesia for check-in, consents, eligibility checks and copay collection in practices that bill insurance. The slow part is rarely the form itself, it is the handoff afterward, when the same new patient has to be set up again in Hint, Elation and Spruce by hand. Tabflows isn't another onboarding form, it is a dedicated tech team that connects the tools you already use, so a new Hint membership becomes a prepared Elation chart, a Spruce welcome message, intake follow-up and a team task for your staff to review.

The rest of this page shows how that handoff runs from Hint to Elation, step by step, and what your team still reviews and approves before anything reaches a patient.

Compare patient onboarding software for DPC New member onboarding checklist

Workflow snapshot

Context in, prepared action out — what Tabflows reads in a user-started browser session, and what it stages for review.

Initiation

An authorized clinic user starts the workflow from a new Hint member record.

User-initiated. Runs in the authorized clinic user's active browser session and uses the systems the user is already signed into.

Apps connected

Hint

Elation

Spruce

Steps

1Pulls the new patientAction kind: context
2Prepares the chart in ElationAction kind: prepared_action
3Prepares welcome and intake formsAction kind: prepared_action
4Prepares the first-visit handoffAction kind: prepared_action
5Prepares the team taskAction kind: team_task

Action out

The first visit is prepared with reviewed chart fields, forms, scheduling context, and team tasks.

Tabflows does not store EHR credentials, does not independently initiate EHR access, and prepares work for review rather than acting as an open-ended autonomous EHR agent.

Saves ~15 minutes per signup

How it runs

Each step Tabflows prepares, from user initiation to clinic review.

1
Pulls the new patient
Gathering
Tabflows captures the membership data — demographics, plan, payment, and any intake notes from Hint.
2
Prepares the chart in Elation
Thinking
Demographics, insurance (or DPC plan), and primary provider are pre-populated for review. No double entry.
3
Prepares welcome and intake forms
Drafting
The Spruce welcome message and the right intake forms are drafted for the clinic to complete.
4
Prepares the first-visit handoff
Waiting
Tabflows gathers the scheduling context so the clinic can offer the patient available slots and complete the appointment.
5
Prepares the team task
Done
MA, front-desk, or whoever runs onboarding gets a staged task with the patient context.

Paste this into Assist

Drop this into Tabflows Assist to set up the reviewed workflow.

Hey Tabflows — set up user-initiated new patient onboarding from Hint to Elation. When I choose a new membership record, prepare the chart in Elation with demographics, plan, and primary provider pre-filled. Draft a welcome message and intake forms via Spruce, and prepare completed forms for the chart. Gather scheduling context so the clinic can offer available slots and complete the first visit appointment. Stage a task for whoever runs onboarding with the patient context.

Frequently asked questions

What is patient onboarding software?

Patient onboarding software handles everything between a patient saying yes and their first visit, which usually means enrollment or registration, the membership agreement or consents, payment details, intake and health history forms, and scheduling the first appointment. In a DPC practice it also covers setting the new member up in the EHR and the messaging tool so the care team knows who they are before the visit.

What is the best patient onboarding software for a DPC practice?

Start with the onboarding built into the platform you already run. Hint offers branded online enrollment forms and Elation describes patient self-enrollment for memberships, which keeps sign-up, payment and the record together. Add IntakeQ when you need more flexible intake forms, with conditional logic, e-signatures and forms sent by text or email. Phreesia centers on check-in, eligibility and copay collection, which matters most to practices that bill insurance. Our patient onboarding software guide compares these with BAA status checked on each vendor's site.

Does Tabflows replace Hint, Elation or my intake forms?

No. Hint stays your membership and billing system, Elation stays your chart, Spruce stays your patient messaging and your intake forms stay where they are. Tabflows works between them, so the details a new member already gave you in Hint are prepared for the Elation chart and the Spruce welcome instead of being typed in a second and third time.

Does anything reach a patient without my team reviewing it?

No. An authorized clinic user starts the workflow from the new Hint member record, and Tabflows prepares the chart fields, welcome message, intake follow-up and scheduling context for review. Your team checks and approves each piece, and Tabflows does not store EHR credentials or act as an open-ended autonomous agent in your EHR.

Is patient onboarding software HIPAA compliant?

It has to be, because onboarding collects health history, insurance and payment details. Ask every tool that touches patient information for a signed business associate agreement before you go live. Spruce includes a BAA on its trials and paid plans, and every clinic on Tabflows is covered by the standard BAA published at tabflows.com/baa.

What does the onboarding workflow cost?

Tasks and the shared workspace are free for your whole team. The full Tabflows service, where our team sets up and runs workflows like this one, is priced by locations and monthly paying patients with no per-person fee, and the current figures are on tabflows.com/pricing.