The note that arrived after class
A new client books the Saturday reformer class online. The booking system sends her your intake form. She fills it in on her phone the night before and mentions she is six weeks after a shoulder operation. The form goes to the studio email address, which is checked on Monday.
On Saturday the instructor greets the new faces, asks the room if there are any injuries, and the client, a bit shy in a room of regulars, says nothing. Twenty minutes in, she stops during an arm series and says it hurts. The instructor adapts, but would have planned differently if she had known.
On Monday, the owner reads the form and winces.
Why the form and the class never meet
Intake forms are usually set up to satisfy a checklist: the client ticked the boxes, the file exists. Where the answers go afterwards is an afterthought. Many studios use a generic form tool that emails a PDF, or a form inside the booking system that is stored on the client's profile but not shown on the class list.
Instructors, meanwhile, work from the class list on a tablet or phone a few minutes before class. If the relevant information is not on that screen, it may as well not exist.
There is a balance to strike. Health information is sensitive, and not every instructor needs every detail. Studios that worry about this sometimes keep the forms locked away entirely, which protects the data but defeats the purpose.
What unread forms cost
| Gap | What it leads to |
|---|---|
| Forms emailed as PDFs | Nobody reads them before class |
| Answers on the profile only | Instructors never open the profile |
| No flag for relevant answers | Instructors rely on asking the room |
| Forms not updated | Old information for returning clients |
| Access not controlled | Sensitive notes in shared inboxes |
What an instructor should do with a flagged answer is a matter for your own policy, their training and, where relevant, the client's own medical advice. Our part is making sure the right person sees it at the right time.
How we route intake answers to the class list
We connect the form to the booking and give each piece of information a clear destination.
- The intake form is sent at booking, with a reminder if it is not done before class. It can live in your booking system if it supports forms, or in a secure form tool linked to it.
- You decide which answers should be shown to instructors, for example recent injury, pregnancy or a condition your policy lists, and which are stored only.
- Flagged answers appear as a short note next to the client's name on that class's instructor list, with no more detail than your policy allows.
- Full forms are stored against the client profile, with access limited to the roles you choose.
- Clients are asked to review and update the form at set intervals or when they return after a long gap.
- A check before each class highlights new clients who have not completed the form, so the desk can ask on arrival.
How long you keep the forms, and your lawful basis for holding health information, are for you and your data protection adviser to confirm. We build to the rules you set.
Edge cases worth deciding up front
- Clients who book through an aggregator app often skip your form. We flag them to the desk on arrival.
- Guest instructors covering a class see only the notes for that class, not the full history.
- A client who writes something vague such as 'bad back' is still flagged, so the instructor knows to have a quiet word.
- Forms for private sessions may need more detail than group classes. Each class type can have its own form.
A Saturday class afterwards
The instructor opens the class list at 8.50am and sees a small marker next to one new client: 'recent shoulder surgery, see form'. She has a quiet word before class and plans accordingly. The owner no longer finds surprises in Monday's inbox.
- Relevant notes on the class list before class
- Full forms stored securely, with limited access
- Missing forms caught at the door
- Returning clients prompted to update
Is this how intake works at your studio?
- Intake forms arrive as emails or PDFs.
- Instructors do not see form answers before class.
- Instructors rely on asking the room about injuries.
- Forms are never updated for long-standing clients.
- Several people can read every form in a shared inbox.