Using Google Forms as Your Contact Form

What do you use for the contact form on your website? The default option that came with your website? Google Forms? Your EHR’s form? Something else?

There are many good options you can use. Google Forms, of course, is the one that comes with your Google Workspace subscription, so no extra cost there (yay!), and it’s HIPAA-compliant to boot!

HIPAA?

Wait – your contact form has to be HIPAA compliant?

Yes.

But the people who contact you aren’t your clients yet!

I know.

But–

I know.

I’m sorry to be the bearer of inconvenient news, but it’s true. I’ve spoken to a number of attorneys about this, and everyone is in agreement.

The reason for this is that HIPAA covers past, present, or future healthcare. Meaning, if someone reaches out to you as a provider of healthcare to talk about their future healthcare with you, that communication falls under HIPAA’s scope.

I know it seems strange. Trust me, this is the case. Now, I have no judgment on how you choose to run your practice. And the odds of the government catching you in a sting operation are slim to none. But if you want to be careful about HIPAA compliance, you do want to have a HIPAA-compliant form. Which means that the default contact form you got with your website builder (like Wix or Squarespace) is out. Sorry!

Google Forms as a Contact Form

So, Google Forms works nicely for this purpose. It’s simple to use, although it’s a little basic and not the most aesthetically pleasing option. But it is free (well, with your existing Google Workspace payment), so that’s nice.

One of the less convenient features of Google Forms is that when a user submits a form, you get an email that a form was submitted and you have to click a link to find out what the message is. The suspense can be maddening.

Fortunately, I have just the solution for you! Introducing a new automation for you automation-lovers out there: Contact Form to Email, which will send a simple email to you (or anyone you choose) when someone submits your form!

Here’s what it will look like:

 And when you click reply, it will (optionally) reply to the user-submitted email. Cool, huh? 😃

A simple $39, one-time purchase makes this convenience yours forever!

(I am aware that Form Publisher can do this as well. However, Form Publisher is far more expensive (with a yearly fee), and much harder to use. Although there is a lot more customizability with that, so if that’s your groove, go for it!)

But it is HIPAA-compliant?

Yes! Yes it is. (This of course presumes that the people receiving it have the rights and permissions to see it.) The code is stored within your Workspace organization, and the email is sent from your Workspace Gmail, so as long as your Workspace is currently set up in a HIPAA-compliant fashion, this will be too!

What are you waiting for? Buy it today!