Form Structure Reference

Every form is organized into blocks and questions. A block is a section of your form (like “Personal Info” or “Medical History”), and inside each block you add the questions patients answer. This page is a reference for everything you can use when building a form.

Save time with automatic record updates: When you use Demographics, Medical History, Measurements, or Payment Methods fields, the patient’s answers automatically update their record in Decoda. For example, if a patient enters their address or weight on the form, it’s saved to their chart — no manual data entry needed. See Patient Data Mapping below for the full list of fields that can auto-update.

Block Types

A block is a named section within a form. Each block has a type that determines its behavior. When you click Add Section in the form editor, you can choose from four types:

Block Type	Menu Label	Purpose	When to Use
Dynamic	Custom Section	Standard section with custom questions you define.	Most blocks — use this for any custom intake questions, consent acknowledgments, or assessment questionnaires.
Demographics	Demographics	Collects patient information (name, DOB, address, etc.) and saves it to the patient’s record automatically.	New patient intake — saves front desk staff from manually entering demographics.
Medical History	Medical History	Collects health information (allergies, medications, family history, etc.) and saves it to the patient’s medical history.	Clinical intake — information flows into the patient’s chart for provider review.
Payment Methods	Payment Methods	Collects credit card information securely within the form.	Collecting a card on file during intake so it’s ready at checkout.

Use Demographics, Medical History, and Payment Methods blocks when you want form answers to automatically update patient records. Use Custom Section (Dynamic) blocks for everything else — custom questions, consent language, screening tools, etc.

A Payment Methods block has one form-level setting: Require a saved card before the form can be submitted. Turn it on to block submission until the patient enters a card; leave it off to make the card optional. The patient sees card and bank transfer entry — Apple Pay is hidden on save-card flows since Apple Pay tokens can’t be stored for later use.

Reordering Blocks and Questions

Both blocks and questions within a block support drag-and-drop reordering. Grab the drag handle on a block or question and move it to a new position. This lets you arrange your form in the order that makes most sense for your patients.

Question Types

Forms support these question types:

Type	What the Patient Sees
Short Text	A single-line text field
Long Text	A larger, multi-line text field
Number	A field that only accepts numbers
Date	A date picker (can be limited to a specific date range)
Single Select	A list where the patient picks one option
Radial Single Select	A set of choices where the patient picks one (shown as round buttons). In the form editor, this appears as “Single Choice.”
Multi Select	A list where the patient can pick multiple options
Radial Multi Select	A set of choices where the patient can check multiple boxes. In the form editor, this appears as “Multiple Choice.”
Yes/No	An on/off switch (e.g., “Do you have allergies? Yes/No”)
Address	A full address form (street, city, state, ZIP, country)
Phone	A phone number field
Email	An email address field
Signature	A signature pad where the patient signs with their finger or mouse
File	A file upload area (e.g., for ID photos, insurance cards). You can set allowed file types, max file size, and how many files are allowed.
Tag	A field where the patient can type and add multiple items one by one (e.g., listing allergies). Not available in the form editor palette — used on forms configured through the system.
Disclaimer	Read-only legal or informational text the patient reads and acknowledges
Statement	A list of points the patient reads (used for consent statements)
Document	An embedded PDF shown within the form (e.g., a policy document)
Height (Feet/Inches)	A field for entering height
Weight (Pounds)	A field for entering weight
Calculated Score	An auto-calculated total based on the patient’s other answers (used for clinical assessments like PHQ-9). Added automatically by certain mapped fields — not directly available in the palette.
Medications	A field for listing current medications. Added automatically by the Medical History block — not directly available in the palette.
Body Map	A body map image the patient annotates by drawing directly on it — used to mark pain locations or other areas of concern. You upload the background image when setting up the question.
Payment Method	A credit card entry field connected to the payment processor. Added automatically by the Payment Methods block.
Pharmacy	A search field where the patient or staff selects a pharmacy by name or ZIP code. Available when e-prescribing is enabled.
Scribe Attachments	A field for attaching scribe-related documents. Used internally by the notes system — not directly available in the palette.

The Field Palette

The form editor has a left sidebar called the field palette that organizes all available fields into categories. Click any field to add it to the currently selected section.

Category	What It Contains
Form Fields	All standard question types listed above (Short Text, Long Text, Number, Date, Yes/No, Single Choice, Multiple Choice, Address, Phone, Email, Signature, File Upload, Body Map, Disclaimer, Statement, Document)
Demographics	Fields that save to the patient record: Date of Birth, Gender, Email, Address
Vitals	Patient measurements: Weight, Height
Measurements	Individual fields you’ve defined in Settings > Measurements. The patient’s answer is recorded as a measurement entry on their chart.
Measurement Groups	A measurement group from settings. Adds every field in the group at once.
Medical History	Health data fields: Allergies, Medications, Family History, Medical History, Prescriptions, Surgical History, Social History, Autoimmune Disorders, Skin Conditions, Neurological Conditions
Marketing	Opt-in fields: SMS Marketing Opt-In, Email Marketing Opt-In
E-Prescribing	Pharmacy fields for clinics that use e-prescribing.

Fields in the Demographics, Vitals, Measurements, Measurement Groups, Medical History, and Marketing categories are linked to the patient record — when a patient submits the form, their answers update the matching area on the patient chart. Measurement questions show the linked measurement name as a read-only label; rename it in Settings > Measurements. Measurement fields use the best matching question type. Numeric fields show number inputs, text fields show short text inputs, fields with options show a choice list, and multi-value fields show multiple choices or tags.

Conditional Logic

You can set up questions that only appear when the patient gives a specific answer to another question. This keeps forms short and relevant — patients only see what applies to them. How to set it up: Each condition has three parts:

Dependent Question — The earlier question whose answer controls visibility.
Operator — How to compare the answer. The form editor shows three operators:
- Equals / Not Equals — The answer matches (or doesn’t match) a specific value.
- Contains — The answer includes a specific value. Useful when the patient can pick multiple options.
Value — The specific answer to compare against.

Additional operators (Years Ago Minimum, Years Ago Maximum, and Sum) may appear on forms set up by Decoda support or imported from another system. These are used for date-based age checks and calculated score thresholds.

You can add multiple conditions to a single question to create more complex rules (all conditions must be true for the question to appear). Example: You have a “Do you have any allergies?” yes/no switch. When the patient answers Yes, a follow-up “Please list your allergies” question appears. The condition would be: Dependent Question = “Do you have any allergies?”, Operator = Equals, Value = Yes.

Patient Data Mapping

When building a form, you can link questions to specific fields on the patient’s record. When the patient submits the form, their answers automatically update those fields — no manual data entry required. This means a single intake form can fill in a patient’s demographics, measurements, insurance, medical history, and payment method all at once. Available fields that can auto-update: Demographics:

First name, last name, email, phone number, date of birth, gender
Full address (street, city, state, ZIP, country)

Measurements:

Weight, height
Custom measurement fields added from Measurements
Fields included through Measurement Groups

Medical History:

Allergies, medications, family history, medical history, prescriptions
Surgical history, social history, autoimmune disorders, skin conditions, neurological conditions

Marketing:

SMS Marketing Opt-In, Email Marketing Opt-In

Consent:

AI Scribe Consent — lets a patient opt in or out of AI Scribe recording

Payment:

Credit card / payment method

E-Prescribing:

Pharmacy — saved with the submitted form and sent to DoseSpot when the patient is synced to e-prescribing

​Block Types

​Reordering Blocks and Questions

​Question Types

​The Field Palette

​Conditional Logic

​Patient Data Mapping

Block Types

Reordering Blocks and Questions

Question Types

The Field Palette

Conditional Logic

Patient Data Mapping