How to hide patient details in Google Forms?

"We have a spreadsheet that contains some HIPAA protected info and some unprotected information"- Google Docs Editors Community

This is a common situation in healthcare offices using Google Forms and Google Sheets. For example, you keep patient answers in a spreadsheet and only some of it is HIPAA protected, so your staff need the rest, but not the private details. Once answers sit in an email or a shared Sheet, anyone who gets them can read them and you can't take that back. With Formesign, you can tick the fields with patient details and those answers show as ****** in the emails your staff get. Even better, you sign the BAA in the same steps.

Let's start. Create your form and follow the steps below.

1. Start the HIPAA check

Click on Create your form, click Enter your form name, type Patient check-in and click Create form. Check the outline and click Proceed. You land on the EDIT tab. About 10 seconds later, Check HIPAA compliance says Verify your Google Forms setup meets HIPAA requirements with Formesign. Click Proceed.
The Enter a name to create your form screen, with Patient check-in typed in and the Create form button marked

2. Check what's private

Click Next. Under Select fields that contain PHI, the AI has already ticked the fields it thinks are private. Check them, tick each other field with patient details, such as the signer's name and email, untick the rest and click Next. Your ticks are saved and the fields show a lock in the EDIT tab.
Select fields that contain PHI, with Patient name, Date of birth, Email and Symptoms ticked, Preferred day and Clinic location unticked and the Next button marked

3. Sign the BAA

Click Sign BAA and sign the agreement. There's no way around this step, because it enables the HIPAA features on your form. Then click Next.
The Business Associate Agreement step, with the Sign BAA button marked

4. Turn on secure email

Click Enable Formesign secure email. When it says PHI fields are masked in notification emails, click Next.
The Email notifications step, with the Enable Formesign secure email link marked

5. Email your staff the rest

Click SHARE and send the link to your patients. In RESPONSES, open Kanban board, click a column's three dots and choose Notify collaborators. Type your staff's email and click Next on each step. They read the unticked answers and the ticked ones show as ******.
Gmail with a Patient check-in form email where Patient name, Date of birth, Email and Symptoms show as stars and Preferred day and Clinic location can be read

Summary

If your staff need some of each patient's answers but not the private details, anything in an email can be read by whoever gets it. With Formesign, you tick the fields with patient details and those answers show as ****** in the emails your staff get. Create your form and complete the steps above.

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