A good intake is condition-specific rather than a generic form reskinned per vertical. A GLP-1 intake asks about pancreatitis and thyroid history; a sexual health intake asks about nitrate use and cardiovascular history.
The critical design decision is where the eligibility rules run. Inside the form, an ineligible patient is stopped before checkout. After payment, the same patient becomes a refund, a processing fee and a dispute risk.
Intake versions should be retained per patient, so an audit years later can reconstruct exactly what was asked and answered.
Screening before charging removes refunds, chargeback exposure and support load simultaneously, and it makes your approval rate a real metric rather than an artefact of who you let through checkout.
Intake form, in practice
Before, always. Charging a patient a provider will decline creates a refund, a processing fee and a dispute risk, and it distorts every funnel metric you have. It is the most expensive avoidable mistake in telehealth intake design.