How to Create a Medical Form
Learn how to build a Medical form to collect health information and track absence reasons over time
What is a Medical form?
A Medical form is used to collect medical and health information from an employee, including absence reasons. It connects directly to the Medical tab in an employee's profile, and when set up correctly, the responses from completed forms will populate the Absence by illness chart automatically.
Depending on how you structure the questions, a Medical form can be used for collection medical details during the onboarding phase, a mid-absence check-in, to request a medical certificate, or as part of a return to work process.
💡 Not sure which form type you need? Take a look at our overview article Creating a form in HR Automation which explains all four form types and when to use each one.
Answer types available
When adding questions to a Medical form, you can choose from the following answer styles:
| Answer style | Best used for |
|---|---|
| Short answer | Brief open text responses — for example, "When do you expect to return to work?" |
| Paragraph answer |
Longer, open-ended responses — for example, "Can you describe how you are feeling and whether there is anything we can do to support you?" |
| Choice | Multiple choice questions where the employee selects one or more options |
| Time | Asking for a specific time |
| Date | Asking for a specific date — for example, "What date did your absence begin?" |
| Yes/No | Simple yes or no responses — for example, "Do you have a medical certificate to provide?" |
| File Upload |
Asking the employee to attach a supporting document , for example, a medical certificate or sick note |
Flagging answers
On Choice and Yes/No questions, you have the option to flag specific answers. To do this, click the flag icon next to the relevant answer option within the question.
When an employee submits the form and selects a flagged answer, this will be highlighted in the summary card on their employee profile, showing as Flagged medical information. This gives anyone viewing the profile a quick, visible alert that there is something important to be aware of, without displaying the specific detail in the summary view.
This is particularly useful for capturing information such as:
- A known allergy
- A disability or health condition that may affect the employee's role
- Any other health information that requires awareness from a management perspective.
How to build a Medical form
Once you are on the form-building page:
- The form will open with a default section already in place. Click on the section title to rename it, for example, "About Your Absence" or "Return to Work" or "Medical Details". You can also add a short description beneath the title to give the employee some context.
- To add your first question, click on the text marked "Default Question" and type your question.
- Use the dropdown menu next to the question to select the answer style — either Short Answer or Yes/No.
- Decide whether this question should be mandatory or optional:
- Toggle on Mark as required if the employee must answer this question before they can submit the form. They will not be able to bypass it or submit without completing it.
- Leave it off if the question is optional, the employee can skip it and still submit the form.
💡 Think carefully before marking a question as required on a Medical form. An employee who is unwell may not have all the information to hand, for example, they may not yet have a medical certificate or a confirmed return date. Where possible, keep questions optional to make the form easier to complete during what may already be a stressful time.
- To add more questions to this section, click Add Question and repeat steps 3 to 5.
- To add a new section to the form, click Add Section at the bottom of the page. All sections will appear along the right-hand side of the screen so you can navigate between them easily.
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When you are happy with your form, click Save in the top right corner.
💡 Tip: The system will flag any unsaved changes on the right-hand side of the screen. Make sure you save before leaving the page.
Tips for building effective Medical forms
- Keep the language supportive, not interrogative. The form should feel like a check-in, not an interview. Phrases like "Is there anything we can do to support you?" set a much more positive tone than overly formal or clinical language.
- Keep questions simple and clear. Many hospitality employees will have English as a second or additional language, straightforward questions like "How are you feeling?" are easier to understand than "Please describe your current symptoms."
- Use flagging thoughtfully. The flag feature on Choice and Yes/No questions is a powerful tool for surfacing important health information, but it should only be used where there is a genuine operational or duty of care reason to do so. Always ensure your organisation's data protection policy covers how flagged medical information is stored and accessed.
- Use sections to separate different parts of the form. For example, if you want one form to cover both an absence check-in and a return to work, use separate sections to keep the questions clear and easy to follow.
- Use the preview option to check how the form will appear to the employee before sending it.
What happens next?
Once your Medical form is saved, it is ready to be added to a Pack. When editing the form, you will also have the option to see which packs it is currently used in and preview it as the recipient will see it.