Is it possible to create a fillable PDF that is accessible both from our website as well as emailable by staff in the office?

Report · Jun 21, 2016

I have a PDF form that we have both as a download from our website as well as emailed from our customer service team. I would like to make this a fillable PDF, so that the recipient has an option to either complete the form and fax it back to us, or email to me for uploading the data onto our locator feature. Is this possible? I am not new with creating and editing PDFs but have not really delved into the fillable forms function, but it would be a timesaver for many of our customers (doctors) who would probably prefer the ability to fill out a form online and submit it back instead of printing it out, completing and faxing or scanning/emailing it back.

Thank you,

Michele V.

Keller Medical

Report · Jun 21, 2016

It's possible, but you have to make sure that the system is sufficiently secure if any protected heath information (e.g., HIPAA regulated) might be included. If so, you won't be able to use email, which is a common and easily set up option. Not only is email not secure, it's not very reliable, so it's not a good option for anything that's important or critical to your business. Submitting to a secure web server is an option, but this is more complicated to set up and today is best done when the PDF is opened directly in the desktop versions of Reader/Acrobat, not most mobile PDF viewers, and not when viewed in most browsers.

Report · Jun 21, 2016

Thanks, George. It is not a HIPPA type document, it is an authorization form allowing us to list doctors on our doctor locator portion of our website, so no patient information is obtained. The form contains the information the doctor wishes to list, and we routinely email the form back and forth or they fax it to us. My question then is the form able to be fillable in perpetuity, so that it is always accessible as a fillable form?

Report · Jun 21, 2016

It is unless/until the document is e-signed using Reader (or Acrobat). When a form is e-signed, the fields are flattened, which mean they are no longer interactive. But if you post the form on your web site, users will always be able to download a fresh copy to use.

Report · Jun 21, 2016

Great! Thanks for the help.