How to set up custom actions for new client intake chat

Have your Chatref account ready with an agent already placed on your website. If you haven’t yet, upload your practice’s intake documentation – service descriptions, what to bring, accepted insurance plans – to the knowledge base so the agent can answer routine questions before collecting details. For new client intake in home healthcare, plan the exact data points your office needs when a family reaches out. Typical fields include:

• Patient first and last name
• Phone number
• Care type (companion care, personal care, skilled nursing, etc.)
• Preferred start date or schedule
• Referral source (hospital, family, online)
• Insurance/coverage details

Knowing this upfront keeps the custom action tight and prevents back‑and‑forth later. Then decide where the completed intake goes. By default, the summary appears in your Chatref conversation inbox. You can also configure the action to email the intake directly to your intake coordinator.

1. In the Chatref app, open the agent you want to set up, then go to the Custom Actions section.
2. Click New action. Name it New Client Intake – the name helps you identify it in the inbox.
3. In the action description, explain what the agent should do. Write something like: “Gather all required information from a new client inquiring about home healthcare services in a single, clear flow.”
4. Add fields for every piece of data your team needs. Use clear labels and pick field types that match the data:
   • Full name – text
   • Phone number – text
   • Care type – single‑select with options: Companion Care, Personal Care, Skilled Nursing, Other
   • Preferred start date – date
   • Referral source – text or single‑select
   • Insurance/coverage notes – text
   • Special notes – long text (for anything the family wants to add) Mark critical fields like name and phone as required so the agent won’t let them be skipped.
5. Under When to trigger, set the condition so the agent offers the intake when it detects a new‑client inquiry. Use a prompt such as: “If the visitor asks about starting care, becoming a new client, or mentions they need home healthcare, initiate the intake action and gather the details step by step.” The agent will still answer knowledge‑base questions first – this just ensures the intake begins at the right moment.
6. Save the action.
7. To send completed intakes outside Chatref, open the action’s delivery settings. Add the email address of your intake coordinator, or set up a notification endpoint if your practice uses a tool that accepts incoming data. (If you are unsure about a technical endpoint, start with email; you can change it later.)
8. Round out the knowledge base. Make sure it includes pages about your service areas, types of care, eligibility basics, and what a new client can expect. The agent uses this to handle questions like “Do you cover Springfield?” before transitioning to the intake action. For home healthcare, you might upload a PDF of your current intake form, a services brochure, and an FAQ document. The agent’s answers come from these sources, so the more complete they are, the smoother the intake conversation.

1. Open your website where the widget is live, or use the test chat in Chatref’s playground.
2. Start a conversation as a new client: “We’re looking for home health care for my mother. She needs companion care a few days a week in Springfield.” The agent should answer with relevant information from your knowledge base and then say something like “I can help get you started – I’ll ask a few questions,” before beginning the intake.
3. Walk through the fields. Enter values for every required field and verify the flow feels natural. Pay attention to whether the agent repeats itself or skips a field.
4. Complete the action. Then open the conversation in your Chatref inbox. You should see a clean summary of the collected information. If you set up email delivery, check the inbox of your intake coordinator for a message with the same details.
5. Repeat the test with a different scenario – for example, a client who asks about skilled nursing with a specific start date – to confirm the action works across care types.

• Agent doesn’t start the intake – Your trigger prompt might be too narrow. Add common phrases like “interested in care,” “need home health,” or “new patient” to improve recognition. You can also simplify the trigger to “when the visitor appears to be a new client, begin the intake flow.”
• Fields are collected out of order – The agent follows the field order in your action. If the flow feels awkward, drag the fields into a more natural sequence in the action editor. For example, put name and phone before care type, because that matches how a person would naturally answer.
• Agent asks for a detail twice – This sometimes happens when your knowledge base already contains specific intake instructions, creating confusion. Remove duplicate intake facts from your knowledge base or edit the action description to tell the agent: “If a field was already provided, do not ask again.”
• Email delivery didn’t work – Double‑check the email address in the action settings. If the email isn’t arriving, ask your coordinator to check the spam folder. Delivery can occasionally be delayed by your practice’s email security; adding Chatref’s sending address to your allowlist usually resolves it.
• Complex intake for multiple service lines – If your practice offers very different intake forms for, say, skilled nursing versus companion care, create separate custom actions. Use the trigger prompt to branch – “if skilled nursing is mentioned, use Skilled Nursing Intake; otherwise, use General Intake.” This keeps each action short and focused.

For more on how Chatref supports home healthcare practices, including knowledge base setup and widget placement advice, see Home Healthcare.

What causes new client intake chat problems for Home Healthcare?

The most common problems come from incomplete custom action definitions or gaps in the knowledge base. If required fields are missing, the agent may collect incomplete information, forcing your team to chase families for details. If the agent lacks clear documentation on your services, it might give inconsistent answers about eligibility or coverage, which can discourage potential clients. A trigger that is too narrow means families ask questions but never see the intake, defeating the purpose. For home healthcare, address these by ensuring your knowledge base answers the top ten intake‑related questions and your custom action captures every piece of information your intake coordinator relies on today.

How do I improve new client intake chat for Home Healthcare?

Make your custom action mirror your current paper or digital intake form exactly – field for field. Add guiding notes to the agent’s prompt so it explains why each piece is needed (e.g., “Your insurance information helps us verify coverage before the first visit”). Strengthen your knowledge base with pages about service areas, typical care schedules, and a clear “What to expect” article. Test the flow with real scripts your team uses on the phone, then review the conversation inbox weekly to spot where families drop off or give incomplete answers. Finally, route completed intakes to a real person – email or a tool integration – immediately, so no lead sits in the chat overnight.