Responses that come in through the iPad app have traditionally always processed automatically. Responses via the web, however, have only ever processed automatically based on the your Inbox settings.
New in July 2026 is the ability to change this behaviour for any particular form — even when filled via the iPad app — using something we've called Response rules.
Response rules let you configure a particular form to hold its responses in the Inbox for review, attempt automatic processing, or notify people on your team the moment the response arrives.
Better still, response rules can be configured to perform their action only if the patient has answered the form in a particular way — configured by you.
You'll find response rules at the top of the Workflow section of the form editor. They sit above the PMS processing steps because that's the order things happen in: rules run the moment a response arrives, before anything touches your PMS.
☝️ The PMS processing workflow steps themselves — PDFs, treatment notes, patient updates etc. — are covered in this article.
The three things a rule can do
Hold for review
A hold rule keeps the response in your Inbox until someone on your team reviews it — even when automatic processing is switched on. It applies to responses from both the web and the iPad app.
E.g. hold for review when score is less than 10.
iPad responses have always processed automatically — until now, nothing could stop that. A hold rule is the one thing that can. If you've ever wanted a particular form (or a particular answer) to always get human eyes before it touches the patient record, this is how.
Attempt to process automatically
A process rule is the opposite: web responses matching the rule will try to process automatically, even when your account-wide "Automatically process web responses" setting is switched off. It's automation one form at a time — turn it on for the forms you trust, keep reviewing the rest.
The usual guardrails still apply. If Finger-Ink can't confidently match the patient, or the response still needs a signature, it waits in the Inbox for you as normal. (iPad responses always process automatically anyway, so this rule only affects web responses.)
Notify someone on form completion
A notify rule sends a simple email to the portal users you choose, as soon as the response comes in — before any PMS processing happens. The email mentions the form's name and the patient's initials, but never their answers.
Always — or only when…
Each rule can either always apply — a form that always stops in the Inbox, or always attempts to process — or apply only when conditions on the patient's answers are met. It's the same condition builder you already use for showing and hiding fields, so if you've ever made a section appear "only when…", you already know how this works.
A few examples of what conditions unlock:
Notify the practitioner immediately when a patient rates their pain 8 or higher.
Hold a response for review when a screening question is answered "Yes".
Auto-process a form only when the patient says they've visited before.
The editor won't let you save a rule that can't do anything — a notify rule with no recipients, or a conditional rule with no conditions, is flagged in red until you complete it:
When rules disagree
You don't need to order or prioritise rules — precedence is built in, and it's simple: holding wins.
Situation | What happens |
A hold rule matches | The response waits in the Inbox — full stop. |
No hold, but a process rule matches | A web response attempts automatic processing. |
No rules match | Your Inbox settings default applies (and iPad responses process automatically, as always). |
A notify rule matches | The email is sent regardless of everything above. |
Notify rules are independent — they never change where a response goes, and holding or processing never stops an email.
The editor keeps you oriented, too: just below your rules it summarises what happens when no rule steps in — "Unless a rule above says otherwise, your Inbox settings default applies."
Response rules are part of the form, so — like any other change in the editor — they take effect once you publish. Saving a draft won't change how responses are handled until you publish it.
Seeing your rules at a glance
You don't have to open the editor to remember how a form behaves. The forms list now shows a Response rules column alongside Workflow — click either for a plain-English summary, like "Always → hold for review" or "When conditions match → notify 2 people on form completion".
Knowing what a rule did
Every response keeps an activity log, and rules write to it whenever they step in — "Held in the Inbox by a response rule", "Automatic processing attempted because a response rule matched", "Notification email sent to 2 recipients by a response rule". If you're ever wondering why a response is where it is, the answer is right there on the response.
A few ideas to get you started
Red-flag screening. On your intake form, add two conditional rules on the same screening question: hold for review, and notify the treating practitioner. Concerning answers get immediate attention; everything else flows through untouched.
Eyes on every consent. Add an always-on hold rule to consent forms, so a person confirms each one before it's filed — including the ones filled on the iPad.
Automation, one form at a time. Not ready to switch on automatic processing account-wide? Leave the account setting off and add a process rule to just your tried-and-true forms.
A heads-up for the front desk. Add a notify rule to your new patient form so reception knows to get the file ready before the patient reaches the desk.
What happened to "Notify via email when a form is completed"?
That account-wide Inbox setting has been retired — per-form notify rules replace it, and they're better in every way: different recipients for different forms, and conditions on top if you want them.
If you had the old setting switched on, there's nothing you need to do: we've automatically converted it into an always-on notify rule with the same recipients on each of your forms. Everything works exactly as it did — but now you can fine-tune form by form.
The separate "Notify via email when action is required" setting hasn't gone anywhere. That's still in Settings → Inbox, and still lets you know when a response needs your attention.