If there’s one industry that handles a ton of paperwork and signatures, it’s the healthcare industry. Practically every process, procedure, and authorization require a steadfast paper trail and an approving signature from a physician, nurse practitioner, or administrator. This is why electronic signatures have become such an essential component of everyday healthcare processes – especially with physicians.
Electronic signatures have changed the name of the game in patient care. In fact, because of electronic signatures, many of the processes that the healthcare industry relies on have been dramatically improved. Take a look:
Improved Security:
With the increased use of electronic signatures on digital documents, medical institutions have reduced paperwork loss, theft, and tampering. Relatedly, they have experienced a boost in patient document privacy.
Better Accuracy:
Reduction in missed information input, increased legibility, faster corrections – electronic signatures continue to play a significant role in the overall accuracy of medical documents.
Increased Speed:
Now, patients, doctors, and other healthcare workers can approve, sign, send, and receive vital healthcare documents with a few mouse clicks as opposed to waiting for the mail, faxes, or courier services.
More Compliance:
If you’re in the healthcare industry, you’re definitely familiar with HIPAA and their important but stringent privacy and security standards. Electronic signatures have enabled healthcare professionals to more securely share and manage personal health records (PHR).
Faster Communication:
Faster approvals, faster document sending, faster document receiving – through the use of electronic signatures, healthcare can be delivered to patients with more speed than ever before.
Cost Reduction:
Paper and printing reduction and less need for mail and shipping services have vastly improved the overall budgets of healthcare institutions throughout the world.
Enhanced Workflow:
Because electronic signatures have enabled documents to be signed and sent in mere minutes, it’s led to substantial workflow improvements; there’s a significant reduction in processes being held up by one department or healthcare professional waiting on another. Overall, this means faster patient care and more services provided.
Upgraded Patient Experience:
Electronic signatures have offered an essential route for improving the overall patient experience. According to Becker Hospital Review, “Mobile apps and digital communication systems are obvious conduits for improved patient engagement. And, from clerical matters to clinical care, mobile administrative tools can improve the flow of communication and allow clinicians to spend more time with patients.”
While the items listed above are important modifications provided by electronic signatures seen in the healthcare industry, let’s look specifically at how they’ve improved physicians’ processes. After all, in healthcare systems, physicians are responsible for signing and enhancing a large majority of the paperwork associated with patient care.
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How Electronic Signatures Improve the Paperwork Process for Physicians
Electronic signatures have significantly improved paperwork and documentation processes for physicians. Because so many functions within health systems depend on physician’s signatures, the continued advancement of techniques available to them is crucial.
Below, we’ll look at some of the vital ways electronic signatures have added essential value to the work physicians do.
Prescriptions:
Paper prescriptions can get misplaced, forged, and take too much time to get into the hands of patients in need. With electronic signatures and digital RXs, the process has been streamlined to where doctors can sign off on vital medications, send RXs straight for the pharmacy, and ensure their patients get the drugs they need when they need them.
Chart notes / Health Records:
Chart notes and health records are the backbone of everything that goes on at doctor’s offices, hospitals, and insurance companies. Chart notes record everything that has been reported, done, or occurred in a patient’s health history. Because chart notes are so important, they typically have to be signed and approved by a physician. With the introduction of electronic signatures, chart notes can be approved and shared with necessary health teams quicker than ever.
Legibility:
Physicians have notoriously illegible signatures and handwriting; this has led to misreading procedures and prescriptions. Electronic signatures enable physicians to provide more legible and well-documented prescriptions and chart notes, meaning fewer mistakes with patient care.
Procedure Approval:
Patients have experienced improved care with faster and easier procedure approvals. With electronic signatures, physicians, patients, and nurses can approve crucial procedures remotely or right at the patient’s hospital bedside.
Enhanced Security:
Through the use of electronic signatures, physicians can more securely sign and send prescriptions and medical records without the added risk of forgery, theft, loss, or tampering.
Time-Efficient:
An inordinate amount of time is wasted by busy physicians writing out paper prescriptions, chasing down patients, and locating chart notes for medical history review and approvals. With electronic signatures and digital documents, physicians can review, send, and approve on the move throughout their busy schedules without missing a beat.
Drug Surveillance:
Electronically signed and prescribed medications allow physicians and drug enforcement agencies to monitor subscription histories for certain drugs and work to prevent drug abuse and addiction.
How eSign Genie Works for Physicians and Their Document
While electronic signature software contributes a vital service to physicians and other healthcare professionals, it’s imperative that the right company is used. eSign Genie places a particular focus on supporting the electronic signature needs of physicians and the healthcare industry; here’s how:
Top-of-the-Line Security:
You never have to worry about your document’s security when it comes to using eSign Genie. Our servers are hosted and monitored 24/7 in a secure facility that uses SSAE 16, is SOC2 and SOC3 compliant, and is protected by biometric readers, infrared detectors, full-perimeter fencing, and more. eSign Genie features higher SOC2 level compliance than even some tech industry giants! Plus, the TSP that eSign Genie uses is offsite and is considered the industry standard for digital security.
Auditability:
eSign Genie makes document audits simple, giving you the power to see where and when documents were signed with timestamps, any changes made to the form, and who signed.
HIPAA Certified:
eSign Genie is HIPAA trained and certified so that we can help you and your healthcare establishment stay in compliance at all times.
Secure Digital Signatures:
Sign prescriptions and electronic charts and documents with the high-level Qualified Advanced Electronic Signatures (QAES) that eSign Genie offers. This digital signature level guarantees a private signing key, ensures data used in signature creation can only be used once, protects against forgery, and allows the signee to retain full control of the signature process. Qualified signatures cannot be altered, duplicated, or reproduced and remain under the supervision of a qualified trust provider.
Smooth Integration:
eSign Genie offers dynamic full-integration for APIs, meaning we can easily integrate with the systems and software your healthcare institution already uses.
Budget-Friendly:
With healthcare systems currently strained more than ever, it’s essential that the necessary solutions provided are budget-friendly. eSign Genie offers competitive rates and customizable packages tailor-ft to meet the needs of each individual healthcare organization.
Top-Rated Customer Care:
Each eSign Genie client is truly valued, and it shows with our helpful, knowledgeable, and top-rated customer success representatives who are ready to help with intuitive solutions.
Are you ready to get started with electronic document signing? See what eSign Genie can do for you.
