Home Forums Discussions Feedback and Recommendations Patient signature function

I have a wish function.

If we have a picture menu --> open scanned image(For example, HIPAA patient sign form, consent etc.) --> Able to write on picture or sign on it with tablet PC --> image with handwriting is saved.

How about this? Do we have this function?
I am getting HIPAA signed from paper, then scan into imported item now.

Thank you.
Alan C Kim, MD

Good Idea. Jon did mention something about having office forms inside the newest, yet to be released 4.0. We have asked for this in the past and I would hope that the folks back at AC central have heard us, but it sure doesn't hurt to ask again. I'm with you as long as we could sort of lock in the signature once the patient and office were happy with it.

The idea of having a "signing pad" sort of like those ones mounted at the check out line might be good too. That way we don't have patients dropping, sneezing and scratching up expensive tablets and convertable (what we have) laptops.

I too would love to see this feature. We could also use it for signing the payment policy as well.

Once the feature is in there, Hopefully we could use it for any of our forms that we would need to capture a signature for. Payment, HIPAA, releases you name it. And to not have to kill the trees and deal with the paper.... Paper, paper everywhere. AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

Maybe we could even have them sign in on the tablet pc. A great way to have them sign sign-in documents while moving paperless...I think.

They could sign consents: consent to treat, consent for procedure, consent for everything.

That's an awesome idea.

ABN's, releases.... Anything and everything. Yes it would be lovely! I would still like the idea of a separate little pad as an option (if possible) just because we love and value our tablets and don't want them getting messed up. And sick patients will transfer their germs to the staff's equipment too. Just imagine a nice, big juicy sneeze all over your favorite tablet... No thanks.

Also, I have yet to see those "tear-off" scratch guard type plastic sheets for 12-14 inch tablets like there are for little PDA's. Having folks sign on the nurse's tablet all day will quickly scratch the hell out of it, right??? Have 'em read the policy and then capture their signature for the record. Just my two cents....

Patient Germs! EEEEEEEEWWWW!

You know those little signature machines that you sign on a credit card device or at the pharmacy when you pick up medications? That thing would be cool.

Adam,
That was the sort of thing I was getting at. Again this way we are not putting a $2K convertable laptop in the patient's hand multiple times a day. Much safer I think, wouldn't you say???

You mean something like this?

http://www.topazsystems.com/products/siggemlcd1x5.asp

Search on Google shows they range in the low $100's each.

http://www.google.com/products?q=electronic+signature+pad&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1

Are electronic signatures used this way legally binding? I could see them being used for sign-in purposes. That would improve on the HIPAA compliance of patient confidentiality versus writing on a plain paper sign-in sheet.

We were advised by our insurance carrier that we could scan the original into the EMR to keep as a part of the record but we need to keep the ORIGINAL in the patient's own hand writing so they could "test the ink" if the need ever arose. *shrug* go figure.

Those were what I had in mind. Man I love this board. One person has a decent idea and a few days later folks like you are posting links to expand upon it.

Are you quite sure in this need to keep the original ink one? I'm thinking that this might only apply to docs that were originally created in paper and ink. What if the doc was always virtual and electronic to begin with? Otherwise, all of us could skip out on the majority of our credit card purchases, signed in digital pen, taken off the net, orders over the phone just to name the main ones. But you may be very right, but it just seems that digital capture and creation should have been addressed by now. All part of the greater pile of CCHIT perhaps???

Doesn't anyone use the fujitsu scansnap? It scans all my initial forms and saves them fast - so much for the trees, but we shred those forms then!

Gerald