How Can Healthcare Be Helped by Electronic Signature Software?

Did you know that hospital staff members spend an additional hour filling out paperwork for every hour-long ER visit? But now, with the help of electronic signature software, healthcare is being facilitated in quickly automating processes of paperwork.

Moreover, considering how understaffed most healthcare institutions are, the time spent on rather manual processes would be better used on tasks that are directly relevant to patient care. 

No doubt, healthcare workers’ ability to spend time with each patient suffers when they are halted by insurance claims and administrative paperwork. 

That said, eSignatures can help in getting rid of fax machines, scanners, and paper-based documents. And this article discusses the same.

Electronic Signature Software for Healthcare: Reasons

Electronic health records (EHR) are only one use of electronic signature software. Throughout the entire organization, it facilitates more effective paperwork procedures.

The functions of top-notch electronic signature software go far beyond simply collecting and storing digital signatures:

• Provide patients with a more convenient experience that includes a remote signature from any place on their preferred device.
• Employees should be given full authority to handle aspects related to paperwork management, including preparation and form generation, ID verification, compliance, and accessibility for people with disabilities.
• Give the respective clinic permission to:
  • create self-service digital forms on its website
  • track who has or has not signed papers
  • send all patient policy updates at once
  • provide several authentication options
  • keep models of digital documents you use frequently

In addition to this, keeping a thorough audit trail of who signed a document, including the date and location of the signature, is just as important as meeting patient expectations.

The modern eSignature solutions provide further features, including connectivity with email, text, and mobile devices. These solutions also uphold the strictest security requirements, as compliance is of the utmost importance in the healthcare industry.

The digital health information of patients can be protected, which gives healthcare facilities peace of mind.

Lastly, the interaction between a facility and its patients can be improved, and overall business operations can be improved by using digital signature technologies.

Streamlining Paperwork

On many levels, eSignature systems help speed up the paperwork process.

On a computer, searching for a document is considerably simpler than searching through a stack of papers. Additionally, emailing documents to a doctor is far more cost-effective than hiring a person (or business) to deliver them.

So, by entering a patient’s name, these apps enable a comprehensive picture of their medical history.

Lower Cost

For healthcare facilities, switching from print to electronic signatures involves more than just convenience because processes will be streamlined, saving money on paper and printing while ensuring that all employees utilize their time efficiently.

Convenient

Electronic signatures make document signing quick and simple, which streamlines administrative procedures and gives staff members more time to concentrate on higher-priority tasks.

Increases patient satisfaction

The patient experience is considerably enhanced by electronic signature software as it can shorten wait times and allow employees to focus more on patients’ needs.

Such software also lessens the likelihood that documents will be misplaced because all material is arranged within the signature software and is easily accessible.

Electronic Signature Software for Healthcare: Use Cases

The pursuit for better healthcare services and patient retention is centered on the patient experience. Healthcare facilities struggle to provide their patients with high-quality care due to a number of issues. Here are some benefits of using electronic signatures:

Review of Medical Records

The absence of complete patient information is one of the most frequent causes of human mistakes in the healthcare sector.

With the use of a reliable electronic signature system, businesses may automate the uploading of their patient forms into electronic medical records, which will guarantee that all information is accessible and centralized.

Electronic Patient Intake

Poor patient intake is one of the main problems that are faced in healthcare. The pain point for all healthcare facilities has been collecting pertinent patient data, consent papers, insurance, payments, and a variety of other documents for decades.

Patient intake is automated through eSignature technology. Additionally, it makes it possible to create templates for frequently used digital forms, such as resident onboarding paperwork, provider agreements, and other legal documents.

Employee Onboarding That Is Quick

eSignatures for healthcare facilities can enhance numerous internal procedures in addition to improving the patient experience.

It’s important to offer comprehensive documentation and onboarding procedures for every new hire. Utilizing electronic signature software, businesses can make templates that they can distribute to new hires.

Electronic Signature Software and HIPAA

In the USA, the healthcare industry is required to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (better known as HIPAA).

Legal Obligation

A digital signature system can assist healthcare facilities in storing data effectively, securely, and in accordance with patient privacy rules. Healthcare can thus comply with HIPAA requirements by using a variety of security measures taken by relevant software.

Authentication of Users

Covered entities must develop a method to verify the identities of all parties in order to prevent disagreements over whether the person who truly agreed to a contract had the authority to do so.

This issue can be resolved with the aid of authentication techniques like two-step verification, answering “secret knowledge” questions, particular eSignature software, and phone or voice permission.

Message Integrity

An agreement must be kept intact during both storage and transportation.

When a document is signed electronically, eSignature software safeguards against digital tampering.

Moreover, message integrity must be seriously considered because it is covered by the HIPAA Security Rule. OCR Inspectors are charged with ensuring high standards of integrity concerning HIPAA audits and may conduct eSignature risk evaluations.

Takeaways

Healthcare businesses can benefit from electronic signature software by streamlining operations and improving the effectiveness of most administrative tasks.

Furthermore, eSignatures can significantly impact how the healthcare sector is transformed, from better understanding a patient’s medical history to improving communication inside the company.

Relevantly, WorkHub eSignature is an extremely affordable option in this regard. Besides helping you with e-signatures, it also helps comply with HIPAA, and that too at a very low cost. You can book its demo for free to learn more.