Electronic Signatures - How To Add Them To Your Practice

Electronic Signatures - How To Add Them To Your Practice

While electronic signatures actually go back several decades, they were not enshrined in law until the year 2000.  More convenient than ink-and-paper, e-signatures have become a standard for online businesses.  But how can you be sure you are using them correctly?  Read more to see how to use them in your practice!


Legal Disclaimer:  Before we go any further, let's get the legal disclaimer out of the way.  This article is no substitute for sound legal advice, and should not be taken as such.  Always consult an attorney for legal advice!

 

What Is An Electronic Signature?

Let's start by talking about exactly what an electronic signature is.  We will be referring to the ESIGN Act of 2000 for much of this article.

  • An Electronic Signature is any "...sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record..."

As you can tell from that definition, the concept of an e-signature is fairly broad.  It doesn't have to literally be a drawing of someone's name.  It could simply be a checkbox the user has to click, for example.

 

Requirements 

That said, there are four major requirements which must be discussed before you start using e-signatures:

  • (1) Intent to sign - In other words, you must have reasonable proof that, indeed, the person signing intended to sign.  This protects against being tricked into "signing" something.
     
  • (2) Consent to use electronic signatures - This can be a much more nebulous concept.  The user must provide "affirmative consent" to using electronic signatures. 
    • This can simply mean that they have previously signed consent documentation (like this sample document) in ink, or that they have reasonably agreed to use electronic signatures by the very use of your system.  To make absolutely certain you stay within the letter of the law, it is recommended you have your clients/patients sign such a consent form.
       
  • (3) Association of signature with the record - In other words, the e-signature must be "associated" with the document it is for.  For example, if you e-sign a contract, that signature must be linked to the contract document in some way (usually simply appearing on it).
     
  • (4) Record retention - Law requires that e-signatures must be saved, essentially, so that all parties my hypothetically ask for copies one day.

 

Behavioral Health Connection and Electronic Signatures

We are proud the say that our EMR/EHR system, BHC Portal, fully supports electronic signatures!  Contact us today for a free trial.