The Benefits of Electronic Medical Signatures

These days, more and more hospitals, doctor offices, and medical centers are transitioning from paper medical records to electronic (paperless) medical records (EMR). One of the motivations for this transition is a monetary incentive from the government, provided that certain criteria and reporting standards are met. However, there are other advantages to moving towards an EMR system.

One such advantage is that the days of sloppy, indecipherable, and forged handwritten signatures will be gone and replaced with a legible and secure electronic signature.

Online signatures in the pharmaceutical industry are particularly important because it is necessary to meet new standards set forth by the Food and Drug Administration and the SAFE-BioPharma Association. For electronic signature systems to be effective, they must be secure such as having systems in place to detect and prevent tampering. This involves utilizing a multi-faceted authentication process, which will vary according to the specific system and should be customizable.

Online signatures should also be simple to use for the health care provider such that all that is required to sign is a point and click of the mouse. The online signature system should also be easily accessible for the healthcare provider such that an electronic signature can be made from any secure internet connection. This can improve healthcare delivery because the easier it is to obtain a healthcare provider’s signature, the faster that services can be provided.

Time can also be saved with electronic signatures by allowing the health care provider to sign multiple documents at once and specifically directing the healthcare provider which documents need signing and which do not. This prevents packages of documents from missing needed signatures. Another benefit of EMRs is electronic notification of healthcare providers regarding a needed signature. Of course, reducing paper costs through electronic signatures helps save money.

In the future, the MedFriendly Blog will feature additional articles on various features or EMR systems and how they will affect the patient and provider.