Best practices for healthcare contract management

Key takeaways

• Inefficient healthcare contract management can cause compliance risks, data breaches, and service disruptions.
• Centralizing contracts, automating workflows, and ensuring regulatory compliance are key to success.
• Best practices include secure storage, AI-driven analytics, role-based access, and continuous audits.
• Signeasy streamlines healthcare contract management with HIPAA-compliant workflows, automation, and a centralized repository.

“There seemed to be an endless amount of paperwork needing my signature, as the nature of what we do requires a lot of documentation.”

- Dhore Anunciado, Executive Director, The San Diego Eye Bank (SDEB)

When you add in tight budgets, scattered data, and complex manual processes, it’s obvious that sticking to traditional methods just isn’t enough anymore. Not only does inefficient contract management waste time, but it can also cost your organization billions each year. Plus, it can have a negative impact on patient experiences and your organization's reputation.

That’s why it’s more important than ever to adopt digital and smarter contract management solutions that can help simplify your processes. In this post, we’ll share some of the best practices to streamline your contract workflows, minimize risks, and also highlight some of the best tools out there to make contract management simpler, faster, and more effective.

What is contract management in healthcare?

Contract management in healthcare is the process of creating, executing, overseeing, and managing contracts, such as physician service contracts or managed care agreements, between healthcare providers, insurance payers, medical equipment vendors, pharmaceutical suppliers, and contracted staff.

The process spans stages like drafting, negotiation, approval, implementation, monitoring, and renewal. The goal is to ensure all stakeholders interpret and understand the terms of the contract clearly. This helps prevent issues like reimbursement denials or delays in patient care caused by supply shortages.

As healthcare is a highly regulated industry, compliance is vital. Businesses must meet requirements under HIPAA, Stark Law, and the Anti-Kickback Statute to avoid legal penalties, reputational damage, or loss of accreditation.

When managed effectively, healthcare contracts ensure compliance and lead to better payer relationships, higher patient satisfaction scores, faster claims processing, fewer readmissions, and more predictable revenue cycles.

Why healthcare contract management matters more than ever

Healthcare contract management helps healthcare service providers, payers, and vendors deliver on their responsibilities as outlined in the contract. When the contracting parties are not aligned on their goals, disputes can happen.

A recent example of such an issue is the fallout between UAB Health System and UnitedHealthcare that put 1.4 million patients’ care in jeopardy.

Effective healthcare contract management ensures issues like these never happen, as it ensures all parties involved uphold their end of the contract.

Here are a few more reasons why contract management matters in healthcare.

1. Patient safety and care quality implications

The first casualty of inefficient contract management is the patients. When contracts are not updated or enforced properly, it can affect access and quality of treatments.

Take insurance contracts, for example.

If agreements are not renewed on time, patients may suddenly find themselves out of network. This can cause treatment delays, compromising patient safety, or unexpected out-of-pocket costs.

Issues like this, caused by inefficient contract management, can put patients in serious trouble. They also erode trust and lower the standard of care patients receive.

2. Regulatory compliance requirements

Regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Stark Law, and the Anti-Kickback Statute place strict boundaries on how contracts are structured, termed, stored, accessed, and monitored. 

Failing to ensure compliance with these regulations can result in serious legal troubles, as well. 

For example, a medical equipment supplier contract missing key access controls may lead to a HIPAA breach. Or a poorly documented physician compensation contract can lead to a Stark Law violation.

These violations can cost your business significantly in terms of penalties. Here is the updated HIPAA penalty structure:

Source

As regulators expect transparency across contracts and clear audit trails, contract management solutions, like Signeasy, are your best option to stay in the green.

3. Market pressures and value-based care transition

According to the Healthcare Outlook Report 2024, by BDO, key issues that healthcare businesses face include:

• Shift toward at-home consultations and treatments
• Rising costs from inflation and labor shortages
• Declining operating and profit margins
• Uncertainty around compliance and reporting
• Competition from non-traditional healthcare entrants

The shift to value-based care (VBC) adds another layer of complexity. From the classic model of fee-for-service to a modern one, providers are moving to patient-centric value-based care.

The value-based approach requires more contractual clarity than ever before. 

These contracts must include:

1. Performance benchmarks, like hospital re-admission rates
2. Bundled service fee, like single payments for an entire treatment episode
3. Care coordination requirements, such as how multiple providers work together for a patient’s care

If the terms aren’t clearly defined and enforced, it can lead to underpayment and disputes. And when contracts are scattered across systems or handled manually (as often happens), those risks multiply.

Implementing a robust and comprehensive contract management solution is the best way to address these challenges or to prevent them from ever happening in the first place.

5 Key challenges in healthcare contract management

From compliance gaps to manual errors, managing contracts in healthcare is uniquely complex.

Here are five key challenges where most organizations struggle:

1. Regulatory complexity and compliance risks

National and state-level regulations governing the healthcare industry change constantly, due to various reasons:

• Changing economic and political conditions
• Advancing medical technology and treatments
• Shifting priorities in public health by governments
• Evolving healthcare data protection and privacy rules

These changes can confuse those working on drafting and managing healthcare contracts and lead to more compliance lapses under various regulations.

Here is a table with the common compliance lapses in healthcare contracts and the regulations they violate, along with the penalties.

Apart from these penalties, reputational damages to your healthcare organization are another issue that you need to face.

How to overcome

Build strategies around the regulations like HIPAA and local laws, and use a contract management tool, like Signeasy, that puts regulatory compliance at the center of the end-to-end contract management process.

2. Data security and patient privacy concerns

Healthcare contracts often contain sensitive data, such as names, medical histories, insurance details, and protected health information (PHI).

If not stored and managed securely, these documents can become a liability. A misplaced file or an unencrypted storage location is a direct violation of HIPAA and other privacy regulations.

For example, the Florida Healthcare System had to pay $800,000 and will need to implement a corrective action plan due to violating a HIPAA data privacy clause.

How to overcome

Build internal data access and privacy control systems centered around healthcare contracts and how they access them. Invest in a digital contract management platform with robust encryption and role-based access.  

3. Vendor relationship management

Healthcare providers rely on a wide range of vendors, such as:

• Medical equipment and device suppliers
• Laboratory and diagnostic service partners
• Information technology and cybersecurity vendors
• Electronic health record (EHR) platforms
• Outsourced billing and coding teams

These vendor relationships are governed by contracts that need to comply with regulatory obligations like HIPAA, the Anti-Kickback Law, Stark Law, and more.

When the vendor contracts are scattered across shared drives or tracked manually, healthcare organizations may miss renewing agreements or overlook vendor performance issues.

Such lapses can delay patient care or disrupt access to essential equipment or test results, leading to penalties and criminal charges under applicable regulations.

How to overcome

Build a contract management strategy that offers full visibility into contract terms and renewal dates. Using a centralized contract system can make it easier to track vendor obligations and ensure timely delivery.

4. Manual processes and inefficiencies

Many healthcare organizations still manage contracts with spreadsheets, shared drives, and long email threads. And they do it mainly because these tools are familiar. 

However, in a highly regulated sector like healthcare, manual methods are potential mines waiting to go off.

• They consume valuable time from clinical and administrative teams that could be spent on patient care or strategic planning.
• They increase the likelihood of errors, such as missing HIPAA compliance clauses or overlooking Stark Law and Anti-Kickback requirements.
• They fail to keep pace as the number of vendor, payer, and physician agreements grows.
• They make it harder to track renewals and enforce service-level commitments that directly impact patient care.

How to overcome

The best way to overcome this challenge is to replace all manual methods with automated workflows. Invest in a contract management tool with integration features and AI capabilities to automate approval routing and compliance tracking. For example, Signeasy is a top healthcare contract management tool with Signeasy API that lets you integrate with your EHR, supply chain, or HR platforms.

5. Contract visibility and tracking issues

In many healthcare organizations, vital contracts, like payer agreements, physician employment terms, and equipment leases, are not organized well for management. You may find them scattered across shared drives, email threads, and physical filing cabinets. Some contracts may only exist in outdated offline formats.

And this lack of centralized visibility creates serious challenges for healthcare service providers:

• Knowing which payer, vendor, or physician contracts with the healthcare providers are active and which ones need attention.
• Identifying agreements that are expiring and need renegotiation to avoid patient care disruptions and delays.
• Tracking and updating key compliance elements tied to HIPAA, Stark Law, or Anti-Kickback Statute provisions.

When the teams responsible for these agreements can’t quickly access contract details, they risk missing renewals and compliance gaps.  Without clear ownership or a single source of truth, even basic tasks, like confirming if a contract is signed or when it expires, can take hours.

And if left unchecked, these inefficiencies can escalate into costly disputes and operational breakdowns, jeopardizing patient care delivery.

How to overcome

Having a centralized and searchable contract repository is the best way to address this issue. The right tools can help healthcare teams filter contracts by status and get real-time visibility into the details, like renewal date, signature status, etc., of every agreement.

5 Steps to improve contract management in healthcare organizations

Here’s how healthcare organizations can improve their contract management process and tackle common challenges head-on. These five actionable steps will help you secure patient data, embrace innovation, and streamline operations while staying compliant.

1. Prioritize data security to prevent breaches

In 2024, the average cost of a healthcare data breach has skyrocketed to $10.93 million, so taking steps to secure your contract data is more important than ever. A great starting point is to make sure all your digital contracts are encrypted and that you have role-based access controls in place. This way, only the right people can see sensitive information.

It’s also a good idea to conduct security audits regularly to pinpoint any vulnerabilities, and investing in solid cybersecurity training for your team can go a long way toward keeping data safe. 

Consider adopting secure contract management solutions to help protect against unauthorized access and ensure you’re in line with HIPAA and GDPR regulations. Remember, treating your contract data with the same care and confidentiality as patient data is essential!

Take Truepill as an example. They used Signeasy’s API to securely enhance their prescription processing. This platform handled sensitive medical documentation with care and met all compliance requirements, all while keeping things efficient and smooth. 

2. Implement automation with contract management solutions

Did you know that the healthcare contract management software market is expected to grow by 23.3% CAGR by 2029? That’s a big number! 

By integrating a contract management solution to your EHR system, you can automate the entire lifecycle of your contracts much simpler. This way, healthcare organizations can concentrate on what truly matters: delivering top-notch care without getting overwhelmed by paperwork.

Contract management in healthcare means automating everything from drafting contracts to sending renewal alerts, which means less chance for human error and more time saved. With handy features like eSignatures and real-time tracking, efficiency is boosted while staying compliant.

A good example of this in action is Neuropath Behavioral Healthcare. They saw amazing results by integrating Signeasy with Freshteam. This integration cut down their hiring workflow times and improved productivity by 60%. Now their team can spend more time focused on patient care instead of getting stuck in administrative tasks.

3. Harness AI in data management

Artificial intelligence is everywhere, and it’s impacting the healthcare industry as well. AI healthcare market is projected to reach a whopping $45.2 billion by 2026. One of the cool applications of AI in this sector is its use in contract management tools. These smart tools can sift through tons of data to spot trends, streamline processes, and anticipate risks.

Imagine being able to automatically generate contract summaries, pull out important terms, and help with contract reviews — all while saving time and reducing the chances of mistakes. 

For example, AI can highlight essential clauses like payment terms, renewal dates, and compliance requirements, making sure no important details slip through the cracks. Plus, it can flag potential risks, like non-standard clauses, and suggest changes to enhance contract outcomes.

With these valuable insights, healthcare organizations can make quicker, more informed decisions while keeping legal and operational risks to a minimum.

4. Understand regulations and compliance

Keeping up with healthcare regulations like HIPAA, GDPR, and the Affordable Care Act can be challenging, but a proactive compliance approach makes it manageable. By regularly updating your contracts to reflect any changes in the laws and conducting periodic check-ins, you can ensure everything stays on track. 

Investing in compliance tracking tools within your contract management system is also a smart move. It can help you avoid costly penalties and protect your reputation. Plus, getting a good grasp of these regulations can empower healthcare providers to negotiate better deals with vendors and partners, which can really help minimize operational risks.

5. Strengthen patient and staff relationships

Contracts are more than just documents; they form the foundation of collaboration and teamwork. By focusing on patient-centered contracts—such as those emphasizing value-based care — you can create structures that prioritize better outcomes and build trust. Similarly, clear and equitable agreements for staff—such as employment contracts, shift arrangements, and performance expectations—can foster a more collaborative and motivated work environment.

Keeping communication open with patients and staff is essential. For patients, transparency about billing terms or care packages builds trust. For staff, regular reviews of employment agreements and flexibility clauses to address their needs can reduce burnout and improve morale.

Using a robust contract management tool makes it easier to maintain these relationships by ensuring agreements are up-to-date, performance metrics are tracked, and everyone is aligned. Stronger patient and staff relationships ultimately contribute to better care delivery and a thriving healthcare organization.

15 essential best practices for healthcare contract management

With regulatory demands and sensitive data in place, managing contracts in healthcare can feel overwhelming. But with the right practices, you can simplify the process. Here are 10 best practices for contract management in healthcare that ensure patient and staff satisfaction.

1. Centralize your contract dashboard

Instead of keeping contracts scattered across emails and folders, using a centralized contract dashboard allows you to store, organize, and retrieve contracts effortlessly. With a central system in place, you’ll know exactly where each contract lives, who’s handling it, and its current status. 

For example, storing agreements with vendors like medical device suppliers or insurance providers in one system can prevent overlooked renewal deadlines or misplaced contracts.

2. Build reusable template libraries

Starting every contract from scratch can be a major time investment in a document-intensive industry like healthcare. Having a library of pre-approved templates streamlines the creation of compliant contracts while maintaining consistency. 

For example, if you regularly create vendor agreements, you can develop a customizable template with all the essential clauses baked in — like payment terms, confidentiality, and compliance requirements. From there, you tweak only the specifics, such as the vendor’s name or delivery timelines. 

3. Enable cloud collaboration

Use cloud-based tools to allow multiple stakeholders to review, edit, and approve contracts simultaneously. This collaboration practice encourages transparency and accelerates the eSignature process, ensuring deadlines are never missed. 

By offering a centralized repository, cloud collaboration also helps you avoid version-control nightmares (you know, when five different versions of a document are floating around, and no one knows which one is correct).

4. Prioritize secure record-keeping

Healthcare contracts often contain sensitive information, including patient data, and keeping it safe should be a top priority. A secure storage system with robust encryption is your first line of defense against data breaches. 

But security doesn’t stop there. Implementing user access controls ensures that only authorized personnel can view or edit contracts, minimizing internal risks. Additionally, regular audits of patient information and contract records can help identify any vulnerabilities early, reinforcing trust and compliance with regulations like HIPAA.

By safeguarding patient and contract data, healthcare organizations not only comply with legal standards but also build stronger patient trust and operational integrity.

5. Develop a solid regulatory understanding

Healthcare contracts are governed by a labyrinth of laws and regulations, from HIPAA to Stark Law. Failing to comply with these rules can result in hefty fines or, worse, loss of trust and credibility. 

To stay ahead, ensure your team is well-versed in healthcare regulations. Regular training sessions and updates can help everyone stay informed about new rules or changes. And don’t shy away from bringing in legal experts when drafting or reviewing contracts. I

6. Focus on data security

In healthcare, safeguarding sensitive contract and patient data is critical. Start with strong encryption to keep information unreadable, even in the event of unauthorized access. Combine this with multi-factor authentication (MFA) to ensure only authorized personnel can access critical systems by verifying their identity through multiple steps.

Additionally, when working with third-party vendors, enforce strict compliance with your security standards to minimize external risks. Using secure contract management platforms with built-in protections can further enhance data safety and ensure compliance with regulations like HIPAA.

7. Leverage advanced contract analytics 

Advanced contract analytics can help healthcare organizations predict risks, identify trends, and optimize agreements. For example, you can pinpoint vendors who miss deadlines or clauses that lead to disputes, enabling smarter negotiations and better terms.

In healthcare, analytics also support compliance tracking, cost monitoring, and aligning contracts with patient care goals. By using data-driven insights, you can proactively improve your contracting process, reduce risks, and enhance operational efficiency.

8. Commit to continuous auditing

Regular audits are vital to maintaining compliant, relevant, and efficient contracts. Periodic reviews help identify expired agreements, missed renewal deadlines, and outdated clauses before they escalate into costly issues. Auditing also ensures adherence to healthcare regulations, strengthens vendor relationships, and uncovers opportunities to streamline processes.

Make auditing a routine part of your contract management strategy to proactively address risks and keep operations running smoothly.

9. Establish a contract review process

A thorough review process ensures that every clause aligns with your organization’s goals and regulatory requirements. Involve the right stakeholders, from legal experts to department heads, to ensure no detail is overlooked. 

Having a standardized checklist can also help. For example, does the contract include clear payment terms? Are confidentiality clauses in place? Is it compliant with the latest regulations? Taking the time to review contracts upfront can save you from headaches down the road.

10. Customize your contracts

While templates are great, customization is key in healthcare contracts. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work when you’re dealing with diverse partners, services, and regulations. Tailor your agreements to reflect the specific terms, obligations, and needs of each party.

For example, include penalty clauses for late deliveries in agreements with pharmaceutical vendors or add specific confidentiality terms for patient care partnerships.

11. Create automated workflows to reduce human touchpoints

In healthcare, contracts often require multiple layers of review. It could be from compliance officers ensuring HIPAA adherence or clinical teams verifying vendor credentials. Manually routing these documents can cause costly delays and introduce compliance risks.

Automated workflows are the best way to avoid inefficiencies and the chances of compliance lapses. You can use automated workflows to route contracts to the right stakeholders in sequence and trigger email notifications for missing signatures or expiring agreements.

It will also be easier to ensure compliance checks, such as HIPAA or Stark Law, happen before execution with automated workflows.

As manual touchpoints become fewer, you can shorten approval cycles for critical agreements, like physician contracts or medical equipment leases.

12. Define the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved

Clarity in roles and responsibilities is critical in healthcare contract management. From legal teams to department heads, everyone should know their role in reviewing, approving, updating, optimizing, and monitoring contracts.

Clearly defined responsibilities prevent duplication of work, missed steps, and accountability gaps.

For example, if you are contracting a vendor to build a custom telehealth platform, you need a compliance officer to review the contract and the data-handling clauses to ensure they are compliant. Failing to define the scope of the compliance officer’s role can lead to HIPAA violations and costly penalties.

Building systems and processes or investing in contract management tools help you ensure every role and responsibility for each stakeholder is clearly defined.

13. Train your team in contract management software

You may have invested in the most advanced contract management system that offers features like physician contract tracking and compliance monitoring.

But if your staff doesn’t know how to use it well, that investment can’t deliver its full value.

Build structured training programs tailored to healthcare regulations, such as HIPAA and Stark Law, with practical, healthcare-specific tasks like:

• Managing healthcare associate agreements
• Tracking vendor credential expirations
• Using e-signatures for physician onboarding
• Maintaining audit-ready HIPAA-compliance reports

The better your team understands the tool, the quicker you can maximize your investment and ROI.

14. Enable cross-department collaboration

Contracts in healthcare often involve multiple departments with varying priorities:

• Clinical operations for evaluating service quality
• Procurement for negotiating vendor terms
• IT for safeguarding data security
• Finance for managing budget impact
• Compliance for ensuring HIPAA and Stark Law adherence

Failing to bring these diverse perspectives can lead to compliance gaps and vendor performance issues, as one department may overlook the other’s goals. But with cross-departmental collaboration throughout the contract management process, you can ensure these challenges never arise.

This collaborative approach can also reduce the risk of overlooking critical clauses like safeguarding protected health information (PHI) and ensure stronger agreements that support both operational excellence and patient outcomes.

15. Integrate contract management into your CRM

Connecting your contract system with your healthcare CRM allows you to bring diverse contracts, such as physician agreements, payer contracts, or vendor partnerships, under the same umbrella.

The unified platform acts as a single source of truth that every department, with proper access control, can use when they need contract insights.

As everyone has shared visibility, your relationships with physicians, suppliers, and insurance partners also improve through shared visibility. And your teams can make faster decisions, and contract cycles can run faster.

The collaboration also eliminates compliance lapses, builds trust, and speeds up processes like provider onboarding, equipment purchases, and payer negotiations.

Best 10 contract management solutions for healthcare

Now managing contracts while finding a solution that follows all the best practices —  we understand you’ll be in hot water. To make things easier for you, we’ve done the legwork!

We reviewed trusted product review sites, analyzed data from the official websites of top tools, and consulted our dedicated product team. The result? A carefully curated list of the best HIPAA-compliant contract management solutions tailored for the healthcare sector.

1. Signeasy

Signeasy is your end-to-end contract management solution that fits right into your existing EHR or ERP system. This HIPAA-compliant contract management software is built to cater to the unique needs of healthcare professionals.

With Signeasy, healthcare teams can easily approve and share time-sensitive prescriptions and medical chartings or manage medical records securely on the cloud. Plus, it helps your hospital staff streamline onboarding processes from anywhere. The Signeasy app even includes facial recognition for document validation, adding an extra layer of security while keeping things simple.

Now, here are the features of Signeasy that will help you provide a trusting, seamless, and secure patient journey: 

Automate your workflow

• Reusable templates or forms: With Signeasy you can create templates for commonly used documents like patient intake and consent forms for medical procedures, treatment plans, or the release of health information.

• In-person signing on mobile devices: Patients can sign documents directly on tablets or smartphones during appointments, reducing wait times.

• Audit trails and real-time document tracking: Every signature action, from timestamps to identity verification, is recorded to ensure accountability and transparency.

• Seamless integration with existing tools: Signeasy connects with Gmail, Outlook, Microsoft 365, and Hubspot, embedding eSignature functionality into your existing workflows.

• Support for various document formats: Whether it’s a PDF, Word document, or Excel sheet, Signeasy supports 25+ file formats.
• Signeasy API: Automate repetitive by integrating Signeasy’s API right into your ERP or EHR system. With intuitive SDKs, faster integration, unlimited templates, embedded signing, embedded requests, and webhook support, Signeasy API lets you manage documents securely. Plus, you get great developer support and rock-solid security features, and better scalability for high-volume use cases.

• Cost-effective transparent pricing: Signeasy offers transparent pricing plans that grow with your business—starting at just $30/month. There are no hidden fees or surprises as you scale. With features like unlimited documents and advanced security, we deliver exceptional value without emptying your wallet. 

Enterprise-grade security 

• Compliant with key regulations: Signeasy meets HIPAA, ESIGN, GDPR and eIDAS regulations, offering encrypted document handling, audit trails, and authentication protocols to safeguard patient data.

• Tamper-proof digital signatures: Ensure your documents remain secure and authentic at all times.

• Single Sign-On (SSO): Log in effortlessly with one set of credentials while maintaining robust security.

• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Add an extra layer of protection, granting access only to authorized users.

• Advanced user management: Control access with fine-grained permissions, ensuring sensitive documents are securely shared with the right people.

Advance reporting and customization  

• Analytics and insights: Get a bird’s-eye view of signing activities, including metrics like completion rates and document status, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

• Custom branding options: Add your organization’s logo to contracts and forms, enhancing professionalism while maintaining compliance.

AI capabilities 

• Ask AI for instant insights: get instant answers to your contract-related queries. Retrieve the most relevant information from your contracts to speed up your review and analysis process.

• Key terms review: Spot patient confidentiality clauses or data-sharing permissions in complex, legal contracts. Make informed decisions faster, without missing any important details. 

• AI-powered summaries: Get a clear, easy-to-read, and concise gist of your agreement. 

• Renewal reminders: Automatically tracks critical dates, like expiring consent forms or contract renewals. Get timely alerts so you’re never caught off guard.

Dedicated ongoing support

• 24/7 customer support: Dedicated support teams are always there for you to resolve technical issues, ensuring smooth and uninterrupted operations.

• Continuous updates: Regular software upgrades bring new features and improved functionality.

• Guidance and resources:  Get access to personalized help, support articles, webinars, and video guides to optimize contract management workflows as your organization scales.

2. Docusign

Docusign is a trusted contract lifecycle management tool that helps you streamline your contract lifecycle to enhance patient experiences. Docusign is a great fit for large organizations and enterprises with extensive contract management needs. 

With over 400 integrations, you can easily connect Docusign to your existing systems to automate workflows and boost efficiency. Plus, you can rest easy knowing that your patient data is secure and compliant thanks to its tamper-proof audit trails, encryption, and strict adherence to HIPAA, BAAs, and CMS requirements. Moreover, your clinical research teams will love Docusign for its FDA-compliant documentation. 

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room— cost. While many users rave about Docusign's robust features, it can be a bit on the pricier side compared to other options out there. This is something to consider if you're a growing business, especially since advanced features can come with extra charges, which might stretch a tight budget. 

Docusign features healthcare teams love

• Secure, mobile-friendly, and accessible forms for smooth patient intake and consent.
• Built to meet strict regulatory standards like HIPAA, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, and CMS.
• Simplified workflows with reusable templates, pre-filled forms, and bulk sending.
• Automatically sync forms and data with existing systems to reduce manual effort.
• Handles complex documentation with ease, ensuring full regulatory compliance.

3. PandaDoc

PandaDoc is another great alternative for healthcare organizations looking for a comprehensive, budget-friendly contract management solution. Users also love its intuitive interface. The admin portal is designed to be simple and easy for both staff and patients. 

For healthcare teams, having features like embedding forms directly on PandaDoc’s site and online notarization can simplify the operational process. Patients can sign and notarize documents remotely with a state-commissioned notary within minutes.

PandaDoc’s Business Plan ($49 per seat/month) is tailored for teams managing sales proposals and integrated workflows. It includes advanced features like custom quotes and sales agreements, CRM integrations, approval workflows, web forms, and bulk sending. This is the most popular choice for growing teams needing more robust contract management tools. 

However, it’s worth noting that some users have flagged minor issues with document prep, like aligning fillable fields and limited zoom options while editing. PandaDoc is perfect for organizations looking for a nice mix of features and clear pricing. However, if you have more complex needs or are considering premium plans, it’s a good idea to weigh the cost against your needs.

PandaDoc features healthcare teams love

• Budget-friendly and transparent, with no hidden surprises.
• From eSignature to payment- 360‑degree agreement management solution. 
• Simple to use for both staff and patients, whether in-person or remote.
• HIPAA, E-SIGN, and UETA compliant with separate workspaces for controlled data access.
• Embed forms on your website to collect patient data and payments seamlessly.
• Patients can sign and notarize documents online within minutes.

4. Dropbox Sign (formerly HelloSign)  

Dropbox Sign is an intuitive and secure healthcare contract management solution designed to simplify document workflows and enhance team collaboration. 

Ideal for healthcare providers, startups, and anyone using Dropbox for file management. This tool integrates seamlessly into your existing systems. With the option for API integration and a simple web app, Dropbox Sign offers convenient embedded signing features, customizable templates, and branding options to meet your professional needs. 

Plus, it’s designed with HIPAA compliance in mind, making it a great choice for managing sensitive healthcare documents with ease.

While Dropbox Sign has some great features, it does have a few areas that could be improved. For larger teams, it can be a bit limiting since the standard plan only supports up to four users. If you’re looking for advanced options like single sign-on (SSO), contract performance dashboards, or multi-team, you might need to explore other solutions. 

Also, some users feel that the pricing and transparency could be enhanced, particularly for businesses in need of more comprehensive contract management tools.

So, if your organization needs advanced team features, scalability, or competitive pricing, exploring alternatives might be a better choice.

Dropbox Sign features healthcare teams love

• Simplifies recurring document preparation with customizable templates.
• Includes SMS authentication and signer access codes for secure transactions.
• Maintains a non-editable log of actions for each document, ensuring compliance and tracking.
• Meets privacy standards for managing PHI and offers a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).
• Provides secure, encrypted storage with flexible retention policies.
• Enables streamlined workflows for multiple signers, with options for sequential or simultaneous signing.

5. SignNow 

SignNow is perfect for businesses looking for an affordable, user-friendly eSignature tool with secure contract management workflows. As part of the airSlate Business Cloud, SignNow provides HIPAA-compliant workflows, advanced security features, and user-friendly tools that make it easier to enhance your patient experience.

SignNow offers great security features like SOC 2 compliance and two-factor authentication to keep your sensitive information safe. On the downside, it lacks some of the more advanced document editing tools and AI features, which might be something to think about if you’re after more automation. 

SignNow  features healthcare teams love

• Save time by reusing forms for consistent and quick document creation.
• Manage and sign documents on the go with iOS and Android apps.
• Protects data with SSL/TLS encryption, SOC 2, HIPAA compliance, and multi-factor authentication.
• Tracks every step of the signing process for transparency and legal enforceability.
• Share and collaborate on documents with role-based permissions.

6. Ntracts

Caption: Ntracts homepage showing healthcare contract lifecycle management solution

Alt -  Homepage of Ntracts healthcare contract management software

Ntracts is a dedicated contract lifecycle management (CLM) platform for healthcare providers, hospitals, health systems, and physician groups.

The platform simplifies contract oversight for healthcare players, with tailored features such as centralized storage, AI-powered data extraction, automated workflows, in-app document editing, eSsignatures, role-based access, data dashboards, and audit trails. One of the key highlights of Ntracts is its dedicated customer support team that enjoys over 98% customer retention.

It also offers a transparent pricing structure with a flexible subscription that offers unlimited users, contracts, and technical support. 

Contract features that healthcare service teams love:

• Healthcare-specific workflows built for physician agreements and payer contracts
• Centralized, searchable contract repository for complete visibility
• HIPAA-compliant platform with role-based access controls to protect patient data
• Decision-tree intake forms to cut contract creation time by up to 90%
• Automated reminders for renewals and compliance deadlines to avoid lapses

7. Zoho Contracts

Zoho Contracts is a comprehensive contract management system that helps improve compliance, streamline contract lifecycle, mitigate risks, and ensure cross-functional collaboration.

The platform is ideal for managing all your healthcare contracts under a unified platform. From managing custom templates to drafting contracts and terminating them when the time comes, Zoho Contracts helps you throughout. The platform integrates with ChatGPT for contextual, AI-driven insights to reduce legal dependencies and risks.

Using Zoho Contracts, healthcare businesses can also monitor commitments and ensure their delivery with obligation management. You can also track key milestones to ensure committed vendor performance as per the contract.

Zoho Contract features that healthcare teams love:

• Contextual obligation module to minimize revenue leakage via failed renewals and drive revenue from each contract.
• Automated approval workflows and legally approved templates to improve compliance.
• Vast clause library with pre-approved languages to quickly draft compliant contracts.
• Configurable approval workflows to approve contracts quickly by including the right approvers only.
• Robust version control features to compare different versions of contracts and review changes.

8. CobbleStone Software

CobbleStone Contract Insight is an enterprise contract lifecycle management software for businesses of all sizes. 

It helps manage healthcare contracts, like physician agreements, medical equipment vendor contracts, payer contracts, BAAs, etc., from drafting to approval. 

The platform offers AI-powered data extraction, robust automation, and bulk e-signatures to reduce risk and maintain complete visibility over critical agreements. 

Healthcare providers can also use contract data merge with HIPAA-compliant and other contract templates for faster drafting. 

Despite its extensive capabilities, CobbleStone Contract Insight software is very easy to use. Its intuitive UI makes it easier for adoption across diverse healthcare settings.

CobbleStone features healthcare teams love:

• HIPAA-compliant storage and role-based access controls to safeguard PHI and sensitive terms
• VISDOM AI and IntelliXtract to automatically extract clauses, dates, terms, and obligations from large volumes of contracts
• Customizable healthcare workflows for physician agreements, payer contracts, vendor agreements, and research partnerships
• Unlimited contract space to store any number of physician agreements, medical supplies vendor contracts, staff  agreements, and payer contracts
• Secure distribution of healthcare files across different stakeholders for one-click access and automated approvals

9. ContractWorks

ContractWorks is a healthcare contract management tool for hospitals, clinics, health systems, and research organizations. It is ideal for organizations that need faster contract management software deployment without a huge IT overload.

It offers an intuitive interface for healthcare providers to centralize agreements and track milestones. It also helps healthcare businesses meet compliance requirements without the complexity of enterprise CLM tools.

The tool comes with HIPAA-ready safeguards, AWS-hosted security, and unlimited user access. These features make the platform ideal to manage sensitive contracts like physician agreements, payer contracts, BAAs, and vendor agreements.

ContractWorks features that healthcare teams love:

• HIPAA-ready security, encryption, audit, and activity logs to protect PHI across healthcare contracts
• Custom alerts for healthcare contract renewals or Medicare/Medicaid reporting deadlines
• Drag-and-drop document upload to centralize healthcare contracts from legacy systems or scattered department files
• Unlimited users and storage, so every department, such as clinical, legal, and finance, has visibility to contracts
• Visual milestone tracking dashboards to monitor payer benchmarks and compliance status quickly

10. Agiloft

Agiloft offers a no-code CLM platform for hospitals, health systems, payer networks, and clinical research organizations. The platform also streamlines managing physician agreements, payer contracts, pharmaceutical and medical equipment suppliers, and staff contracts to reduce inefficiencies and delays in care delivery.

The software offers configurable workflows, AI-driven clause search, and seamless integrations with EHR and ERP systems for efficient cycle management.

With its AI-first automation and HIPAA-grade security, Agiloft ensures end-to-end contract management while ensuring regulatory compliance.

Agiloft features that healthcare teams love:

• AI-search to locate clauses and terms from physician contracts, payer contracts, vendor agreements, etc., during audits
• HIPAA-compliant storage and access controls to safeguard PHI in BAAs, vendor, staff, and physician agreements
• Obligation alerts and milestone tracking for healthcare contract renewals, expirations, and audit deadlines
• Data-driven dashboards and analytics for visibility into physician, vendor, and payment contracts performance
• Out-of-the-box integrations with 1,000+ systems, including EHRs and procurement tools

Measuring success: KPIs for healthcare contract management

Implementing contract management in your healthcare business is just the beginning. Even if you use the best tools and adopt the best practices, without properly measuring their progress, improvements can still take longer than expected to happen.

Here are the top 5 KPIs you can use to measure the success of your healthcare contract management efforts.

1. Contract cycle time metrics

Contract cycle time measures how long it takes to move an agreement from initiation to final signature.

You can calculate this using a simple formula:

Contract cycle time = Contract completion date – Contract initiation date

Tracking this contract cycle time metrics helps identify bottlenecks, such as:

1. Slow internal approvals
2. Stalled vendor onboarding
3. Delays in equipment procurement
4. Back-and-forth negotiations

Identifying these issues helps you build strategies, such as digital workflows, automated reminders, etc., to resolve them.

2. Compliance rates and audit results

Compliance rates show how many of your contracts comply with healthcare regulations, such as HIPAA, Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, and local laws. 

Here is a simple formula to calculate the compliance rate:

(Total number of contracts - Non-compliant contracts) / (Total contracts)] x 100

For example, if you have a strong compliance score, it means that your contracts are:

• Properly documented
• Effectively managed
• Regularly reviewed
• Well-structured

On the other hand, if you have poor scores, it means your contracts have:

1. Missing clauses
2. Outdated templates
3. Weak version control
4. Poor collaboration

It shows where you need to work on to improve compliance to avoid potential penalties.

3. Cost savings and revenue optimization

By tracking cost savings and revenue optimization KPIs, healthcare organizations can see how effective contract management lowers expenses and maximizes revenue.

For example, poorly monitored medical supplier contract terms can lead to overpayments to the supplier or missed early-payment discounts with vendors.

Efficient healthcare contract management helps you:

• Understand impact of vendor performance on revenue
• Secure better pricing on medical equipment and services
• Capture all billable care services accurately to avoid revenue leakage
• Lock in payment schedules aligned with cash flow needs  from payers

And when negotiating renewals or new agreements, you use this data to secure more favorable contract terms from healthcare payers and suppliers.

4. Healthcare vendor performance indicators

Vendor performance indicators measure how well different vendors deliver on the commitments in their contracts with healthcare providers, such as:

• Timely delivery of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals
• Fulfillment of agreed-upon service and supply terms
• Compliance with healthcare regulations and quality standards
• Quality and responsiveness of support and maintenance services

Monitoring these commitments through healthcare vendor or supplier KPIs makes it easier to compare performance against the terms in the contract and between vendors.

It will help you choose to work with the best-performing medical equipment or pharmaceutical supplier to avoid risks, like delays in care delivery or compliance issues.

For example, if you work with multiple suppliers for medical equipment, one KPI to track would be the timely delivery of equipment. If a contractor consistently misses the delivery date, you can go with another supplier who always delivers on time.

5. Risk mitigation effectiveness

Risk mitigation effectiveness measures how well contract management minimizes risks.

In healthcare, risks often involve compliance gaps, patient data breaches, medical errors, or disruptions in critical services. These issues arise when contract terms are vague, such as unclear responsibilities of vendors or physicians or missing privacy clauses.

Failing to monitor contracts for risk mitigation can expose healthcare providers to costly lawsuits, regulatory penalties, and damage to their reputation.

By tracking this KPI, you can:

• Reduce risk exposure to your healthcare business
• Ensure contracts clearly define the obligations of payers or medical suppliers
• Have contingency plans to address issues promptly

This helps you prevent risks from occurring and protects both patient safety and organizational integrity if issues arise.

Regulatory compliance in healthcare contracting

Regulations in healthcare protect not just financial or operational interests but, most importantly, patient safety and privacy.

For example, a patient’s Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order must be strictly followed, as ignoring it can lead to prolonged suffering. Without legally binding regulations or guidance in place, the rights of patients may be overlooked, leading to continued suffering or pain.

The following regulations and compliance requirements ensure autonomy and the rights of patients are not violated. They also ensure penalties for lapses from healthcare providers, payers, equipment suppliers, physicians, and healthcare staff.

Here are the most important regulatory compliance requirements in the healthcare sector:

1. HIPAA and Business Associate Agreements (BAAs)

HIPAA safeguards patients’ protected health information (PHI) by setting strict privacy and security rules. Any vendor handling PHI must also sign a BAA, which outlines their responsibilities for protecting that data.

2. FDA regulations for medical device contracts

Contracts involving the manufacture, distribution, or servicing of medical devices must comply with FDA standards. This helps ensure devices meet safety, quality, and performance standards.

3. State and local healthcare regulations

Apart from central laws, healthcare providers must comply with state-specific rules for licensing, facility operations, hiring, and reimbursement guidelines. These regulations can vary widely between jurisdictions.

4. International compliance

Healthcare organizations operating across borders, especially in the EU, must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which governs how personal data is collected, stored, shared, protected, and used. Beyond GDPR, organizations also need to align with the UK Data Protection Act, ISO 27799 standards for health information security, and rules governing cross-border data transfers such as adequacy decisions or standard contractual clauses (SCCs). Noncompliance can lead to steep financial penalties and reputational damage, making global data governance a critical part of healthcare operations.

Common contract types in healthcare and best practices

Here are the most common types of contracts in healthcare and the best practices you must adopt to ensure better contract management.

Case studies: Healthcare organizations improving contract management

Here are three businesses in the healthcare industry that have improved their productivity, compliance, and speed of service delivery.

Case Study #1: San Diego Eye Bank enables remote workflows

Client’s challenges

The San Diego Eye Bank’s paper-based process couldn’t keep pace with remote operations. It slowed down approvals on patient agreements, lab documents, and legal forms.

• Industry: Healthcare
• Location: San Diego, CA
• Size: 50–100 employees

Signeasy use cases

• Remote document handling, Microsoft Teams integration, enhanced compliance

The outcome after using Signeasy

• Seamless remote signature capture across all documents
• Easy collaboration with quick Microsoft Teams integration
• Significant time savings for everyone involved

Here is what the Executive Director of San Diego Eye Bank, Dhore Anunciado, had to say about using Signeasy:

Case Study #2: Neuropath increases productivity by 60%

Client’s challenges

NeuroPath Behavioral Healthcare relied on emails, printers, and scanners for hiring documentation. This had burdened both staff and new hires with a slow, error-prone process.

• Industry: Healthcare
• Location: Union, NJ
• Size: 50–100 employees

Signeasy use cases

• Streamlined patient/hiring workflows, Freshteam integration, templated offer letters

The outcome after using Signeasy

• Productivity increased by 60% by automating repetitive tasks
• Templates reduce manual data entry and improve accuracy
• Minimal setup ensured rapid, frictionless onboarding

Here is what the NeuroPath team had to say about using Signeasy:

Case Study #3: Truepill processes prescriptions within minutes

Client’s challenges

Truepill needed to streamline prescription workflows, such as getting approvals from busy clinicians, generating compliant documentation, and delivering efficient patient services. And they want to do it all without reliance on slow, outdated tools like fax or email.

• Industry: Healthcare
• Location: Hayward, CA
• Size: 501–1,000 employees

Signeasy use cases

• Prescription sign-off automation, patient consent workflows, eSignature API integration

The outcome after using Signeasy

• Doctors can now sign prescriptions in seconds without training.
• eSignature API integrated seamlessly in just three days.

Here is what the Managing Director of Truepill, Shakil Ahmed, had to say about using Signeasy:

Improve your patient and staff experience with Signeasy 

Centralizing contracts, streamlining vendor performance, automating workflows, and ensuring compliance with regulations like HIPAA and Stark Law always sound simple in theory. But putting these best practices into action — and making sure they’re followed consistently — can be a challenge in complex healthcare environments.

That’s exactly what Signeasy delivers. Our solution truly checks all the boxes with contract management capabilities built for healthcare teams, including:

• HIPAA-compliant workflows to protect patient data and meet regulatory requirements effortlessly
  
• Role-based access controls so only authorized staff can view or edit sensitive contracts
  
• Seamless eSignature workflows that speed up vendor, payer, and provider contract execution
  
• Centralized, searchable contract repository for quick access to any document, anytime
  
• Automated reminders for renewals, expirations, and compliance deadlines
  
• Integrations with your existing healthcare systems for smooth adoption and a unified source of truth on contract data
  

There you go! Stick to these best practices, and you’ll be all set to streamline your contract management process, lighten the load for your admin team, and create a fantastic experience for both your patients and staff.

So why not give Signeasy a try? Your team and patients will love it!