A year into COVID-19 and the world is still in adjustment mode. The ongoing pandemic has inadvertently required industries to operate in a remote work environment. This abrupt change has intensified the significance of relying on electronic signatures, in place of “wet ink” signatures.
Traditional “wet ink” signatures have become complex and are seen as unsuitable in the present COVID-19 situation. It is no longer considered “safe” to connect with people and collect signatures in person.
If there’s one industry that can leverage the benefits of contactless signatures, that's the healthcare industry. Read to find out how healthcare can extend contactless care by using electronic signatures for COVID-19 consent forms.
Need for digital transformation in healthcare
Whether it’s routine care or a surgical procedure, hospitals and clinics are largely dependent on manual processes for paperwork. With COVID-19 placing unparalleled demand on modern healthcare systems, there’s an urgent need for the healthcare industry to build resilience and capacity through innovation.
It’s no secret that healthcare institutions are overwhelmed with paperwork. From filling patient intake forms to purchase orders to maintaining medical records, there is a mountain of paperwork that they deal with on a daily basis. For healthcare providers, their main concern is to take care of their patients, not be weighed down by paperwork. Hence, there’s an overwhelming need to streamline patient workflows and automate predictable and repetitive processes to provide better patient care.
Many institutions such as NeuroPath Behavioral Healthcare, Truepill, and UPenn PRC have already put electronic signature solutions in place that effectively eliminate the need for filling in paper forms and scanning.
Safety tip: Try out Signeasy’s affordable eSignature solution to see how much it can save you time and effort in securing consent: Click here for a 14-day free trial.
What is a COVID-19 consent form and how Signeasy can help
A COVID-19 patient consent form is a document that informs patients about the risks of receiving medical care during the pandemic. Usually, these forms are signed in-person with wet ink by the patient or their representative. However, this approach is not ideal since it requires in-person contact, which goes against the recommended social distancing protocols.
Asking every patient to physically sign a consent form also means developing a capacity to handle large volumes of paperwork. In almost all cases, this approach is unscalable.
Thanks to Signeasy, healthcare institutions can now implement contactless signature collection for COVID-19 consent forms. Whether you are conducting patient intake or seeking consent for a COVID-19 antibody test, you can use our simple eSignature solution to get the job done quickly and safely.
Why contactless eSignatures work better
There are many reasons why eSigning COVID-19 consent forms is beneficial to both the signer and the healthcare system.
    Safety: The fact that you do not have to meet physically to collect signatures on a consent form already minimizes social contact and therefore the risk of transmission. Also, the forms are delivered through a secure link, meaning safe data handling and a reduced chance of misplacing the form during processing.
    Speed: Signing forms using electronic signatures ensures faster delivery, as the need for travel or in-person contact is eliminated. The result: a quicker response from healthcare practitioners and better patient care.
    Cost-efficient: No printing and scanning means no paper, ink, and other related supplies. This reduces operating costs, making healthcare systems more efficient.
    Simple to implement: Signeasy integrates seamlessly into existing systems and is very easy for staff to learn and use. This leads to better organization and enhanced productivity.
   Legally binding signatures: Signeasy signatures are ESIGN Act & eIDAS compliant.
