Topaz's Healthcare Success Story: Compliant Electronic Signatures

CHALLENGE

To remain compliant with healthcare regulations while reducing costs, increasing productivity, and saving time

 Few industries document their customers as extensively as healthcare. A single hospital visit can generate several different admission forms taken at several different times, opening the way to data variations that can be difficult and costly to trace and correct. For example, a common healthcare document, the Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage or ABN, can cost a healthcare organization from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars in the event of a paper loss.

 Patient information must be highly secure, readily accessible, stored for years, and comply with complex government regulatory requirements.

 SOLUTION

Enter Topaz® Systems Electronic Signature Capture. One set of patient data captured electronically upon admission can instantaneously populate the forms of all health care providers. Medical charts can be updated and transmitted easily, preventing possible mistakes in treatment. Patient history can be quickly sorted for relevant information. Billing questions can be resolved onscreen.

The healthcare industry refers to these electronic records as Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Electronic Medical Records (EMR). According to HealthIT.gov, EHR/EMR provide benefits that transcend simply saving time and costs of paper records. They also allow healthcare providers to “track data over time, identify patients who are due for preventive visits and screenings, monitor how patients measure up to certain parameters, such as vaccinations and blood pressure readings, and improve overall quality of care in a practice.”

These benefits are possible with dozens of healthcare software vendors (ISVs) that support Topaz electronic signature pads, such as the popular healthcare software and kiosk organizations Epic, eClinicalWorks, Connected Technology Solutions, and OLEA. Topaz also provides a sign-in program, SignMeIn, which allows you to use the application as is for front-desk use or to develop your own healthcare application using the SDK.

In addition to software, Topaz hardware fits in seamlessly with healthcare guidelines for reducing the spread of infectious disease. With over tens of thousands of units deployed, the Topaz

T-LBK462-BSB-R is an EHR/EMR-approved pad that serves as a workhorse for hundreds of healthcare organizations. This adds to the over 2 million Topaz signature pads deployed overall since 1995. In addition, the T-LBK462-BSB-R makes Citrix deployment easy with native support for both XenApp and XenDesktop. Finally, Topaz’s GemGuard® Antimicrobial Pen uses silver-ion technology to reduce the spread of viruses and bacteria.

With multiple healthcare ISVs, unlimited support, the front-desk application SignMeIn, and healthcare-compatible hardware, Topaz serves the needs of healthcare organizations around the globe by allowing them to focus on what’s most important: the patient.

BENEFITS

eSignature Streamline Work Flow

1. Produce the digital original.
2. Review with the patient.
3. The patient signs on the digital original.
4. A copy is printed for the patient.
5. The digital document is indexed into the patient's digital file for future recall.

Pen & Paper Work Flow

1. Produce the digital document.
2. Print the document.
3. Review with the patient.
4. The patient signs the printed document.
5. A copy is printed for the patient.
6. The original document is scanned back into EHR/EMR.
7. The original is filed for future recall.
8. Destroy the paper records at the end of their life cycle (can be up to 30 years).

 Cost Reduction

With Topaz eSignatures, save on paper, consumables, maintenance, and record destruction costs.

Space-Saving

 Without the need for filing, Topaz eSignatures save you room in your healthcare organization office spaces, especially in file cabinet space.

Disaster Recovery

Original eSignatures are backed up and mirrored at disaster centers. Paper records cannot be saved from common disasters, such as flood and fire.

Original Document Recall

eDocuments and eSignatures are easy to recall, saving time. Paper records can be difficult to find depending on who filed them and how they were filed.