signatures

For users or potential users.
Post Reply
User avatar
Joseph Laudie
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:57 pm
Contact:

signatures

Post by Joseph Laudie » Tue Jan 22, 2013 1:33 pm

one of our insurance carriers is requiring that notes be signed or that there be a digital signature. Topaz sig pads could be used, but as far as I can tell if I leave a note when I'm signed in, my user name is recorded next to the note - is that sufficient?

boboffice
Posts: 89
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 7:11 am
Location: Poway, San Diego County, CA

Re: signatures

Post by boboffice » Tue Jan 22, 2013 8:05 pm

Joseph Laudie wrote:one of our insurance carriers is requiring that notes be signed or that there be a digital signature. Topaz sig pads could be used, but as far as I can tell if I leave a note when I'm signed in, my user name is recorded next to the note - is that sufficient?
You can "sign" with the mouse.
Robert Marcus DMD
Univ. of CT '93
Poway, CA

User avatar
jsalmon
Posts: 1551
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 12:33 pm
Contact:

Re: signatures

Post by jsalmon » Wed Jan 23, 2013 8:49 am

It's just not legally binding when you sign with the mouse. So don't plan on having patients sign things that way if you choose to do that.
The best thing about a boolean is even if you are wrong, you are only off by a bit.

Jason Salmon
Open Dental Software
http://www.opendental.com

boboffice
Posts: 89
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 7:11 am
Location: Poway, San Diego County, CA

Re: signatures

Post by boboffice » Wed Jan 23, 2013 1:41 pm

jsalmon wrote:It's just not legally binding when you sign with the mouse. So don't plan on having patients sign things that way if you choose to do that.
I have read this elsewhere in the OD dental literature, but must disagree. There is no legal difference between mouse and pad-created signatures. Reference: http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra/zalenski.shtm (BTW, I'm no lawyer and this is not legal advice. We went through this with SoftDent and this was the outcome).

That said, mouse signatures are hard to create. So I use Topaz pads for patients when they should sign something. My staff and I use the mouse to "sign" notes.
Robert Marcus DMD
Univ. of CT '93
Poway, CA

User avatar
jordansparks
Site Admin
Posts: 5739
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2007 3:59 pm
Location: Salem, Oregon
Contact:

Re: signatures

Post by jordansparks » Wed Jan 23, 2013 7:12 pm

You can use either a stylus on a touch screen or you can use a Topaz pad. In either case, you end up with a signature that can be proven by a forensics expert to be yours. If you sign with a mouse, you can't prove it was you. It may still be legally binding, just like clicking a checkbox or typing out your name. But nobody can prove that it was you that did it.

But if you're using it just to satisfy the insurance company, then by all means use a mouse. It's legal and it fulfills their requirement.
Jordan Sparks, DMD
http://www.opendental.com

Post Reply