Electronic forms, often called eForms, are an important part of record keeping in today’s healthcare organizations. eForms collect critical information on a digital device or computer so it can be safely used and easily stored. This data aids in registering new patients, outlining treatment plans, prescribing medications, and much more. Electronic forms may also capture electronic signatures using signing pads and tablets.
This blog explores the ways eForms benefit hospitals or physician offices. It sheds light on the issues electronic forms solve and shows real-world examples of where they have been used. Read on to learn how eForms can improve and streamline your record keeping tasks.
Streamline Record Keeping in Healthcare
An important method for gathering sensitive patient information, health care forms require constant management. Whether eForms or physical forms, they need to be stored, reviewed and updated on a regular basis to meet hospital needs and changing regulations.
Electronic forms are quick and simple to update. However, physical forms present significant concerns:
- Paper stock must be stored for printing, which increases operating costs and requires storage space.
- Time from administrative staff is required to store forms, eliminate old versions, print new forms and restock.
- Existing physical forms that have been replaced must be destroyed so staff do not mistakenly use them in internal processes.
Electronic forms free administrative staff from these physical cataloging tasks. They also eliminate the need for storage space dedicated to forms and reduce costs associated with purchasing paper products. Even better, modifications to forms are immediate and widespread across the system with eForms.
Ultimately, electronic forms allow healthcare organizations to reimagine the user experience. Whether collecting sensitive patient data prior to an appointment or survey information after a patient visit, administrators can consider new ways to ease these requests for patients.
Simplify Data Entry for Administrative Staff
eForms can also be a source for simplified data input. Because they can be configured to only gather certain data, eForms are a much cleaner data collection tool than paper forms. Electronic forms can also be automatically sent to employees or patients, based on other actions taken in the system.
As an improved data collection method, eForms offer terrific benefits:
- Data from eForms can be repurposed and placed into HL7 messages, such as updating a field in an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system that an Advanced Directive is now on file.
- The data collected with eForms may be stored centrally for analysis by multiple departments.
- eForms are available in a variety of languages, providing an enhanced patient experience.
- Electronic forms can be programmed to automatically email forms to users or patients based on the data collected or changed within the eForms system. For example, when a pre-registration record is created in the EHR, the system can automatically email electronic registration forms to the patient.
Boost Security with eForms for Healthcare
With all the regulations in the healthcare industry, security is a constant concern. eForms provide much greater security than physical forms, giving healthcare organizations confidence that patient data is safe. Here are a few examples:
- When a patient signs an eForm it is immediately available to users on a variety of platforms without having to be physically moved from place to place. For instance, a completed waiver can be immediately forwarded to the attention of the head nurse in the department receiving the patient.
- Once a signature has been placed on an electronic form it is impossible to modify that form, making it a de facto standard for security.
- eForms are protected against unauthorized view; whereas a physical form sitting in a folder is available to anyone with access to it.
Medical Facilities Trust eForms by dbtech
Hospitals and physician offices rely on electronic forms to gather patient and employee data, store it safely to meet HIPAA regulations, and supply patient data across all platforms in the organization. dbtech provides eForm solutions that are easy to use and simple to update. Here are just a few medical facilities using dbtech’s eForms:
- A 200+ bed hospital in Greenwood, Mississippi uses eForms in all clinical departments to gather electronic signatures during patient registration. Although the medical facility still uses paper forms to collect patient data, the hospital relies on dbtech’s eForms platform to catalog and store the physical forms electronically. This protects patient health information (PHI) and saves space on storage of physical records.
- In Southern Georgia, a medical facility with four offices uses dbtech eForms to print all registration forms, including armbands, labels, face sheets and consent forms. They also have clinical forms available to print from eForms in case their EHR experiences a downtime event.
- Two acute-care facilities in a New Jersey hospital use dbtech eForms to gather and store data for Charity Care applications to assist under-insured patients. The dbtech solution is integral to the Patient Financial Services and Billing departments.
Have you considered an electronic forms solution? Are you interested in hearing how it can help you meet HIPAA compliance requirements, streamline processes, and save your staff a bunch of time? Want to learn more about managed eForms services?
Give the professionals at dbtech a call for a quick 15-minute discovery session. With decades of experience, they understand your needs and are ready to help.