e-Signing and Locking of Completed charts
Completed clinical notes can now be electronically signed and locked to prevent further modifications. Under this scheme, completed notes can be modified; however, if they have been signed and locked, no further modification will be permitted.
Versions that support e-signature
e-Signature is available in the modern charting tool version, in which the progress note font is set to ‘Modern’.
How to e-Sign and Lock
There are two places in EHR from which providers can e-sign and lock the charts.
1. From the charting action screen:
2. From the Visit Hx Screen:
Who can e-Sign
Only the rendering provider can e-sign and lock the clinical note. Additionally, if the provider is a mid-level, a supervising provider can be assigned to the provider, giving the ability for both the mid-level and the supervising to be co-signers for a note.
For the co-signing of the note, “Required on Chart” should be checked in the Provider Master screen and the supervising provider selected.
Disabling E-Signature
Users who prefer not to use the e-sign feature for specific encounter sheets can turn it off from the EHR Admin page. To configure this, go to EHR Admin > Encounter Sheets. Select the relevant encounter sheet and check the option Exclude E-Sign and Lock.
Clinical charts created using the encounter sheets excluded from e-sign will not appear in the Pending e-sign list, on the Review Center, the signed/unsigned indicators in the Visit History, and any other screens where this is normally indicated.
Key Points
* After e-signing and locking the note, the edit option will no longer be available on the Visit Hx and narration.
* A locked chart can be unlocked if needed. The ‘Unlock’ button will be visible to the provider who carried out the final locking on the chart.
* Details of e-sign can be viewed in the chart footer.
