Signing a Form

Generally there are two groups of people who need to sign forms: medical staff and patients. With proper setup, the Signing Tool can be used to meet both needs.

Medical staff can create and save a signature that can be applied to forms as needed. Patients can use the tool in conjunction with a compatible signature device to sign documents in real time. Tip: when the form requires the signature of a patient, it may expedite the signing process to provide the patient with a printed version to review in advance.

The Signing Tool window is also available from Utility > Personal Preferences > Signatures.

Note: The SYSTOC Forms Workspace uses a different set of tools than the Tap2Chart Workspace. See Tap2Chart documentation for details.

To sign a form using the Signature Tool to apply either a stored signature or a signature captured in real time with a signature pad:

  1. From any orders grid, open the form that needs to be signed.
  2. Click Signing Tool () on the toolbar at the top of the forms workspace to display the Signature window.
    1. If the form contains fields for more than one signature (for example, both a physician field and a patient signature field), select the appropriate field from the Form Signature Field drop-down list.
    2. To apply a stored signature, click the Saved Signatures/Images tab. Select the appropriate signature from the Select a Signature drop-down list and click Apply to Form (the signature is applied and the window stays open) or Apply and Close (the signature is applied and the window closes). If your signature does not display in the list, you may need to create and save it. See Creating and Saving a Signature for Future Use.

      Signing Tool

    3. To apply a signature that you are capturing with a signature device, click the Signature Device tab to access the capture screen. Note: if no device is connected to the workstation, the tab displays No Signature Device Detected.

      Signing Tool

      1. Select a value for Pen Width. A value between 6 and 10 generally works well; it can be changed after signing.
      2. Sign your name with the signature device (or instruct the patient to sign). As you sign, your signature displays in the capture window.
      3. If you are not satisfied with the signature, click Clear and try again.
      4. If the signature is acceptable, select either Apply to Form (the signature is applied and the window stays open) or Apply and Close (the signature is applied and the window closes).
  3. If there is a Date field adjacent to the signature field on the form, click in it to enter the date of signing.
  4. Click Save.
  5. If the form is complete and you have the authority to do so, flatten it so that no alterations can be made (see Flattening Forms for more information).
Note: Signatures can be removed from a form after they are applied, but only if the form has not been flattened.