Hi,

My hosptial is converting to paperless requistions and I wondered how other paperless facilities handle the patient signature for preop specimens stating they have not been transfused or pregnant within the last 3 months. Do you have a separate form for the patient to sign or is there a way for them to sign "electronically".

Thanks!

I don't think that they could give an electronic signature, unless they had their own unique password. If they didn't, then the electronic signature could be forged.

I MAY BE, AND PROBABLY AM, WRONG, AS I AM FAMOUS FOR BEING AN IT IDIOT.

Thanks Malcom. I couldn't find a standard or regulation regarding this but it looks like we will have to continue using paper.

We have a form that is completed by the phlebotomist who will ask the questions. The form is kept in the chart and a copy is sent to the blood bank. The answers to the questions are entered into our LIS. We do not require the patient to sign a statement that they have not been pregnant or transfused in the last 3 months.

Joan,

Is there any legal aspects of them not signing opposed to a question?

Not that I am aware. Perhaps other readers know????

I'm afraid there is no such thing as a "paperless" system, at least not for the foreseeable future. The best you can hope for is "paper reduced".

Having said that, I personally see not problem asking the question and then noting in the patient's record; "Patients states the have / have not been transfused or pregnant in the previous 3 months." A signature does not enhance memory I and can't tell you how many patients signed that they had not been transfused and during the search of previous records we discovered that they had been.

Saddly, it's an imperfect world.:raincloud

I can't see that a signature is legally binding them to anything. Our form requires one but I don't really know why. Been that way since before I came.

We use a form stating 'no blood and not pregnant in 90 days' that is signed by the patient at the time of specimen collection. An ID card is sent home with them and they present it when admitted for surgery. The card is then signed, with that signature being compared to the original form as a way of confirming the identity of the patient (specimen drawn from the same person we are seeing the day of surgery). We hope to begin scanning both into the EMR, so that they become part of the patient's chart. That's what happens to other pieces of paper relating to our patients, such as reference sendout reports and blood product requisitions (Blood Bank is still on paper - the rest of the hospital is electronic records). Once the image has been checked to make sure it scanned properly, the paper can be discarded unless regs require it to be maintained for a specific time.

Well, comparing signatures would be one useful purpose for collecting them.