Electronic Signature in Healthcare

Electronic signatures in healthcare are digital authentication mechanisms used to sign prescriptions, clinical documents, consent forms, and other medical records. Unlike simple electronic signatures such as typing a name or clicking a button, advanced electronic signatures in healthcare use public-key cryptography to create a verifiable, tamper-evident seal that binds the signer's identity to the document content.

Healthcare electronic signatures must meet stringent legal and regulatory requirements. In many jurisdictions, prescriptions for controlled substances require qualified or advanced electronic signatures backed by identity-proofed certificates and hardware-protected private keys. The signature must provide authentication (proof of who signed), integrity (proof the document was not altered after signing), and non-repudiation (the signer cannot deny having signed).

The signing workflow in a healthcare context typically involves the clinician reviewing the document, authenticating with multi-factor credentials, and initiating the signing operation. The system generates a cryptographic hash of the document content and signs that hash using the clinician's private key stored in a secure module. The resulting signature, along with the signing certificate and timestamp, is embedded in or attached to the document for later verification.

Healthcare organizations implementing electronic signature solutions must ensure compliance with regulations such as HIPAA, EPCS, the EU eIDAS Regulation, and country-specific requirements like Israel's DR-107. Formidable Care's eSign platform provides a complete electronic signature infrastructure purpose-built for healthcare, supporting high-volume prescription signing with regulatory-grade security.