Electronic communication methods certainly offer a lot of benefits for healthcare clinicians, but first be sure to learn about emails and compliance with the GDPR.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and it’s UK counterparts, the UK-GDPR and the Data Protection Act (DPA) have two broad requirements: to secure people’s data, and to make it easy for people to exercise control over their own data. Non-compliance for individuals and businesses can be very costly. Penalties are flexible and scale with the size of the firm but can be a hit as large as €20 million or 4% of global revenue.
Sending Emails and Texts to Patients
When it comes to the GDPR and privacy laws, it is important to understand how to remain secure while taking advantage of the benefits of more efficient communication. Healthcare providers and patients are both busy, which makes asynchronous communications that can be answered at any time a major convenience.
Obtaining Consent
Good news – the GDPR allows for electronic communications via email and text to individuals, however it does require consent before the messages are sent. For a consent to be valid, it must be:
- Knowingly and freely given
- Clear and specific to your organization and the type of communication you want to use.
- It must require some sort of positive action, such as ticking a box, clicking an icon, or sending an email – not a passive “opt in” type of communication.
- Able to be easily withdrawn by the individual at any time.
Businesses must also keep clear records of exactly what each person has consented to, as well as when and how the consent was obtained. This data must be maintained in order to show compliance with the GDPR as needed, or in the event of a patient complaint.
Once practices have established their consent process, implementing electronic intake forms is easy.
Why Send Electronic Intake Form Packets?
Obtaining patient information electronically prevents a variety of issues that practices often face:
- Incomplete forms
- Illegible answers
- No time to review before the patient visit
- Longer wait times while patients complete forms
- More patients waiting = increased crowding and infection risks
- Administrative costs associated with filing and maintaining current information
- Outdated forms that need updating
- Secure storage for paper files
- Language barriers
- Difficulty contacting patients to clarify or correct information
- Manually printing and scanning forms into charts
By using FormDr intake form packets, a practice or business can introduce new efficiencies that maximize the time and effectiveness of physicians. These same features create higher patient satisfaction by reducing wait times and making GP visits more convenient. Patients can fill out name and demographics one time, and the information autocompletes throughout the intake packet – decreasing frustration and saving precious time.
Regardless of healthcare specialty and practice-specific needs, FormDr clients can customize intake packets. Form templates are offered for commonly used forms (and some not-so-common!) with more being added regularly. Fields can be designated as required form fields so that patients can’t accidentally skip important information. Patients are led through the packet, one form at a time, and can even stop and then pick up where they left off.
FormDr clients can easily keep track of patient progress towards completion, sending reminders and alerts prior to the appointment as designated.
Businesses need not be apprehensive about implementing electronic form technology in their practices. Technological tools are important for maintaining modern healthcare and staying connected with the patient population, while maintaining efficiency in an increasingly complex healthcare system. By establishing standard processes for obtaining consent, maintaining records, and educating patients about how their information is used, clinicians can ensure GDPR compliance while advancing the speed and efficiency of obtaining and accessing patient information.
For more information about how your practice can improve patient intake through electronic forms, contact the FormDr team for a demo and more information.
