The hidden friction points in patient onboarding

From day clinics to hospitals, leading healthcare organisations prioritise one thing above all else: the delivery of high-quality care. They invest in state-of-the-art medical equipment. They seek out talented clinical staff. And they focus on ways to keep patients comfortable and safe. 

Often, though, there’s one thing that gets overlooked. And that’s onboarding. While this administrative chore may feel disconnected from the patient experience, it’s not. In fact, the hidden friction points that arise during the onboarding process can erode patient trust, waste valuable staff time, and introduce unnecessary risk. 

Let’s look at why all healthcare providers should be swapping the clipboard for more streamlined, simple sign-ups.

The problem with paper-based patient intake forms

Patient intake processes are often plagued by manual steps, which are frustrating for your team and unnecessarily stressful for your patients. 

Think about that moment a new patient walks through the door. They’re likely feeling anxious or unwell, and their upcoming treatment is top of mind. The last thing they want to see when they get to the desk is a clipboard with a stack of forms to fill out. Particularly if the forms keep asking for the same details, or for information that the patient didn’t bring with them. Filling out forms can be stressful and tedious, adding to the patient’s overall sense of unease.

Then, the (often incomplete) form gets handed back to the receptionist, who has to decipher the (often) messy handwriting and key it all into the system. The receptionist might have to call the patient back up because they’ve entered something incorrectly or left something out. Or, they might inadvertently make mistakes when transcribing the data from paper to the electronic health record (EHR) system – and these mistakes might not get picked up until there’s a problem with billing or, worse, an issue with the treatment.

Patients prefer a digital onboarding experience 

Imagine, instead, that a patient can enter all their personal information from the comfort of home, right when they book the appointment. They can grab their insurance details from whichever file or drawer they keep them in; and they can quickly prove their identity using an online verification method. It’s all done quickly and seamlessly, at a time when the patient is less likely to be anxious, and more likely to have all the info they need at hand. 

Filling out forms digitally is a great way to pick up any errors. For example, if you’re asking for a Medicare number, a smart form can prevent the patient from entering the wrong number of digits. It can also guide the user to enter it in the correct format of XXXX-XXXX-X. It’s all about making sure that critical fields are entered correctly and completely. 

Docusign Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM) is built for scenarios like this. It transforms tedious, manual forms into simple, guided e-forms that patients can complete anywhere – at home on their mobile device or on a tablet in your waiting room.

Using Docusign, you can: 

• Reduce the risk of errors: Digital forms can be configured to be 100% complete before submission. Patients are guided through the required fields, ensuring every line is filled out and legible.

• Automatically integrate with EHR: Once signed, form data can be automatically extracted and sent to your existing EHR and back-end systems. This eliminates manual transcription, drastically reduces errors, and frees up your staff for higher-value tasks.

• Improve the patient experience: By receiving and completing forms before their appointment, your patients arrive at your clinic or facility ready for care, not paperwork. It’s a calmer, more welcoming start to their care journey.

To ensure compliance and security, Docusign also provides verification tools so that patients can easily confirm their identity. Plus, every agreement is accompanied by a tamper-proof audit trail and a Certificate of Completion – giving you a transparent, legally binding record of the patient’s identity and their consent.

Ultimately, the quality of care starts with the quality of the experience. By modernising and digitising the administrative element of patient onboarding, you’re building a strong foundation of trust and efficiency for all your future patient interactions. 

To learn more about how Docusign IAM can help improve the patient onboarding experience, please get in touch.