Our Charting Feature enables you to save, sign, and lock your charting notes. This article reviews what happens when you use the Sign option for charting notes.
In order for a therapist (provider) to Sign/Lock their own Charting Note, they need to have the correlating Permission for Charting enabled.
Charting Note Options
When editing a charting note, you'll notice a Save button on the top-right. While the platform automatically saves your charting notes, you can manually push the button to ensure your progress is saved.
Within the Save button, there is a drop-down selection with more Saving options:
Save and Close: therapist can save notes only, returning to edit, sign, or lock at any time.
Sign Note: therapist can add a digital signature to the note.
Lock Note: therapist can lock note and prevent further edits, apart from addendums
Sign & Lock: therapist can add a digital signature and lock the note, preventing further edits apart from addendums.
Sign a Chart Note
Signing a chart note allows the therapist to automatically add a timestamp to the charting note, along with an indication that they have electronically signed it. When other care team members view the charting note, they will see the indication that the charting note has been signed in the Chart Note History.
Open/Edit a charting note
Select the drop-down option next to Save
Select Sign Note
A chart note can only be signed by a single therapist one time. Once signed, the charting note can still be edited (as opposed to locking a charting note).
The Chart Note History will display the name and title of the therapist who signed the charting note, along with the date, and time, essentially adding a timestamp to the note.
Have Multiple Providers Sign a Chart Note
Any other team member that is added as a Care Team member for the client, is able to edit and/or sign the same charting note. Only therapists (providers, not support staff) may sign a charting note.
A history of all providers that have signed the charting note will be added to the Chart Note History.
FAQs
Can a chart note be edited after it is signed?
Yes, a charting note can still be edited.
Can the charting note be signed multiple times?
When making Chart Template types, therapists can add multiple signature fields so that multiple therapists can sign a chart note, so long as that follows the Chart Note template.
Adding multiple signature fields is different from using the "Sign Note" feature (which doesn't require you to have the signature field on the note).
On testing multiple therapists can "officially" sign a note. The second therapist needs to open/edit the existing note and select "Sign" from the drop-down options. The same therapists cannot sign the note multiple times though.
Can I prevent the note from being edited after being signed?
Yes, the chart note can be locked, which would prevent further edits from being made (you can add addendums only to the charting note).
Quick Tips
A signed charting note can still be edited, but it can be locked to prevent further edits, allowing only addendums to be added.
Adding an E-Signature field to a charting note is optional and does not automatically add a timestamp or update the Chart Note History.