Electronic Signatures

Transcription

1 GSG-103 Revision A Copyright 2009 ANTHC. All rights reserved. Purpose... 1 Audience... 1 Scope... 2 Introduction... 2 Security Considerations... 2 E-Signature Passphrase Technical Specifications... 3 Definitions... 3 E-Signature Formats... 4 Establishing Your E-Signature Passphrase... 5 Creating E-Sig Passphrase in tconsult Cart... 5 Creating E-Sig Passphrase in tconsult Web... 7 Changing Your E-Signature Passphrase... 9 Changing E-Sig Passphrase in tconsult Cart... 9 Changing E-Sig Passphrase in tconsult Web Signing a Form Signing a Form in tconsult Cart Signing a Form in tconsult Web Administrator Tasks Resetting an E-Signature Passphrase to Null Adding a Signature Field to a Form Purpose This document explains how to set up and use electronic signatures (e-signatures) in the AFHCAN tconsult Web and tconsult Cart software. Audience This document is written for users and administrators. Users create or change their own e-signature passphrase, which can be used to electronically sign forms. Administrators have the ability to reset a user s e-signature passphrase to a null value (blank) using the tconsult Web interface. GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 1 of 20

2 Scope This document is based on AFHCAN tconsult Web and tconsult Cart software, Version 5.0. The focus of this document is e-signatures and how to use them. At the time of this writing, the only place where e-signatures can be used in the AFHCAN software is on custom-designed forms. Introduction An e-signature serves the same purpose as signing a paper document with a pen: the presence of the signature is evidence that you personally authorized an action or verified some information. Security Considerations The e-signature feature utilizes a passphrase to authenticate your electronic signature. The presence of your e-signature on a form implies that you intentionally entered your passphrase and pressed a Sign button adjacent to the passphrase field. If your passphrase is sufficiently strong and known only to you, an electronic signature holds the same validity as a pen-and-ink signature. Note: In this document, the term password will refer to the user s login password, while the term passphrase will refer to the e-signature passphrase. In general, a passphrase is similar to a password. Good security practices require the use of a passphrase that cannot be guessed by people who know you (e.g., your pet s name). A strong passphrase will include numbers, special characters, randomly placed capital letters, etc. In the AFHCAN software, a system administrator can never discover or set your passphrase, he or she can only reset the passphrase to a null value (no characters). If your passphrase is null, the system guides you to establish a passphrase when a signature is called for. The e-signature passphrase is not the same as your login password. Note: Be aware that your login password is not considered strong if it can be easily guessed. With a weak or non-secure login password, someone else may be able to log into the AFHCAN system using your login credentials (username and login password), set your e-signature passphrase, and sign documents that you will be responsible for. AFHCAN recommends using a strong login password (as well as a strong e-signature passphrase) and keeping both confidential. AFHCAN also recommends that your login password and your e-signature passphrase be different. GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 2 of 20

3 E-Signature Passphrase Technical Specifications Table 1 lists the technical specifications of the e-signature passphrase. Table 1 Passphrase technical specifications Parameter maximum number of characters virtually unlimited Value minimum number of characters 1 permitted characters alphanumeric and special characters prohibited characters none 1 case sensitivity yes data entry checking no Note 1: The system will not accept a passphrase consisting of only space characters. Definitions Special terms and abbreviations used in this document are defined in Table 2. Table 2 Definitions of terms and acronyms Term or Acronym custom forms e-signature ES GMT login credentials login password null passphrase password standard forms tconsult Cart tconsult Web Definition forms created by administrators using the Forms Designer an electronic signature electronic signature Greenwich Mean Time (approximately the same as UTC below) the username / password combination entered by a user to gain access to a system or service the specific password associated with an assigned username the status of an information field when it contains no data whatsoever (the character obtained when the space bar is pressed is a blank space; it is considered a character and therefore is considered data) similar to a password, but potentially more complex, that pertains to electronic signatures a confidential sequence of letters, numbers, and other characters a user types in to gain access to a system or service forms created by AFHCAN and embedded within the AFHCAN software as a standard feature of the software (not user-editable) a software program installed on an AFHCAN Cart (or any personal computer) allowing AFHCAN cases to be created and sent to another provider for a consultation a user interface system allowing providers to receive, read, modify, and send AFHCAN cases via the internet GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 3 of 20

4 Term or Acronym username UTC Definition a name assigned by an administrator for use by a user during login Coordinated Universal Time (the acronym is based on a compromise with the French acronym for: Temps Universel Coordonné); UTC is the international reference for calculating the correct time in the world s various time zones (formerly called Greenwich Mean Time; also called Zulu time) E-Signature Formats Figures 1 and 2 show the structure and components of an e-signature on forms. Figure 1 Structure and components of an e-signature during data entry Figure 2 Structure and components of an e-signature on printed form GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 4 of 20

5 Establishing Your E-Signature Passphrase It is a good idea to establish your e-signature passphrase as soon as possible. Certain forms require a signature. If you enter information into a form before your e-signature passphrase has been established, you may get into a situation where the only way forward is to close the form without the signature. The form will be discarded along with all information entered. Establishing your e-signature passphrase applies only if the passphrase is null (blank). Your e-signature passphrase will be null if you have never established it, or if the administrator has reset it. Note: If your e-signature passphrase is null, you will be asked to enter your current login password along with your new passphrase. Note: Contact your organization s IT department for any guidance on creating and securing e-signature passphrases. Creating E-Signature Passphrase in tconsult Cart The following illustrations show how to establish your e-signature passphrase using the tconsult Cart software: Figure 3 Click on My Settings GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 5 of 20

6 Figure 4 Enter login password and e-signature passphrase Figure 5 Save the e-signature passphrase GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 6 of 20

7 Creating E-Signature Passphrase in tconsult Web The following illustrations show how to establish your e-signature passphrase using tconsult Web: Figure 6 Clicking on My Settings Figure 7 Clicking on E-Signature Tab GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 7 of 20

8 Figure 8 Enter login password and e-signature passphrase Figure 9 Activate the new e-signature password GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 8 of 20

9 Figure 10 Confirmation message Changing Your E-Signature Passphrase You always have the option to change your e-signature passphrase. Your organization s IT department may have recommendations or policies on how often a password needs to be changed. If you forget your e-signature passphrase, ask your administrator to reset it. Note: The security and confidentiality of your passphrase (and your password) is your responsibility. Change your passphrase any time there is a risk it has been compromised. Changing E-Signature Passphrase in tconsult Cart The following illustrations show how to change your e-signature passphrase using tconsult Cart: GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 9 of 20

10 Figure 11 Click on My Settings Figure 12 Enter old e-signature passphrase and new e-signature passphrase GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 10 of 20

11 Figure 13 Save the new e-signature passphrase Changing E-Signature Passphrase in tconsult Web The following illustrations show how to change your e-signature passphrase using tconsult Web: Figure 14 Click on My Settings GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 11 of 20

12 Figure 15 Click on E-Signature Figure 16 Click on E-Signature GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 12 of 20

13 Figure 17 Confirmation message Signing a Form Signing a form is a two-step process: first enter your e-signature passphrase, then press the Sign button adjacent to the passphrase field. Signing a Form in tconsult Cart Note: It is best to complete the two steps of signing a form before trying to save it. Note: A signed form can be edited. The edited version is saved into the case as edit 2 or edit 3 and so on. The most recent edited version is displayed in the case. All previous versions of a signed form can be viewed by editing the current form. Preparation: 1. Using the tconsult Cart software, create or open a case and identify the patient. 2. On the Add To Case screen, click the Forms button. 3. Select the desired form and enter the desired information. Note: Not all forms include a signature field. The following illustrations show how to sign a form within tconsult Cart (it is assumed the above three steps have been completed): GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 13 of 20

14 Figure 18 Signing a form in tconsult Cart Figure 19 Saving a signed form in tconsult Cart GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 14 of 20

15 Signing a Form in tconsult Web Preparation: 1. Using the tconsult Web interface, click on Patient and search for an existing real or test patient, or create a new patient, as applicable. 2. With the desired patient selected, click on Create Case in the Options area of the patient information window. 3. With the new case displayed, click on Add Form in the Add to Case area. 4. Select the desired form and enter the desired information. Note: Not all forms include a signature field. The following illustrations show how to sign a form within tconsult Web: Figure 20 Enter e-sig passphrase and press Sign button GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 15 of 20

16 Figure 21 Saving the signed form in tconsult Web Note: On saving, the software will automatically close the form window. Administrator Tasks Administrative tasks related to e-signatures are handled entirely within the tconsult Web interface. Resetting an E-Signature Passphrase to Null If a user forgets his or her e-signature passphrase, the only option is to reset the passphrase to its original null state. The user will then be able to create a new passphrase as described in previous sections of this document. Note: Administrators are in a good position to advise the user about good practices and organizational policies on passphrase requirements and security. The following illustrations show how to reset the passphrase. GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 16 of 20

17 Figure 22 Open the providers window Figure 23 Select desired provider GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 17 of 20

18 Figure 24 Edit provider s information Figure 25 Select the E-Signature tab GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 18 of 20

19 Figure 26 Click on the Reset E-Signature button Figure 27 Click OK to continue GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 19 of 20

20 Figure 28 Finish by closing window Adding a Signature Field to a Form For information on adding a signature field to a form, refer to GSG-101, Getting Started Guide, tconsult Forms Designer. end of document GSG-103 Rev A.docx Page 20 of 20