Patient Consent Forms

Overview

SehaFile's consent management system enables clinics to present standardized consent forms to patients and capture their digital signatures before procedures, surgeries, or specialized treatments. Consent forms are built from clinic-configured templates and support different types: general, procedure-specific, anesthesia, surgery, research participation, and photography consent. Forms can require a witness signature for additional legal validity.

Presenting a Consent Form

1. Navigate to Settings > Consent Forms — View available consent templates configured for your clinic.
2. From within a visit — In the visit workspace, click Consent to present a form to the patient.
3. Select the template — Choose from available templates by type:
   • General — Standard treatment consent
   • Procedure — Specific to a clinical procedure
   • Anesthesia — Before sedation or anesthesia
   • Surgery — Pre-operative consent
   • Research — Clinical trial participation
   • Photography — Permission to photograph for medical records
4. Present to patient — The form body (body_ar for Arabic, body_en for English) is displayed for the patient to read. This includes risks, benefits, and alternatives.
5. Capture patient signature — The patient signs using the digital signature pad (signature_data field). On tablets, they can sign with a stylus or finger.
6. Add witness (if required) — If the template has requires_witness = true:
   • Enter the witness_name
   • Capture the witness_signature
7. Add notes (optional) — Document any additional context or patient questions.
8. Submit — The consent record is saved with signed_at timestamp, linked to the patient and visit.

Revoking Consent

Patients have the right to revoke consent at any time:

• The consent record can be marked as revoked = true
• The revoked_at timestamp and revoke_reason are documented

FAQ

Are digital signatures legally valid in Egypt?

Yes. Egypt's Electronic Signature Law (Law No. 15 of 2004) recognizes digital signatures. SehaFile captures the signature data along with timestamp and IP information for legal validity.

Who creates consent templates?

Clinic administrators create and manage consent form templates in Settings > Consent Forms. Templates can be activated or deactivated as needed.

Can I view past consents for a patient?

Yes. All patient consents are linked to their profile and can be viewed from the patient history. They are also accessible from the visit they were created in.