Sign node

The Sign node collects legal e-signatures on a PDF template from patients, relatives, doctors or staff, in stages, with a coordinator for problems.

The Sign node (code name DocumentSign) sends a document for legal-grade electronic signature. It fills a PDF template with the patient's details, sends each signer a signing link, waits for everyone to sign, and saves the signed copy to the patient's record. If a consent category is set, it also records the consent.

What signers see is described in What patients receive: messages, action links and signing. PDF templates are built in the PDF template editor.

When to use it

Procedure consent signed by the patient and witnessed by staff.
A form signed by the patient and then counter-signed by the treating doctor.
Any document that must be signed before the journey continues.

Configuration

Document

Field	What it does	Options and default
Document template	The PDF template to sign. Required: Pick the document to sign.	Your PDF templates. If none exist: No PDF templates yet. Add them under Settings ▸ PDF Templates.
Document values	Lists every blank in the template. For each, How *blank* is filled: A text or a value of the journey or A signer of this step. For a signer, pick the signer in *Signer printed in blank* and the Detail to print: Full name, Signer name from this step or Relation to the patient**.	The patient name blank can be left empty: Leave empty to use the patient's name from the record.
Reason	Shown to the signer.	Empty uses the template name.
Consent category	Recorded as consent once everyone has signed.	None (default) or one of your consent purposes. If there are none: No consent purposes yet. Add them under Settings ▸ Consent.

Signers

Stages run in order. Everyone in a stage gets the link at the same time. Use Add signer and Add stage.

Field	What it does	Options and default
Signer name	Required. A name for this signer in the step. For example Patient, Treating doctor, Witness.	Default Patient. Changing Signer type suggests Doctor or Staff member.
Signer type	What kind of person signs.	Patient or relative (default), Doctor, Staff by role.
Who signs	The person, found for each patient.	Resolver. A signer who cannot be found goes to the coordinator as a task, and the step waits until the task is done.
Where the signature goes	Placement.	A corner of the page or A marked place in the document.
Signature position, Pages, Height, Width	Corner placement. Pages, Height and Width appear once you pick a position.	A position offered by your signing provider, or Node default. Pages default 1 (separate several with commas); height 60, width 180.
Marked place, Box width, Box height	Marked placement. In points; 72 points are one inch.	Default box 180 × 60 points.
How they get the link	Required. Delivery.	WhatsApp (default), Email, Task for this staff member (only for a doctor or staff signer), Coordinator (sign at desk).
Template, variable bindings, Send from, per-language templates	WhatsApp and email delivery. Same as the Reach node.	Each variable has a Signing link switch. Turn it on for exactly one variable: Turn on "Signing link" for exactly one variable.

Marking places in the template. In the PDF template, type [[sign here: Patient]] where the patient signs, with any name in place of Patient, and one name per signer. If one signer uses a marked place, every signer of the step must use one, and two signers cannot share a place (Another signer already signs at this place.).

Coordinator

Gets a task when a link cannot be delivered, a signer cannot be found, or a signer has not signed in time.

Field	What it does	Options and default
Send it to, Person, Team	See Staff task fields.	A role (default), A specific person or A team.
Role that handles signing problems	The coordinator role. When you pick a person or a team, it is relabelled Role, if nobody can take it.	Required: The task role is always required.
Coordinator centre	The centre whose worklist this task appears in.	Default the patient's usual centre (most visits).

Waiting and follow-up

Field	What it does	Options and default
Waits for	Fixed text: Every signer to sign the document with the signing provider.	—
Wait here or move on	See The Waiting block.	Wait here (default) or Move on at once.
Time limit	The signing window. Optional, and shown in both modes.	Empty uses the clinic default window.
Time limit counted from	When the window starts. Counting from the send moves the limit when a link is held for quiet hours. Empty uses the clinic default.	Clinic default (default), The moment the step starts, The moment the link goes out.
Reminder before the limit	Wait here only. Before the limit, every signer who has the link and has not signed gets it again. Empty uses the clinic default.	Must be shorter than the time limit.
At the limit	Wait here only. Fixed: The journey takes the path expired.	Connect Expired unsigned on the canvas.
Open work when the journey moves on	What happens to the signing tasks of this step that are still open when the journey moves past it. The signing request itself is cancelled.	Clinic default, Keep it open, Cancel it, Hand it to operations.
Coordinator follow-up after	Required. Counted from the moment the link is sent. After this time the coordinator chosen above gets a task for every signer who has not signed.	Must be shorter than the time limit.

Advanced

Field	What it does	Options and default
Provider	The e-sign provider.	Empty uses the tenant default.
Default signature position	The corner position used by signers set to Node default.	Not set or a provider position.
Skip this step when…, If this step is already in the past	See the overview.	No condition; Follow the journey.

Outcomes and branches

These are the names in the connection editor's Outcome list.

Outcome	When
Everyone signed	Every signer in every stage signed.
Declined	A signer declined, or the coordinator marked a signer as declined.
Expired unsigned	The signing window ran out. The Waiting card shows this path as expired.
Signing provider failed	The signing provider reported a failure.
Cancelled	The coordinator cancelled the signing.

With Move on at once, the step finishes as soon as the links are out. Use a plain connection. The document keeps its time limit and follow-up; a Pause later can wait for the document signed from this step.

What happens when it runs

The template is filled in with the document values.
Stage 1 signers each get a signing link by their chosen route. Links sent by WhatsApp or email follow your clinic's quiet hours and messaging consent, so a link may be held until morning.
When everyone in a stage has signed, the next stage starts.
When everyone has signed, the signed PDF is saved to the patient's documents, and the consent is recorded if a Consent category is set. The step ends with Everyone signed.

Coordinator tasks

Problems go to the coordinator as tasks on their worklist:

Task title	Why it is raised	What the coordinator can do
Signer could not be found	The signer or their contact details could not be found.	Add the person or the contact details and send again, or cancel the signing.
Same person named twice as signer	The same person is set to sign in two places.	Choose another person for this place, or cancel the signing.
Signing link could not be sent / was not delivered	Sending failed, or WhatsApp or email reported non-delivery.	Send again, mark the signer as declined, or cancel.
Signature is overdue	The follow-up time passed with no signature.	Remind or share the link, send again, mark declined, or cancel.
Signature at the desk	The signer signs at the desk (Coordinator (sign at desk)).	Open the link with the signer, mark declined, or cancel.

A doctor or staff signer set to Task for this staff member gets a Document to sign task. While a coordinator task about an unresolved signer is open, the step keeps waiting.

Example

Procedure consent with a witness.

Document template: Procedure consent. Consent category: the procedure consent purpose.
Stage 1: signer Patient, Signer type Patient or relative, Who signs the patient, delivered by WhatsApp with a template whose button variable is the Signing link.
Stage 2: signer Witness, Signer type Staff by role, How they get the link Task for this staff member.
Coordinator: A role, front desk. Time limit 2 days, Coordinator follow-up after 1 day.
Connect Everyone signed to the next step, and Declined and Expired unsigned to an Engage step for the doctor.

Tips and limitations

Use the template's marked places when the signature must sit next to specific text; use corners for simple documents.
Keep the box about three times wider than it is tall so the signature is not stretched.
See Document checklist and consents for where signed consents appear.

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