Case Study: VITAS Healthcare achieves faster, touch-free patient onboarding and greater transparency with DocuSign

VITAS Healthcare Partners with DocuSign to Improve the Patient Experience through Digitization

VITAS Healthcare, the largest hospice provider in the U.S., faced a sudden CMS requirement during the COVID‑19 pandemic to provide — and, on request, obtain signed receipts for — a Notification of Non‑Covered Items, Services and Drugs. With patients often having only days to live and in‑person contact limited by social distancing, VITAS needed a fast, contactless way to deliver and capture these acknowledgements under a tight regulatory timeframe.

Using DocuSign’s Fast Start API, VITAS integrated eSignature into its EMR in about 60 days, creating an automated workflow: a simple opt‑in during admissions triggers encrypted emails, reminders, eSignature capture, upload to the patient record and an audit report. The solution eliminated manual steps, sped delivery, increased transparency (revealing a 40% opt‑in anomaly that led to quick staff retraining), met the deadline, and improved the overall patient experience with plans to expand digitization to consents.

VITAS Healthcare

Patrick Hale

Chief Information Officer