Signing a consent form remotely: how it works
Signing a consent form remotely means sending the patient a personal link so they can read the document on their phone and sign it before coming in. For it to leave useful evidence, the link should be theirs alone, the signature should be confirmed with a code sent to their email, and there should be a record of when, from where and which exact document was signed.
When remote signing makes sense
Remote signing makes sense when the patient needs to read the document calmly or is not at the clinic when it has to be signed. For example:
- Before a treatment. The patient receives the consent form a few days earlier, reads it at home and arrives at the appointment with it already signed.
- A document left unsigned. A photo authorisation or the data protection document that was forgotten at reception.
If the patient is in front of you, the practical option is to sign on the tablet, with someone from the team explaining the document. When a written consent form is needed and what types of electronic signature exist are covered in signing consent forms on a tablet; here we focus on signing by link.
How signing by link works, step by step
Remote signing always follows the same route: the document is prepared, frozen, sent and comes back signed. In Mi Clínica the process is as follows:
- Prepare the document. It comes pre-filled with the patient's, the clinic's and the professional's details, including their professional registration number. While it is a draft it can be corrected.
- Send the link. In the signing window you choose “Enlace al móvil” (Link to mobile) and send it by email or WhatsApp. On sending, the document leaves draft status and is frozen: what is signed is what was sent.
- Wait for the signature. The document shows as “Pendiente de firma” (Pending signature) and changes to “Firmado” (Signed) only when the patient signs, without anyone having to touch anything.
- Receive the copy. When it is signed, the document is stored as signed, with its PDF, and a signed copy is sent to the signatory.
The patient can also decline from the link. In that case the document is not signed: it is recorded in the activity log and the clinic decides whether to resend or cancel it.
By email or by WhatsApp: what changes
Both channels lead to the same link and the same signing page; what changes is who delivers the message.
| By email | By WhatsApp | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sends it | It goes out from Mi Clínica, in the clinic's name | The clinic's WhatsApp opens with the message and link already written; someone from the team presses send |
| What it needs | The patient's email in their file | The patient's email too, because the code arrives by email |
| Automatic | Yes | No: the message is sent by a person from the clinic's phone |
WhatsApp is not sent automatically: the software does not connect to WhatsApp; it prepares the message to be sent from the clinic's WhatsApp. And in both cases the patient's email is required; without it, the software does not let you request a remote signature and all that is left is signing on the tablet.
The one-time code and the link's expiry
The one-time code is used to check that whoever signs has access to the patient's email, and it is what distinguishes a signature by link from a simple “I accept”. In Mi Clínica it works like this:
- It goes to the patient's email. It is a six-digit code. The email with the code carries no link, so that it does not look like a phishing message.
- It is short-lived. It expires after 15 minutes and is used to read and sign the document; if it expires, the patient requests another.
- It has an attempt limit. If it is entered wrongly too many times, the link stops working and a new one has to be sent.
- The link expires after 7 days. If the patient does not sign within that period, it is resent (a new one is created and the previous one stops being valid), signed on the tablet, or the document is cancelled.
If, while the link is live, the patient ends up signing on the tablet, that link stops being valid. And if the document were to change after the signature was requested, it could not be signed: a new signature would have to be requested.
What evidence is left and what it does not prove
A signature by link and code is a simple electronic signature, and its strength depends on the evidence that accompanies it. Article 25.1 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS) states that “an electronic signature shall not be denied legal effect and admissibility as evidence in legal proceedings solely on the grounds that it is in an electronic form or that it does not meet the requirements for qualified electronic signatures”. It cannot be denied effect for being electronic, but neither is it equivalent to a qualified signature.
In Mi Clínica, the remotely signed PDF stores the channel, “Enlace personal (firma a distancia)” (Personal link, remote signature), the date and time, the signatory, the verification email, the IP address, the browser and the fingerprints (hashes) of the text, the signature and the remotely signed PDF. What this proves, in the software's own words: “Queda registrado el momento de la firma, el buzón de correo usado, desde qué conexión se hizo y la huella del documento” (the moment of signing, the mailbox used, the connection it was made from and the document's hash are recorded). And what it does not: “No acredita quién es la persona: comprueba que tiene acceso a ese buzón de correo” (it does not establish who the person is: it checks that they have access to that mailbox). There is no electronic national ID card, qualified certificate or qualified time stamp. What level of signature each document in your clinic needs is best decided with your adviser.
Typical mistakes when requesting a remote signature
These failures can be avoided before sending the link:
- Patient's email misspelt. The code does not arrive and the patient cannot sign. Check it at registration.
- Sending an unreviewed draft. On sending, the document is frozen; if there was a mistake, you have to cancel and create another.
- Sending the link on the day of the appointment. If the treatment needs written consent, it should arrive with time to read it.
- Resending several times without telling the patient. Each resend cancels the previous link: if the patient opens the old one, it is no longer valid.
- Treating as signed what is still pending. Until the document changes to “Firmado”, it is not signed.
Before sending anything, check that the text says what it should: we go through it in what an informed consent form should include. The documents sent for signature come from your templates; how to organise them is covered in document templates for clinics, and the summary of documents and signing is on the Mi Clínica page (in Spanish).
Sources consulted
Checked on 11 October 2026. We link to the original source so that you can consult the current text.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send the consent form by WhatsApp without having the patient's email?
In Mi Clínica, no. The code to confirm the signature goes to the patient's email, so without an email a remote signature cannot be requested; in that case, it is signed on the clinic's tablet.
What happens if the patient does not sign in time?
The link expires after 7 days. From the document you can resend it (a new link is created and the previous one stops being valid), sign it on the tablet or cancel it.
Can the patient refuse to sign from the link?
Yes. The document is not signed, it is recorded in the activity log, and the clinic decides whether to send it again or cancel it.
Does remote signing identify the patient like an electronic national ID card?
No. It is a simple electronic signature with evidence: it shows that someone with access to the patient's email accepted that exact document at a specific moment and from a specific connection, but it does not by itself establish who that person is.