A.  No.  

As more offices transition into using electronic health record (EHR) systems, it is important to be familiar with the California court requirements regarding arbitration agreements.

In signing an arbitration agreement, the parties agree to waive their right to a jury trial and allow the matter to be decided by a neutral arbitrator. Therefore, the law makes additional requirements - above and beyond - other contracts.

California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) Section 1295 identifies the main requirements for arbitration regarding professional negligence of a health care provider. CCP 1295 provides that the arbitration agreement must have the following wording immediately before the signature line and in at least 10-point bold red type:

"NOTICE: BY SIGNING THIS CONTRACT YOU ARE AGREEING TO HAVE ANY ISSUE OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE DECIDED BY NEUTRAL ARBITRATION AND YOU ARE GIVING UP YOUR RIGHT TO A JURY OR COURT TRIAL."

This requirement is at issue as offices transition into EHR systems. Many offices do not scan their documents in color. Therefore, when produced later, the requirement that the information immediately above the signature line be in red, may not be met.   It is acceptable for the original agreements to be scanned into your EHR system if the originals are kept. If possible, color scanning is best. After scanning, place the original agreement in a file in a secure and accessible location

The California courts still require the original arbitration agreement to be provided as evidence that an agreement to arbitrate any dispute exists between the doctor and the patient.  Further, it is extremely important to provide the original agreement when the patient does not remember, or denies, signing it. When handwriting experts are called in, only the original can be used.

Arbitration agreements are available to members of CAP at no charge.