Consent Season is Coming. Are You Ready?

Aug 18 | Varsha Chaugai

For long-term care communities, the arrival of flu season means more than just preparing clinics and educating residents. It also signals the beginning of consent season, a high-stakes, high-volume effort that often overwhelms IPAC leads and nursing teams.

On average, teams are tasked with collecting 8 to 10 different consent forms per resident. These include consents for vaccinations (influenza, pneumococcal, COVID-19), off-site appointments, dental and foot care services, and participation in infection control programs. The process is often paper-based, slow, and fragmented. It consumes hours of valuable time and increases the risk of delays, missed signatures, and compliance issues.

Relying on paper forms for mass consent collection during peak clinic periods places enormous pressure on already stretched teams. Consider these common challenges:

• Paperwork must be printed, distributed, collected, and manually charted
• Contacting substitute decision-makers (SDMs) by phone can lead to phone tag, transcription errors, and gaps in documentation
• IPAC leads may spend 10+ hours per week chasing down incomplete forms
• Nurses are pulled from resident care to manage logistics

For most communities, this isn't sustainable. Nor is it compliant with best practices under evolving regulations which mandates documentation of resident or SDM consent for key health decisions. Without a reliable, auditable system, communities risk falling short during inspections or audits.

Consent in long-term care is not just a formality. It is a legal requirement tied to a resident's autonomy and rights. Communities must ensure that:

• Consent is informed, voluntary, and documented
• SDMs have the legal authority to consent on behalf of residents
• All consents are available for audit and quality reviews

When nurses are tasked with collecting and tracking paper forms, errors can occur. A missed consent could delay treatment. An improperly logged signature could open the door to liability.

Modern digital tools now allow communities to shift from paper-based forms to secure, centralized consent management platforms. A resident and family portal like Engage+ enables:

• Automatic delivery of consent forms to authorized family members and SDMs
• Digital signatures that are time-stamped and tracked
• Real-time status updates for IPAC teams to monitor completion
• Seamless integration with the resident's record in PointClickCare

This reduces back-and-forth, ensures faster turnaround, and supports compliance with both internal policies and external audits.

Communities using platforms like Engage⁺ report up to 75% time savings for IPAC leads during consent season. That time is redirected to preparing clinics, educating families, and ensuring a safe, efficient immunization campaign.

More importantly, the digital audit trail gives communities peace of mind that every step—from request to approval—is documented, accessible, and defensible.

Consent season is coming. Will your team be chasing paperwork or coordinating care?

If your current process still relies on clipboards and phone calls, now is the time to modernize. Moving to a digital consent solution ensures faster approvals, stronger compliance, and a smoother season for everyone involved.

Explore how Engage⁺ supports digital consent and IPAC compliance. Book a demo with us today.