Seiko Solutions Adds 'Schema IC Function' to Electronic Consent Service for Medical Institutions

Seiko Solutions Inc. (President: Jun Sekine; Headquarters: Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture; hereinafter 'Seiko Solutions') has begun offering the 'Schema IC (Informed Consent) Function' as part of its 'Seiko Electronic Consent Service (Compact-In Plan for Medical Institutions).' This function is designed to facilitate clearer and smoother communication during medical explanations prior to the formal consent process.

Since its release last year, the Seiko Electronic Consent Service has been adopted by many medical institutions as a solution to streamline consent procedures, which previously imposed a significant burden on both healthcare providers and patients. The newly introduced Schema IC function further supports clinical settings by enabling more intuitive explanations.

### About the Schema IC (Informed Consent) Function

The Schema IC function allows doctors and healthcare professionals to visually emphasize important points on documents using markers and to use schemas (diagrams or illustrations) to clearly indicate body parts during explanations. This facilitates patient understanding and contributes to higher standards of record-keeping.

**Feature Overview:** - **Marker Display for Key Information:** Highlighting essential points in the documentation. - **Addition of Schemas:** Using simple diagrams or illustrations to visually confirm body parts. - **Digital Signature Records:** Capturing the electronic signature information of the person providing the explanation.

### What is the Seiko Electronic Consent Service?

This service digitizes the explanation and consent process, reducing patient burden and improving hospital efficiency. It provides a highly secure framework compliant with the Medical Information Guideline (Version 6.0) and the Electronic Signature Law.

**Main Features of the Electronic Consent Service:** In addition to the Schema IC function, the service includes: - **Batch Consent Function (Patent Pending):** Allows patients or their families to sign multiple consent forms required for surgery or hospitalization in a single process. This resolves the tedious task of signing numerous documents separately. - **Remote Signature Function:** Enables requests for signatures and the delivery of copies via email, SMS, or official LINE accounts. This allows for smooth consent acquisition even from family members living far away. - **Explanatory Video/Detailed URL Display:** Displays informational videos or detailed URLs before obtaining consent. This helps patients understand the content at their own pace and reduces the workload of healthcare staff by supplementing standard explanations with video content.

Beyond medical DX through electronic consent and scanner-based archiving, the service also supports the digitization of administrative tasks such as employment contracts, invoice delivery, and document storage in compliance with the Electronic Bookkeeping Act. This contributes to overall paperless operations and reduced operational loads for medical institutions.

Furthermore, this service qualifies as 'Digitization of Consent Acquisition,' an example of ICT utilization eligible for subsidies under the 'Model Medical Institution Investigation Support Project for Promoting Improved Working Environments Using ICT Equipment' conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. It is expected to be an effective means of improving operational efficiency and reducing staff burdens associated with explanations and consent.

Seiko Solutions will continue to contribute to the promotion of safe and secure medical DX by evolving its services based on feedback from medical professionals.