Can a patient sign a consent form electronically in Ontario?

Yes. Consent to treatment may be express or implied, and where it is given in writing, an electronic signature can serve. The form records consent; the discussion with the patient is what makes it informed.

Is a signed consent form required by law?

Not generally. The CPSO's policy says express consent can be oral or written, but requires consent to be documented in the record for higher-risk treatments. A signed form is one way to document it.

Can intake forms be sent by email?

Send a link rather than the form itself. The IPC expects safeguards for health information sent by email; with a link, the answers stay on the secure signing page, not in the inbox.

Should the patient's name be in the document title?

No. Document names appear in email subject lines. Use a chart or file number instead.

Can Patients Sign Consent Forms Electronically?

The short answer

Yes. Under Ontario's Health Care Consent Act, 1996, consent to treatment may be express or implied, and express consent can be given orally or in writing. Where you want it in writing, an electronic signature can do the job: the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 lets an electronic signature meet a legal requirement for a signature for most documents. Consent under PHIPA may also be express or implied, unless PHIPA requires express consent. The form records the consent; it doesn't replace the conversation.

Consent is the conversation; the form is the record

Under the Health Care Consent Act, 1996, consent to treatment must relate to the treatment, be informed, be given voluntarily, and not be obtained through misrepresentation or fraud. It may be express or implied.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario's consent to treatment policy notes that express consent can be given orally or in writing, and doesn't require a signed form. It does require physicians to document consent in the medical record where a treatment carries appreciable risk, is a surgical or invasive investigative procedure, or will lead to significant changes in consciousness. A signed consent form, on paper or electronic, is one good way to keep that record. Other regulated professions have their own college guidance; check yours.

Consent for health information under PHIPA

The Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA) lets consent to collect, use or disclose personal health information be express or implied, unless the Act requires express consent, as it does for fundraising that uses more than a patient's name and contact information. Either way, consent must be knowledgeable: the patient has to know why the information is collected, used or disclosed, and that they can give or withhold consent. A privacy notice or a consent to share records signed electronically records that the patient was told.

Sending forms without exposing health information

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario's fact sheet on email expects personal health information sent by email between custodians to be encrypted, and asks custodians who email patients unencrypted to have a written policy, tell patients about it, and get their consent.

Keep answers out of email. With bSign, the email carries only a link: the patient fills in and signs the form on a secure page. Turn on Send links only (Settings > Privacy) and finished copies aren't attached either; everyone opens them with a code sent to their email.
Keep names out of subject lines. Document names appear in email subjects and on lock screens. Use a chart or file number, not the patient's name.
Ask where the forms are kept. As the custodian, you stay responsible for the information. bSign keeps documents on servers in Canada operated by Binarium, an Ontario IT services company; ask us for anything your privacy officer needs.

Before the visit, or at the front desk

Before the visit: send the intake form and consents with the appointment reminder, so the patient fills them in at home.
At the front desk: hand over a tablet and let the patient sign in person, with the signing recorded on the certificate like any other.
Templates for each form, with the fields in place, and the signed copies saved to your own storage if you choose.

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal advice; for a particular document, ask a lawyer. Published 2026-10-04 by Binarium, the Ontario IT services company behind bSign.

Can patients sign consent and intake forms electronically in Ontario?