Few industries benefit more from simplified and secure document workflows than the healthcare industry, where paper still burdens doctors, administrators and patients alike. But not all e-signatures are created equal.

Pem Guerry, executive vice president: Before hopping off the paper train, it's critical to first understand the difference between independent and dependent e-signatures.

In short, independent e-signatures — also called digital signatures — and their cryptographic information are embedded permanently into signed electronic documents, and those documents have no reliance on the e-signature vendor's server for validation. Dependent e-signatures, by contrast, link back to the e-signature vendor for verification.

In healthcare, independence offers a critical benefit because vendors can digitally shred their copies of documents without a trace of metadata left behind. This eliminates an access point for potential cyber criminals, which better protects healthcare documents and protected health information and supports compliance.

To make sure you have a secure e-signature, read the five critical questions you should ask your e-signature vendor, download the free PDF.