Patients want to be provided with complete transparency. They don’t want to fill out forms in a waiting room that expose them to germs or force them to make lengthy calls. Kiosks and tablets allow people to register themselves, verify their information, sign forms, and even pay copays without interacting with staff. This process also eliminates front desk congestion and frees up time to serve the patient better.

Reduce Wait Time

With self-service capabilities becoming standard in industries from retail travel, medical consumers have come to expect these same features to enhance their healthcare experiences. A medical check-in kiosk enables patients to validate and change their demographic information, make payments, and complete medical forms, all at the point of service. The information they provide is automatically input into the practice’s electronic medical records system, eliminating the need to enter it later manually. This automation leads to optimized payment collection, reduced accounts receivable, and streamlined throughput. Kiosks can also be equipped to collect patient copays, which reduces staff workload and allows them to focus on enhancing the patient experience. This, in turn, increases the likelihood that patients will return to the practice for their future healthcare needs.

Patients can sign in and add themselves to a practitioner’s queue using the touchscreen on a kiosk. This prevents them from forgetting to fill out the clipboard sign-in sheet near the front desk and significantly reduces wait time for everyone in line. Medical kiosks can even be configured to collect additional clinical diagnostic information, such as blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation levels, and body temperature. This data can be shared with the physician during the appointment and incorporated into the patient’s chart. This enables medical practices to streamline processes, improve productivity, and drive growth in today’s dynamic healthcare landscape.

Ensure Nothing Is Missed During Each Appointment

The quickest way to reduce appointment wait times is to keep the patient experience smooth. Kiosks help by automating tasks like sign-in, minimizing bottlenecks in the process, and keeping patients happy from start to finish. As a result, patients are more likely to return for future care. Historically, patients check in at the front desk, providing their names and filling out forms to enter the waiting list. While this method is convenient for staff members, it’s inefficient for the medical practice. Rather than handing out disorganized bunches of paper, kiosks digitally collect the necessary information and instantly add it to a patient’s chart. Medical kiosks allow for less human contact with counter staff at risk of infection and can free up time to perform other administrative duties. Stalls can also be used to scan and verify identification, process insurance claims, and even collect copays – eliminating the need for front-office staff to interact with patients during this sensitive time. Kiosks can display wait times in real-time so patients know what to expect, and if they need to bring a copay, they can do so easily at their convenience. This can also help prevent miscommunication and misunderstandings and decrease frustration during unexpected delays.

Increase Patient Satisfaction

Patients want quick and easy interactions. They expect to have the same self-service capabilities they experience in airports, retail, and restaurants. Providing them the ability to complete registration tasks digitally, including the basics such as checking in, insurance verification, and co-payment collection, is an effective way to boost patient satisfaction. Traditionally, medical offices have used paper forms that require a staff member to verify information and collect payments. This manual process is prone to errors. Illegible handwriting, missed fields, and incomplete data entry can cause claim rejections that impact reimbursement. Patient check-in kiosks eliminate this risk by collecting accurate, readable data easily fed into your system. By allowing patients to check themselves in, validate their insurance coverage and co-payments, and make payments at your medical office kiosk, you can free up staff time to focus on other tasks. This increases productivity, reduces costs, and improves customer satisfaction. Kiosk solutions can be seamlessly integrated into existing practice management (PM) and hospital information systems to form one streamlined registration process across your enterprise. 

Additionally, you can ask patients to check out using a kiosk too which opens up the perfect opportunity to receive feedback on your service. Constant evaluation and improvement is the only way to advance your medical practice and patient satisfaction. While you can ask your staff to learn how to ask patients for reviews, most people may feel awkward responding negatively to their doctor face-to-face. Taking advantage of kiosks allows you to gather responses from your patients in a way that puts them in control.

Reduce Costs

In addition to boosting patient satisfaction, medical kiosks can reduce overall facility costs. Eliminating time-consuming administrative tasks can free staff to focus on higher-value work such as scheduling and providing personalized care. Moreover, because kiosks are self-service, training employees to use them is unnecessary, which can save on training expenses. Kiosks also allow patients to check themselves in, ensuring their information is accurate before meeting a healthcare professional. This can help eliminate costly mistakes such as misprints, missing a vital piece of personal data, or entering the wrong date of birth. Additionally, if the kiosk has an e-signature feature, the patient can sign documents right from the booth, further reducing paperwork.

Additionally, many medical kiosks feature integrated software that can verify eligibility and process payments. This can make it easier for patients to know how much they are owed ahead of time, helping them better manage their financial responsibilities. It can also prevent them from being surprised by a bill after their appointment. Streamlining the patient registration experience improves customer satisfaction, boosting loyalty and fostering stronger connections with medical practices. It can also help them compete effectively in the ever-changing healthcare landscape. Watch this on-demand webinar to learn how implementing medical check-in kiosks can transform your business.