CLEARWAVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INC. Improving patient care has long been a key focus of medical technology, encompassing patient sign in, health screening, health alerts, medical record keeping and taking clinical measurements.
For the average consumer, patient self-check-in has become one of the most visible health care advancements, as care giver organizations find it improves patient care while boosting staff efficiency and helping address a critical shortage of health care employees.
The impact of digitization on the health kiosk market will remain high, according to a market research report from
The report pegs the annual growth rate of health care kiosks at 18% through 2027.
Eye clinic reaps benefits
Rockland Eye Physicians & Surgeons in
In addition to patient check-in, the
In 2020,
"It (patient self-check-in) pushes the data collections from the front desk to the patient," Froleiks said. "There's software behind the scene as well which allows now for pre-check-in via your home device or your computer so it's done ahead of time."
Patients are notified by text to check in online prior to their appointment and are instructed to text the office when they arrive.
Improved information flow
The kiosks have helped the practice gather more up-to-date credit card and insurance information, Froleiks said.
Faster insurance processing, in turn, has helped to reduce collections. "My turning over to collections is a lot less now," he said.
"I'm also able to do a little bit of marketing if I so desire," Froleiks said. "I don't like to do a lot (of marketing) because I want people off the kiosk, but if somebody wears glasses and they're between 25 and 50, I can ask them, 'Would you be interested in talking to the doctor about Lasik (eye surgery).' If 'yes,' I've got a marketing opportunity."
Kiosks don't replace jobs
The kiosks have not reduced labor, which in Froleiks' view is for the better.
Employees initially thought the kiosk was going to replace them, Froleiks said, but this has not been the case.
"You've still got to have a human face," he said. "Not everything can be done by a machine. It's a tool for the front desk to get better information.
"You still have to have a live body with a good brain at the front desk to either interpret the data and or at least see the 'flags' to say, 'Hey, I've got to update this in the patient management system if the kiosk interface can't do it.' It (the kiosk) can't do everything. There's only so much programming you're going to be able to really do."
Someone still has to review the information the patients enter into the kiosk.
Providers aren't all the same
Not all patient check-in platforms are user friendly, however. Froleiks stated in a customer testimonial that before working with
"There are a lot of different departments affected by the patient intake process from registration, patient care, healthcare information systems, business office and more," said
"We are continuously learning about and evaluating all technological options that can provide value to a self-service solution," Roberto said. "There are options that are more software-integrated, using wireless connectivity to an individual's mobile device for navigation. There are also hardware integrations using motion sensors and computer vision, and then some very basic PPE solutions using disposable/recyclable PPE product such as FreeStylus."
Health care facilities can measure the time savings the technology provides by tracking the total number of patient forms completed prior to patient visits, payments collected prior to the visit date, the amount of wait time prior to the visit, said
Managers can also glean feedback from patient satisfaction surveys.
"Self check-in kiosks allow greater workflow efficiency for providers and staff, reduce costs and safeguard PHI (protected health information)," Juelg said.
Photo: LinkedIn
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