Healthy Perspectives Year End 2013
Practice Notes
Patient Kiosks May Be the Wave of the Future
In the future, patients may never need to check in with a receptionist to begin a physician visit. Instead, they’ll go to a computer station or pick up a tablet, and check in electronically to verify their personal information, identify medication or allergy changes, and determine insurance eligibility. When connected to EHRs and practice management systems, a kiosk can help streamline the front office, enhance clinical accuracy, and reduce billing errors and denied claims.
Patient research
In a 2012 survey by the consulting firm Accenture, 90% of the 1,100 patients questioned said that they wanted to embrace eHealth self-service options like scheduling visits and refilling prescriptions. Similarly, a 2009 NCR U.S. Consumer Research white paper revealed that patients want self-service to manage health care interactions. This paper cited a survey that NCR commissioned in which 37% of health care consumers said that they were “extremely” or “very” interested in using a self-service kiosk to check in for medical visits more quickly. In addition, 43% said that they had chosen one medical provider over another because he or she offered some form of self-service.
A full-function kiosk can take over many front-desk tasks, but it won’t completely replace the need for staff. Personnel will need to help patients with the kiosk technology. And some patients will be unable or unwilling to use a kiosk at all.
What a kiosk can offer
In addition to being integrated with the practice’s scheduling, registration and billing systems, a kiosk can offer the following:
- Appointment viewing and scheduling,
- Prescription refills,
- Online statements and electronic payments,
- Access to personal health records,
- Access to educational materials and health care websites,
- Consumer satisfaction surveys,
- Information in multiple languages, and
- The ability to electronically read and sign general consent, consumer rights, and HIPAA privacy notices and Medicare utilization forms.
There are a few legal concerns when installing patient kiosks in a practice setting. They must comply with HIPAA rules and incorporate safeguards that track who enters and accesses data. Thefts of identity, medical and credit card information are a serious threat in the health care industry. There also are requirements with the Americans with Disabilities Act that must be observed.
Other desirable features include support for branding or logos, printing capability for receipts and medical information, and magnetic stripe and barcode scanning for payments and patient authentication.
In a competitive marketplace for physician services, early adoption of patient-friendly kiosk technology may attract both consumers and payers. •
This material is generic in nature. Before relying on the material in any important matter, users should note date of publication and carefully evaluate its accuracy, currency, completeness, and relevance for their purposes, and should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.
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