Kiosks at medical clinics - what an idea! We use them at airports and grocery stores. Think about when you go to a doctor's office and have to fill out all that paperwork. We fill out a new set of information in every time we go to a different office- one for the primary care physician and another one for the specialist, and still another onefor hospital admissions. Furthermore, with insurance reimbursement rate declines over the past several decades, many clinics have to see more patients to make revenue and cover their expenses. What that means to you is longer wait times. There is no reason why we need to wait for a live person to complete a new patient registration form or check-in for an appointment. In fact, computer entry results in more accuracy than manual data entry, which is prone to errors committed by the clerk.
Well, I am sure my idea is not a new one. Though they agree that current wait times and error rates will improve; many critics of such kiosks have voiced concerns about the practicality of such a system. I will discuss five main objections identified towards implementing this idea. The biggest issue is concerns of violating HIPPA laws. But, with kiosks in private areas, patients don't risk having their personal medical information visible to others. Also, technology is such that information is secure. Think about all the times we purchase goods with our credit cards online. By using a kiosk, the personal information of a patient will instantly be transferred into the electronic medical records where it can be stored.
Another concern of critics is the inability of such kiosk to be considered user friendly to different types of people. It is understood that certain groups such as the elderly may have difficulty with hand eye coordination which is often required with a touch screen set up. Also, there is a subset of people of who I have met that are not comfortable with computers, and avoid using anything that is automated. But, actually, touch screen is easy to learn. Voice activation can be installed to guide people through the screens. I find that people are usually uncomfortable with computers because of their inexperience with it. Using a PC will be a lot more complicated then such a kiosk.
A fourth objection is the loss of the human touch. Sure, for a new patient, talking with the receptionist is often the first time an impression is formed. If in this interaction the patient gets treated with care, he/she will likely find the rest of the visit more satisfying. Yet, I feel with the kiosk system, the human touch factor doesn't get cancelled out but just delayed to a later time in the visit. The first impression (for a new patient, for example) will now be with the nurse. Often times, a nurse is able to spend more time and attention with the patient then a busy receptionist struggling to do an intake and answer phones.
Finally, the argument that is probably the make or break factor in the decision to implement such a new technology in a clinic is cost (at least according to the administrators. Again, if we look at other businesses such as in the airline industry it appears that there must have been some cost savings, otherwise, it would not have been implemented by even a single carrier (much less all of them).In medicine, the costs are largely due to administrative redundency. As electronic medical records become more popular, companies will start selling them for lower prices to stay competitive. Therefore, kiosks may be a little strain on the budget initially, but they will save money in the long run. Furthermore, kiosks will interface well with EMRs which already becoming commonplace.
I have introduced an idea that many may write off as silly or impractical, but as you can see, I have several good reasons to support my proposal. There are probably other factors present why many organizations have not embraced the idea of kiosks in their medical clinics, but I believe some of main issues were covered in this blog. I encourage people to "think out of the box" and come up with ways we can make our healthcare system more effective and less costly over the long run. In the next blog, I will discuss specifics about how such a kiosk would work.
