Registration time shrinking with use of check-in kiosks
Satisfaction levels monitored closely
Patients at the Medical Center of Central Georgia (MCCG) in Macon "are responding very well" to the use of check-in kiosks, which have led to dramatic reductions in the amount of time they spend being registered and waiting for service, says Jane Gray, CPA, FACHE, FABC, assistant vice president for patient business services.
In place at MCCG's Georgia Heart Center since April 2007, the registration kiosks were expanded to the facility's diagnostic center in July 2007, Gray adds.
The most recent statistics from the heart center show that the average time a patient spent waiting to speak to a greeter went from a minute and 33 seconds to about 30 seconds while the average wait to be registered went from eight minutes and 45 seconds to "no wait time," she says, "because the greeter [immediately] directs the person to a kiosk or hands them [an electronic] tablet to work with."
Previously, registration processing time was 11 minutes and 45 seconds, but is now five minutes and 29 seconds, Gray notes. "Overall, we're cutting about 15 minutes from registration."
The diagnostic center environment is different in that patient volumes fluctuate between 30 and 60 a day, she says. "We can't staff for 60 all the time, so on the heavy days we would get bottlenecks."
The advent of the registration kiosks has trimmed about 20 minutes off the entire registration process there, Gray adds, "and we are able to schedule much more heavily."
To gauge acceptance levels for the new technology, patients at both sites are presented with satisfaction surveys once check-in is complete, she says, and scores are monitored closely. Responses have been positive overall, Gray says, with most patients finding the kiosks easy to use.
Any negative responses are acted on immediately, she notes.
Lessons learned during the kiosk implementation process — which Gray and patient access director Kim Whitley will discuss in a presentation at the Healthcare Financial Management Association's (HFMA) Annual National Institute in June — include starting with an area that "buys into" the technology.
They also offer the following advice for providers considering a similar initiative.
- Select a strong project leader who understands the registration process.
- Engage registration staff as part of the process.
- Promote self-service to patients before rollout.
- Enable integration between self-service application and existing back-end systems to minimize duplicate data entry.
- Kiosks cannot be optional, although the rare patient will require full service via the kiosk.
- Be sensitive to the surprise factor in asking patients for a large payment without prior notice.
- Learn from the experience of early adopters — internally and externally.
- Expect limited resistance: You can't please 100% of the people 100% of the time with any method.
"What we're also talking about in our presentation is how self-service is really becoming commonplace in all industries," Gray says. "Depending on what generational group you're looking at to build loyalty, consider that the younger generation expects a technology alternative. It helps to build loyalty and the image of being state of the art that goes along with it."
At MCCG, people of all ages are using the kiosks, she notes, and many view kiosks as a service enhancement. "Patients are familiar with self check-out from local supermarkets and retail stores in the Macon area."
Research indicates a comfort level with technology that is not limited to members of Generation X (born 1965-1976) and Generation Y (born 1977-1998), Gray says.
"The Baby Boomers [born 1946-1964] are not that far behind Generation Y in daily mobile Internet access," she points out, "and the senior population also is becoming comfortable with computers and the Internet."
Patients at the Medical Center of Central Georgia (MCCG) in Macon "are responding very well" to the use of check-in kiosks, which have led to dramatic reductions in the amount of time they spend being registered and waiting for service, says Jane Gray, CPA, FACHE, FABC, assistant vice president for patient business services.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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