40% of patients register at kiosks
Location is important
When two kiosks were first placed in a registration area at University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison in late 2007, hardly anyone used them because patients had to walk by the registrars to get to them.
"It didn't take long to figure out that was not effective," says Geralyn K. Murphy, MHA, director of access services. "Patients would stand in line to see a registrar, and they either didn't see the kiosks, or didn't feel comfortable using them because there was nobody assisting them with this new technology."
Initially, only 3 to 5% of patients used the kiosks, but now about 30% of patients do so. Murphy attributes that change to moving the kiosks so that they're the first thing patients encounter and adding a "greeter/promoter" to help patients with the kiosks. "The fact that we have them in multiple locations also helps. Once patients use them in one location, there is a comfort level to use them in our other locations," says Murphy. Currently, 16 kiosks are in hospital registration areas, with an additional 17 budgeted for this fiscal year.
About 40% of patients choose to use kiosks at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN, calculated by the average percentage of patients who tried to use the kiosk to check in compared to the overall number of patients checked in at the clinic, says Kathleen Mandato, MBA, PhD, director of Vanderbilt Medical Group Systems & Service Education Department.
However, clinics with patients having frequent return visits such as cardiology and rehabilitation have much higher utilization rates. "They have the process down pat, so they can just go and do their thing," says Mandato.
ROI hard to measure
Return on investment (ROI) comes mainly from the additional time staff have to do preregistration and verification functions, which they previously didn't have time to address, says Murphy.
Mandato says that while it's been difficult to determine "hard and fast ROI," the kiosks clearly offset low staffing numbers in some patient access areas. "Many areas have vacant positions that they haven't been able to fill," she explains. "We've been able to weather that by having the kiosks."
Kiosks are especially helpful if registration areas happen to be short-staffed, says Mandato. "It helps keep front desk manpower at a minimum. It is very helpful if you are shorthanded on people," she says. "One clinic has an FTE who leaves early. The kiosk helps carry some of the weight so they haven't had to add an FTE."
When two kiosks were first placed in a registration area at University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison in late 2007, hardly anyone used them because patients had to walk by the registrars to get to them.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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