Integrated Patient Check In vs. Stand Alone Patient Check In
In the world of patient kiosks there are many choices. In this article we compare kiosks that offer full integration with your practice management software and a stand alone system that runs beside your system.
Feature
Integrated
Stand Alone
Cost
$15,000 to $25,000
$2500
Maintenance
Required monthly maintenance due to updates of both practice management and kiosk software; additional cost required
Optional; Not Required
Recurring Costs
Yes. Maintenance Required
No
Patient Check In Time
2 Minutes or more
10 Seconds or less
Units needed per 100 patients per day
Minimum 2 units
One unit can handle up to 400 patients per day
Time to Install
30 days or more
20 minutes
Tech Required to Install
Vendor must install; additional costs required
No tech experience needed
Update patient information
Can update in-house records only; does not integrate with insurance provider
No
Takes Payments
Yes. Requires 3rd party vendor for Credit Card
No
Verify patient information
Can update in-house records only; does not integrate with insurance provider
No
Shares information to workstations
No
Yes
Provides patient flow to all staff computers
No
Yes
HIPAA Compliant
Yes
Yes
Reduces Interruptions
Yes; Sometimes requires staff help for patients
Yes
Easy for patients
Yes but sometimes patients require help from staff
Yes
More to consider with an integrated patient kiosk
Our studies show that having a fully integrated system not only prolongs the patient visit but does not reduce office overhead. Here are some of the main reasons;
Having a patient, that does not feel good, enter information into your computer system often leads to mistakes that ultimately have to be corrected by your office anyway
Accuracy is key to getting claims paid fast. Having a person that is unfamiliar with your system and doesn’t want to be there is not prone to accurate results.
Taking too long to sign in requires multiple machines and additional costs
Long interviews at the check in kiosk often requires the staff to stop what they are doing to go help the patient.
The cost difference between an integrated system and a stand alone is enough to hire an employee.
An integrated system often requires help from the staff to complete forms or understand the questions at hand. If patient does not have the answer to a question or have an insurance card on them they will not have the information to complete the sign in process. Not only does this stop other patients from signing in but this now requires staff to stop what they are doing and leave their post. The system is no longer more efficient than having the staff enter the information in the first place.
Using a stand alone system combined with a patient portal is much more efficient and cost effective. Patient Portals allow patients to update their information online BEFORE they arrive. The same software can be used by multiple patients without additional cost unlike the kiosk.
