Check In & Data collection are very different
Separating Patient Check In from the paperwork can dramatically increase your patient flow. Since most patients are return
patients, the only reason to fill out forms is when there are changes to their insurance or demographics. Forms take time and if
they are forced to use a kiosk, it will tie up the kiosk for quite some time. That same kiosk is used to check in other patients
that may not need to fill out forms. Now the office will need more kiosks and square footage to place them. More equipment, more space
and more overhead to maintain is additional cost the office can do without.
Use EMR Patient Portal to collect patient information
Due to "meaningful use" requirements, most EMR software have been forced to include a patient portal. The portal is used for patients to fill
out forms and keep their information current. Since the office already has the portal, why not use the same portal in the office? Simply add
a computer in the lobby corner and point your patients to it when they need to fill out paperwork. The data will automatically flow into the EMR
and the office will get meaningful use credit for actually using the patient portal.
Using the patient portal frees up the medical check in kiosk and allows for the majority of patients to pass through without waiting for others
to fill out paperwork.
