Healthcare Kiosks: Patient Perception & Profit Opportunities

By Chloe From Clearwave | November 18, 2024

Remember the last time you checked in for a flight or ordered fast food? Chances are, you used a self-service kiosk. Now, imagine bringing that same efficiency and ease to your practice. Healthcare kiosks are doing just that, and the results are reshaping patient experiences across the country. Keep reading to learn more about healthcare kiosk patient perception and its impact on modern medical practices.

Why are Healthcare Practices Choosing Patient-Led Kiosks?

As the healthcare industry embraces this technology, patients are quickly adapting to the new normal of self-service in medical settings. The familiarity with kiosks in other aspects of life, like at the airport, grocery store or fast food restaurant, is translating into exceptional healthcare kiosk patient adoption rates – with practices reporting up to 99% patient acceptance across all age demographics.

These self-service solutions offer numerous benefits, revolutionizing the way patients interact with their healthcare providers:

• Streamlined check-in process
• Reduced wait times
• Enhanced data accuracy
• Improved privacy for sensitive information
• Faster payments

For staff, kiosks are becoming an essential tool in modern practice management, with 66% of healthcare facilities now using self-check-in or kiosks for office visits. This adoption is particularly significant given that 96% of patient complaints are related to customer service rather than medical care. By automating routine tasks and improving the patient experience, kiosks address the very pain points that matter most to patients while allowing staff to focus on delivering more personalized attention when needed.

Are Patients of All Ages and Generations Adopting Kiosks? 

Contrary to what some might expect, healthcare kiosk adoption is strong across different age groups. Millennials, as digital natives, often prefer self-service options and have an overwhelmingly positive healthcare kiosk patient perception. They appreciate the quick, efficient interactions kiosks provide.

Interestingly, many Baby Boomers are also embracing healthcare kiosks. With features like larger text, kiosks can be senior-friendly. As this generation becomes more comfortable with the technology, their healthcare kiosk patient perception is improving, recognizing the benefits of faster check-ins and reduced wait times.

How Do Kiosks Speed Up Patient Registration?

Healthcare kiosks can significantly modernize your practice and accelerate the patient registration process in more ways than one, all of which contributes to a positive patient perception of kiosks. These self-service solutions enable patients to check themselves in immediately upon arrival, eliminating the need to wait in line, scan a code or get a tablet from a receptionist. The digital interface allows for quick and accurate form filling, which reduces errors and even saves time compared to traditional handwritten methods. For example, Clearwave clients see average kiosk check-in times of 2-3 minutes.

To enhance accessibility, smart systems also offer multi-language support, speeding up the process for non-native English speakers. Patients can also update their data right through the kiosk, reducing errors that are often caused by manual data entry or language barriers. This screen review process also helps to ensure patients actually review their own data. One Director of Administrative Services at a large Oncology Practice, shares, “At the kiosk, patients have to answer the questions to go to the next screen. If their insurance has expired, the system will prompt patients to update their information and it will notify our staff. It’s astounding how accurate our data is now.”

By handling these various tasks quickly and efficiently, kiosks can dramatically reduce wait times and improve the overall flow of patients through the practice. This not only speeds up the registration process but also contributes to a more positive healthcare kiosk patient perception, as patients experience a smoother, faster start to their visits.

Healthcare Kiosk Success Stories

The positive shift in healthcare kiosk patient perception is evident in the testimonials from various healthcare practices:

90% Drop in Check-in Times

Complete Women’s Care of Alabama saw a 90% reduction in check-in times. The administrative manager, Laren Reese, says the approach not only speeds up check-in times but also increases collections, “We have definitely seen an increase in co-pay collection and past-due balances. In our experience, patients are much more likely to use the kiosks to take care of both payments in one fail swoop than they would be with staff.”

99% Patient Adoption

Lisa Warren, CEO of Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center, said, “People have asked if the kiosk made check-in impersonal, and I said no, really it improved it, because now they see a face when they walk in versus the top of somebody’s head.” They saw a 99% patient adoption of kiosks after implementation, as well as a 90%  drop in check-in times.

40% Boost in Collections—up from mobile only— and Immediate Staff Improvements

Metrolina Eye Associates CEO, Nick Tavares, says, “We decided to move forward with Clearwave kiosks, and I’ll tell you what, I would never turn back. It has saved so much time on the front desk staff. They now have the time to answer phones, greet patients, and make them feel welcomed. That patient experience is key for us.”  

How do Patient-Led Check-in Kiosks Increase Profits ?

Implementing healthcare kiosks isn’t just about improving patient perception and patient retention; it’s also a smart financial move. Kiosks can lead to significant cost savings by reducing staffing needs for routine tasks. They can modernize your practice and enhance revenue by improving patient throughput and collections at the point-of-service. One of the most important benefits practices can achieve through positive k patient perception of kiosks is improved patient retention and satisfaction. In an age where patients have more choices than ever, providing a modern, efficient experience can set your practice apart.

The impact on collections is particularly significant, with practices seeing a 112% increase in point-of-service collections, including co-pays, self-pay, and past-due balances. This dramatic improvement occurs because kiosks eliminate common barriers to collections — like staff skipping over payment capture or feeling too uncomfortable to ask for past-due balances. Instead, kiosks automatically present outstanding balances and payment options during check-in, allowing patients to conveniently pay using various methods. Additionally, practices have discovered that custom questions asked during self-registration can lead to a 2x increase in premium service revenue, creating new opportunities for growth.

How Do Practices Introduce Kiosks for a Smoother Transition?

To ensure positive healthcare kiosk patient perception, it’s crucial to choose the right solution for your practice. Staff training and patient education are key components of a successful implementation. It can be a good idea to offer ‘kiosk ambassadors’ during the initial rollout to help patients navigate the new system. Watch our on-demand webinar “How to Boost Patient Adoption of Self-Registration” to learn proven strategies from practices that have successfully implemented kiosk technology.

As technology continues to advance, so too will healthcare kiosks. We can expect to see greater integration with telemedicine services and an expansion of services offered through kiosks. These advancements will likely further improve healthcare kiosk patient perception, as patients enjoy increasingly seamless and personalized healthcare experiences.

Enhancing Patient Experience and Operational Efficiency with Healthcare Kiosks

Healthcare kiosks represent a significant opportunity for specialty practices to modernize their operations, improve efficiency and enhance patient satisfaction. By understanding and positively shaping healthcare kiosk patient perception, practices can ensure successful adoption and reap the benefits of this technology.

Ready to explore how healthcare kiosks can transform your practice? Learn more about Clearwave’s kiosk solutions and see how we can help you improve your patients’ experience and your bottom line.