Patient Kiosk EMR Software

Buyers Guide

Last updated: December 09, 2023

With everything turning digital, it’s about time medical practices shift towards patient registration kiosks as a replacement for handwritten sign-in sheets. Evidently, patient kiosks are becoming more and more popular in the medical market. In this buyer’s guide, we are going to go over exactly what patient kiosks are and what they do.

Here’s what we’ll be discussing in this buyer’s guide:

What is a Patient Kiosk EMR Software?

Patient Kiosk EMR Software Features

Choosing a Patient Kiosk EMR Vendor

Patient Kiosk EMR Software Benefits

What is a Patient Kiosk EMR Software?

What is the first thing that your patients do when they walk into your clinic? They go straight to the receptionist and sign in to let you know they have arrived. For a new patient, you need to collect information about their medical condition, history, etc. In short, patient check-in is the starting point for any patient that visits your facility. The patient-physician interaction begins from this moment and onwards. So, without a doubt, this is the time to make a good first impression on your patient. You could either give them a single sheet sign-in form which they will need to fill out manually to provide all the information, or you could advance them towards a high-tech patient check-in Kiosk.

Now, let’s understand the basics of Patient Check-in Kiosks. These are made up of two parts; Hardware and Software. The hardware consists of interactive, self-service devices where your patients can check in, complete insurance forms, and provide their medical history information. Depending on the size and design of your entrance lobby, these can include stand-up kiosks near the reception, mountable devices on a wall, countertop modules, or simply handheld mobile devices, such as tablets.

Moving on, the software powers these physical devices by integrating information from your Electronic Medical Records (EHR) software, or other sources, to streamline your check-in process. Similar to the hardware, Patient Kiosk software can be customized according to your specific requirements, including facility wayfinding, patient scheduling, billing, and data documentation. Lastly, Patient Kiosks enable your organization to reduce, organize, and simplify record-keeping and information handling.

Here, I’ll be going over the various features of a Patient Kiosk EHR along with the requirements of selecting your EHR vendor for your practice.

Before jumping to an EHR software, you must assess the needs, requirements, and capabilities of your practice. After all, a Patient Kiosk EHR/EMR software comes in all shapes and sizes. Some practices might require EMR software for large practices based on their size, while others might need small-scale ones.

Here’s all you need to know to make the most of your Patient Kiosk EHR software.

Patient Kiosk EMR Software Features

Here are some features of Patient Kiosk EHR software that help improve patient care, streamline your clinical workflows, and simplify administrative tasks.

Checking-In - The Patient Kiosk allows patients to enter their names alerting you of their arrival for the appointment. The system automatically queues your patients according to their scheduled appointments and times of arrival.

Printing - Kiosks that offer billing functionality should include receipt and standard size printers integrated within the hardware device.

Patient Records - The Patient Kiosk should provide patients access to their medical history forms so they may fill them out if they are new patients or update them. Some kiosks also feature integration with your existing EHR software allowing automatic access to patient records when they check in.

Checking-Out - The check-in Kiosks should feature options to manage wrap-up tasks, such as appointment scheduling, payments, etc.

Maps or Wayfinding - Patient Kiosks offer maps of your facility to help patients with wayfinding within the building.

Image Scanning - The Patient Kiosk must allow the patient to scan their documents or images that they want to keep on their files, such as Identification Card, Insurance Information, etc.

Automated Billing - Patient Kiosks can allow you to scan cards or chips to make payments for medical bills. The amount is deducted from their account and the payment is processed.

HIPAA Compliance - A Patient Kiosk EHR software also needs to ensure patient information confidentiality and privacy through compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines.

Choosing a Patient Kiosk EMR Vendor

Now that we’ve discussed the necessary features of a Patient Kiosk EHR, let’s talk about some of the requirements you’d need from your EHR vendor. These may differ for each individual medical practice.

Vendor Size – What type of practices does your EHR vendor typically cater to? Some EHR vendors only provide services to small-scale practices, while others cater to large-scale practices. Therefore, if you have a small practice, paying for services that help large practices, won’t do much good. Similarly, large practices won’t be able to function with services designed for small practices.

Design – The design of EHR’s infrastructure depends on your choice. Whether you would prefer a cloud-based, web-based, or even standalone EHR.

Web-based EHR: These companies focus on a web-based approach and practitioners can access their patient information through their web browser.

Stand-alone EHR: Although not quite popular as the others, this EHR is an on-premise EMR that can be accessed remotely through smartphones, iPads, etc. as long as you’re connected to your practice’s network.

Cloud-based EHR: Companies that provide native cloud EHR offer you access to patient information through a cloud-storage.

Certification – Vendor certification ensures patient information confidentiality and security and is perhaps one of the most important things to look for in a Patient Kiosk EHR vendor. So make sure your vendor has ONC-authorized testing and certification body (ONC-ATCB) certification.

According to the top reviews, most Patient Kiosk EMR software vendors focus on providing cloud-based healthcare IT services to enhance security and provide seamless services.

Patient Kiosk EMR Software Benefits

An effective EHR software helps streamline your clinical workflows, simplify administrative tasks, and help reduce cost. Here are some of the most advantageous benefits of a Patient Kiosk EHR software.

• Simplifies your Patient Check-in Process
• Saves Printing Cost of Manual Forms
• Makes it easy for Patients to Access their Medical Records
• Reduces Patient Waiting Time
• Improve administrative efficiency by simplifying processes
• Makes the process of payment easier and efficient
• Reduces the possibility of errors and mistakes
• Ensure an accurate and simplified note-taking process.
• Improve clinical workflow efficiency.