“Patient intake process offers a valuable opportunity to engage patients early on,before they see a provider”
As technology develops it infiltrates every aspect of medical billing, patient care, and practice management, one piece of day-to-day medical office operations has been largely spared: check-in. Even small practices with single healthcare providers can find themselves buried under hefty files for each patient.And as the healthcare system shifts from a fee-for-service model to one that emphasises value and accountability, providers are focusing more and more attention and resources on helping patients gain the skills they need to effectively manage their health
A patient may be tired, a foolproofrushed, worried, insecure, or ill. They are rarely in the right state of mind to answer medical questions.
First:
It’s an inefficient process since there’s obviously more involved in intake, from an administrative perspective, than just patient sign-in.
Second:
Many people are rightfully suspicious about downloading files off websites. Even if they don’t think their healthcare provider would intentionally infect their computer, you never know what malicious files are floating around.
Third:
Most of the people don’t have printers at home these days. With the ease of transferring files and storing information on cloud services, printers are falling out of style. Plus, the cost of ink has risen. If your forms require five or six pages, your patients won’t spend their ink.
The healthcare IT community has recognised the above issues and pounced on the perceived business opportunity. Automated intake solutions, including patient check-in kiosks, are now widely available to healthcare providers of all sizes. For some practices, they certainly do. The increased efficiency of an automated check-in process can be a revenue driver for large practices, especially those with long intake times.
“As a healthcare provider’s look for feasible ways to improve patient engagement and experience, the patient intake process presents an exciting opportunity and automating the intake process aligns with those preferences and expectations and can offer an effective path to increased patient engagement and improved outcomes from the start.”