UK NHS Hospital Trusts Embrace Self Service Check-in Technology

Following recent news of a trust-wide implementation of self-service kiosks at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust; a further three trusts are announcing plans to embrace the interactive technology as a means of improving patient experience, streamlining efficiencies and reducing cost.

Working in partnership with Intouch with Health - a company specialising in harnessing interactive communication technology to support healthcare organisations in the delivery of key objectives - Mid-Essex Hospital Trust, Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust will be rolling out kiosks, which notify personnel of patient arrivals and direct patients to appropriate waiting areas and consultation rooms.

Patient check-ins via self service kiosks are estimated to take as little as six seconds using a combination of barcode scanners and patient appointment letters, and a maximum of 30 seconds when patients register their arrival using personal information, such as address details or a date-of-birth. In other UK hospitals, similar technology has received a 95 per cent patient uptake rate - reducing the administration burden and associated cost of the traditional hospital check-in.

Avril Davies, Head of IT Services and Strategic IT Projects at Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust comments on why the implementation has been a success: "Tameside wanted to use the latest technology to improve services for patients. Most patients have already experienced this type of technology in their GP surgeries and as a result patients of all ages see the benefits and enjoy engaging with the kiosks."

Shortlisted for the prestigious eHealth Insider 2010 award for healthcare IT product innovation earlier this year, Intouch with Health's Medical Director, Dr. Rohit Sethi, explains what the implementation will mean for patients and Trusts alike: "Darzi's next stage review plans cited patient experience as a key improvement area for the NHS. Self service facilitates Darzi's vision of enhanced patient experience by supporting hospitals in reducing waiting times, promoting accurate and consistent patient data and reducing costs through unnecessary administration."

Gordon Lorimer, Managing Director of Intouch with Health, adds: "Technology is playing a rapidly increasing role in our lives. Once upon a time implementing self service kiosks in a clinical environment would have risked alienating certain social groups, such as the elderly. But this is no longer the case. A vast majority of the British public is now familiar with such touch-screen, self service technology thanks to its successful uptake in supermarkets, rail stations and airports. And with this familiarity comes an appreciation of the benefits - people recognise that self service equals less waiting around and a less stressful overall experience, whether they're doing the mid-week shop or attending a hospital appointment. Therefore, Trusts that embrace self service are not only reducing their own overheads and ticking boxes relating to reduced waiting times, they're meeting public demand and exceeding patient expectations."

David Warburton, Self Service Consultant at Intouch with Health, concludes: "Mid-Essex, Aintree, Tameside and Mid Yorkshire are paving the way for the innovative application of technology to achieve tangible results in healthcare provision. We're delighted to be supporting each Trust in this exciting venture and are confident that, through self service kiosks, patients attending hospitals co-ordinated by the Trusts can expect the most efficient experience possible."

In addition to rapidly checking patients in and providing a wayfinding and patient calling facility, the self service kiosks can integrate with existing management systems to accurately update patient records via pre-assessment questionnaires. This in turn can significantly help to reduce DNA (did not attend) rates by ensuring patient data is up-to-date, provide healthcare workers with clearer visibility over a patient's journey, and reduce management cost.

About Intouch
Intouch has over ten years of accumulated experience in assisting healthcare organisations in harnessing innovations, increasing their productivity and improving the quality of services they deliver. Working alongside over 60 Trusts and Health Boards, Intouch's technology, solutions and interactive tools:

  • reduce unscheduled care and its associated costs
  • reduce DNAs to save precious time and improve outcomes
  • monitor the patient experience in order to improve services
  • make administrative systems better for healthcare professionals and their patients
  • inform and empower patients to be more responsible and involved in their own healthcare

For further information visit: www.intouchwithhealth.co.uk.

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