Emergency Department Kiosks Offer Short Patient Check-Ins

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Article Date: 19 Sep 2007 - 8:00 PDT

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Several hospitals around the nation are installing self-service computers in their emergency departments to facilitate patient check-in, helping to speed up the registration process, offer patients additional privacy and aid nurses in determining the most urgent cases, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports. The computers are geared toward cases without immediate need, while serious emergency cases, such as gunshot or car crash patients with serious injuries, are still treated immediately.

At Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, computer registration in the ED takes about eight minutes. Patients can enter basic information in addition to complaints and ailments. The information is transmitted to nurses, who give priority to people with chest pains, stroke symptoms or other potentially serious complaints.

Jennifer Hay, unit manager for Parkland Memorial -- which currently has three computers -- said the kiosks have reduced check-in lines for the 300 patients who come through daily. She added, "It's helping us find the people that we need to see right now."

Marc Borenstein, chair and residency program director for the department of emergency medicine at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in New Jersey -- which is installing the kiosks in the next few months -- noted, "Patients don't always know if their symptom is potentially bad or serious." Brian Keaton, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, said, "If it's getting people to be able to sit down and not be in a long line, then it's good."

John Lovelock, research director for industry research firm Gartner, said while first-time patients might hesitate to use the computers, regular ED users understand the time they are saving. "I think the public is absolutely ready for this," Lovelock said. The AP/Tribune notes that although the computers decrease registration time, they do not address the ongoing problem of lengthy waits to see doctors, which can take hours in many EDs (Stengle, AP/Chicago Tribune, 9/14).

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