Customer Experience

Video kiosks reshape rural service delivery

Self-service devices combined with camera technology are helping to bring needed services to neglected areas.

Photo: Adobe Stock

December 16, 2025 by Richard Slawsky — Writer, Slawsky

Although telehealth has been part of the medical vocabulary for several years, the concept of delivering critical services from afar is accelerating, with video kiosks playing a central role.

Along with offering the ability for patients to consult with doctors located miles away, these systems are increasingly being used to provide access to services well beyond healthcare. Government agencies are deploying video kiosks that enable citizens to renew licenses, submit documents, and meet virtually with caseworkers without needing to travel to a regional office. Financial institutions are utilizing remote-teller kiosks to offer ATM-like convenience while still providing access to live assistance for complex transactions.

Even social-service organizations are deploying video kiosks that let individuals complete benefit applications, conduct housing-assistance interviews, or connect with counselors through secure video links.

As labor constraints, rising operational costs, and consumer expectations for flexible service continue to shape the landscape, these kiosks offer a scalable way to extend staffing, improve access, and maintain high-quality interactions, regardless of the need.

Pace of change picking up

No matter where one stands in the debate over affordable healthcare, there's little doubt that service delivery is undergoing a massive transformation.

According to a November 2025 analysis of federal health workforce data conducted by the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund, rural areas have just two-thirds of the primary care physicians they need. Across the country, the report states, 92% of rural counties in the United States are considered primary care professional shortage areas, with 45% having five or fewer primary care doctors.

Two hundred of the more than 3,100 counties in the U.S. don't have a primary care doctor at all. About 43 million people live in rural areas coping with shortages of primary care health professionals, according to the analysis.

"Kiosks are particularly useful for patients with chronic illnesses and preventive screenings, medication reviews, and follow-up visits that do not require an examination table," Dr. Jason Schroder, co-founder and medical director of Craft Body Scan in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said in an email interview.

"Kiosks are particularly useful for patients with chronic illnesses and preventive screenings, medication reviews, and follow-up visits that do not require an examination table," he said. "Used well, kiosks don't replace care. They extend it."

The issues of physician shortages and others are driving growth in the telehealth sector, with kiosks serving as a key platform. According to a report from the Business Research Company, the market for patient self-service kiosks is forecast to reach $2.46 billion by 2029, growing at a 19.3% compound annual rate from $1.5 billion today.

Spotlighting that trend, at the beginning of December, the Bengaluru, India-based technology services firm Tata Elxsi announced a partnership with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and OSF HealthCare to deploy AI-powered digital health kiosks meant to serve rural areas. The project will launch in Illinois, expanding to multiple counties over the next three years.

According to a company press release, the kiosks will address four main healthcare issues facing rural areas:

• Hospital re-admission and post-acute care health monitoring.
• Geographic and access barriers.
• Healthcare education and preventive measures.
• Chronic disease management.

Moving beyond medicine

Another early adopter of video-based service delivery via kiosks was the financial services industry, specifically via "video teller machines." Although the devices are being deployed throughout the country, they've been particularly beneficial in rural areas.

VTMs offer many of the same withdrawal, deposit, and balance-checking services as ATMs, with the added benefit of video connectivity, allowing users to connect with remote tellers for assistance with more complex transactions, such as opening new accounts or applying for loans.

A November 2025 study published by Global Growth Insights highlights that 37% of bank branches in rural areas utilize video-enabled kiosks to deliver core services, particularly to underbanked populations. Additionally, the study states that 48% of new customer acquisitions in rural and semi-urban areas have been enabled by video banking kiosks.

Other services include career counseling. Georgia'sEmployment Virtual Agentproject uses kiosks with Cisco Webex Desk Pro units to provide live video sessions between WorkSource Georgia counselors and job seekers. At $4,500 per unit, the kiosks are significantly less expensive compared with the cost of building and staffing a brick-and-mortar career center. One employment counselor can manage four kiosks at once.

And a key service provided by video-enabled kiosks is access to government services. Concord, N.H.-based Advanced Kiosks recently installed the first of its Aegis Booth video kiosks at the Fort Peck Indian Reservation near Poplar, Montana, as part of a contract with the U.S. Department of the Interior. The reservation is home to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes.

The kiosk allows reservation residents to securely talk by video conferencing to Bureau of Trust Funds Administration (BTFA) representatives and access federal benefits.

The area has long suffered from high unemployment and high poverty rates. About 32% of Native Americans in the state lacked health insurance in recent years, according to a policy document published by theState of Montana.

"Several studies have made it clear that Native Americans are disproportionately underserved and economically vulnerable," said Advanced Kiosks president Howard Horn in a blog post detailing the project. "These kiosks will be one step along the journey to eliminating those inequities."

Broadband access tops the list of challenges

As these examples illustrate, video-enabled kiosks are emerging as a practical and increasingly necessary tool for bridging service gaps in communities where staffing shortages, long travel distances and limited infrastructure have historically left residents underserved.

Still, the long-term success of video kiosks will depend on overcoming a variety of challenges.

Unfortunately, rural residents are less likely to use telehealth services, primarily due to limited access to high-speed Internet. According to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, rural "health care deserts" and other remote communities tend to have lower broadband access than the rest of the country, undermining video-based services.

That's reflected in the numbers. According to the Commonwealth Fund study mentioned above, just 19% of rural respondents said they received health care from a primary care physician via telehealth over the past year, compared with the national average of 29%.

Servicing the devices is also an issue. In the Advanced Kiosks project, the nearest airport is 140 miles away from the deployment site, making service calls both time-consuming and expensive.

Also, a lack of limited technology literacy, a lack of experience with video tools, and general discomfort using digital platforms all reduce adoption, according to Leander, Texas-based healthcare technology provider Empeek.

Improving rural broadband access is essential, as is designing systems that are intuitive, secure, and remotely manageable. Communities must also invest in digital literacy and trust-building to ensure that residents are comfortable engaging with remote agents through technology.

Even with these hurdles, with the right implementation, video-capable kiosks can reduce inequities, strengthen local economies and bring essential services closer to the people who need them most.

About Richard Slawsky

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