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Is a kiosk or tablet best for self-service registration?

Oftentimes the No. 1 question asked by health care providers considering self-service is, "Should I use a kiosk or a tablet?"

January 16, 2015

By Eric Anderson

COO, Clearwave Corporation

Oftentimes the number one question asked by health care providers considering self-service is, "Should I use a kiosk or a tablet?"

The benefits of a kiosk (even a tablet-based kiosk) clearly outweigh those of a tablet alone, especially for organizations wanting to increase efficiency, improve collections through the registration process and enhance the patient experience. Kiosks create less work for staff, function at a higher capacity and are fully integrated and more secure. While the initial cost of a kiosk solution make it appear more expensive, the lower life-cycle cost combined with the inherent advantages of a kiosk based self-service model far outweigh any short-term capital savings gained from purchasing a tablet-based solution.

Below are a few items to consider as you make this decision:

Convenience for staff and patients

One of the goals of self-service registration is to provide convenience for staff and patients. The best solution is one that allows patients to serve themselves with minimal involvement from staff. Kiosks are placed out in the waiting room away from the front desk, allowing patients to register without involving staff. At the kiosk, patients will scan their driver’s license and insurance cards.

However, tablets are kept at the front desk and must be handed to patients by staff. Once the patient completes registration, they must wait in line a second time to return the tablet. Additionally, staff must still manually scan driver's licenses and insurance cards. Tablets also have an average battery life of three to five hours, which means that staff must recharge them throughout the day. It’s possible for the battery to die during registration, resulting in frustration for patients and staff.

Initial cost versus total life cycle cost

Tablets have a much lower initial cost than kiosks. There are several reasons driving the lower costs for tablets:

1. Some companies that sell tablet-based registration solutions make their money on credit card fees. It’s the tried and true approach of "give the razor away for free and charge for the blades." You pay little to nothing for the tablets (the razor), but you pay forever an inflated percentage of your credit card payments (the blades). 

2. Tablets are designed for consumer use. The components inside a tablet are consumer-grade, not commercial-grade electronics. Tablets are cheaper than kiosks because they are designed for lower standards and have a much shorter life-cycle. 

Bottom line: You get what you pay for.

While the up-front costs for tablets are lower, the total life cycle cost is much higher. The reasons kiosks cost less over time:

1. Kiosks are designed for use in commercial environments with a rugged design intended for 24-7 use by the general public. The average lifespan of a kiosk is 6.5 years, whereas a tablet is 1.8 years.

2. Kiosks come with integrated management software allowing the kiosk to be serviced and updated automatically. The software on a kiosk is always up to date.

3. One kiosk can handle 50 patients per standard clinical day, so you will only need four kiosks to handle 200 patients per day. With tablets, however, you will need many more units to handle that same patient volume.

Workflow and Integration

The true key to the success of any self-service registration device is how it fits into your workflow and how well it integrates with your practice management and/or hospital information system. Regardless of the hardware device, it is critical that you fully understand workflow and integration. Many tablet companies simply create a PDF that is attached to the patient record. This is little better than handing a patient a clipboard and scanning the completed document. 

Patient experience and appearance

What type of patient experience are you looking to create? Can you think of any other consumer industry that uses tablets for self-service? There is a reason that kiosks are the standard for self-service throughout all industries. Kiosks cost less over time, they do not need to be recharged and are more convenient for the consumer. If a bank had two options for withdrawing cash and one option was to go to a kiosk and the second option was to wait in line and obtain a tablet from the teller and then wait in line a second time to return the tablet, which option would you choose?

Industries such as airlines, gas stations and grocery stores have already determined that tablets are inefficient, and that is why you see them using kiosks. Kiosks can be integrated into your registration area and allow patients to register quickly. In fact, the patient will be able to register at a kiosk in less time than it takes to wait in line and receive a tablet. Tablets, meanwhile, can result in continued lines at your front desk and constant headaches for staff as they try to keep track of which tablet came from which patient and which tablet needs charging.

Security

Kiosks have more real estate to incorporate the latest card processing hardware that accommodates regular swipe, EMV chip-and-PIN, and contactless/NFC card processing methods. Yet, tablets are all but impossible to affix compatible card processing hardware and allow for comfortable transport to and from the front desk. Kiosks have screen guards that make it impossible to view content on the screen unless standing directly over it. This is often not the case for tablets in a busy waiting room. It would be easy for one patient to see another patient’s information.

Kiosks are also sturdy and come as floor-based or wall-mounted models virtually inaccessible to children. Tablets (ubiquitous toys for the 12-and-under crowd) may easily become damaged or misused. Additionally, kiosks are ADA accessible, while tablets can be challenging to carry for a patient who has difficulty ambulating. It's also much more difficult to simply walk out of your office carrying a kiosk.

On the software side things, kiosks contain built-in software that is locked down to prevent anyone from adding or changing features. This prevents kiosk hacking and makes them much more secure than tablets.

Eric Anderson is the Chief Operating Officer of Clearwave Corporation. He has spent the last 20 years helping organizations select, implement and manage new technologies with a focus on making life easier for employees and customers. Prior to joining Clearwave, Eric held senior leadership positions in management consulting firms and Fortune 500 companies.