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Add value, increase traffic with network-ready health kiosks

December 2, 2004

Twenty years ago, pharmacy customers approached blood pressure kiosks cautiously, skeptical of their accuracy and suspicious that the mechanical cuff might clamp onto their arms and not let go. Over the past two decades, though, blood pressure kiosks have become extremely popular, especially with the 40-and-over crowd.

So why stop at blood pressure screenings? Why not vision screenings? Or body composition analyses? New kiosks developed through a partnership between IBM and Stayhealthy measure blood pressure, take body composition readings, display health information, play promotional videos and dispense coupons. Currently the partnership is developing an eye-health feature.

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Cort Johnson, kiosk national practice manager in IBM global services, said the network-ready health kiosks help retailers add value. "The kiosk streamlines the information customers want. It is a short, high-value experience, and it gives customers incentive to return to that location, Johnson said."

Response to the kiosks has been strong. Organizations including a major food retailer, a large corporation's human resources department, and a government office in Washington D.C. are testing them even as they await approval from the FDA.

Customer privacy is a must

Individuals can sign on to the machine, develop a profile and have their readings taken. They can also enter their blood type, medical problems and the medicines they are taking. The kiosks do not diagnose disease but offer valuable information about a person's health. This information can save time and money should that person need medical attention.

Because of government regulations, the customer's information has to be kept private. John Collins, Stayhealthy CEO, said, "The data belongs to the individual attached to the record. The profile, which is password protected, is transmitted through a secure Internet connection to our servers protected by a firewall. Most importantly, we won't allow data mining of customer information."

Even without the option of data mining, the kiosks still promise profitability for the pharmacy or retailer. As the population ages, the pool of potential users will greatly increase. In test situations, the kiosks have created a high increase in traffic.

According to Collins, the advertising model is also lucrative. When customers sit at the machine and have their blood pressure checked or their body composition measured, they tend to read what is in front of them.

Still, IBM's Johnson cautions that critical success factors for retailers are marketing, managing and maintaining the machines.

The network-ready health kiosks have proven to be reliable and accurate. When compared to full-body scans and water immersion testing, Stayhealthy's readings were accurate within 2 to 3 percentage points.

Possible limiters to the health kiosk's widespread deployment will be the current long-term contracts on many blood pressure kiosks and some kiosk manufacturers that require exclusivity. Still, some very large pharmacy chains are interested in them, and Collins believes they will be available within the next year or so.