News

Vermont hospital deploys kiosks for vendor vetting

December 10, 2013

The Southwestern Vermont Medical Center has installed five self-service kiosks in its main entryways as an automated method of prescreening the 20 to 30 vendors who visit the 99-bed community hospital every week.

SVMC's kiosks, produced by Advanced Kiosks, draw data from Vendermate, a third party credentialing manager which serves both health care providers and suppliers. When reps enter the hospital, their first stop is a wall-mounted kiosk.

"I was surprised to see how recognizable the kiosks were for the vendors," said SVMC desktop support specialist Michael LaRoche. "They see the sign-in screen, and they know exactly what to do."

If the rep works for a company that uses Vendormate and is already registered in the system, he or she only needs to check in. The kiosk then prints out a validation badge complete with pre-uploaded photo, name and other basic identifying info. For guest vendors who are not prescreened, the kiosk asks a series of questions and then prints a 24-hour courtesy badge. SVMC allows a vendor up to three courtesy badges before he or she must be credentialed by Vendormate.

Read more about kiosks in hospitals.