Patients at some Heritage Valley Health System hospitals in Pennsylvania are using automated kiosks, patient identification cards and patient portals to expedite their check-in process, the Sewickley Herald reports.
The touch-screen kiosks reduce check-in times for blood tests, X-rays and other procedures from 10 minutes to two minutes, according to David Carleton, Heritage Valley's CIO. On average, about 600 patients use the self-service kiosks each day at Thorn Run Diagnostic Imaging Center, Center Township Women's Health Center and The Medical Center, Beaver. Patients at all Heritage affiliates eventually will have access to the kiosks, according to Carleton.
About 220,000 of the 350,000 Heritage Valley Health System patients also can check in by swiping a Care Card that identifies them and accesses their medical records and insurance information, Carleton said. The card also can electronically enters patients onto a wait list for emergency departments, physician offices and other outpatient facilities, according to the health system's Web site.
Patients also can use the Health Link Portal to access their accounts from home and to schedule mammograms and osteoporosis screenings, as well as other routine check-ups, according to the system's Web site. Enrollment for the Care Card and patient portal is offered at no cost. Carleton hopes the health system will expand the portal to make registering, testing and result retrieval seamless, according to the Herald (Hartle, Sewickley Herald, 2/1).