Greg Thurau, the vice president of solutions management for Allscripts, gave DOTmed News a close-up demonstration of the company's new patient kiosk at this year's HIMSS conference.

The electronic kiosk allows patients to check in for a doctor's appointment quickly and securely with biometric patient identification that uses the vein pattern of the patient's hand. This method is less expensive but still as secure as iris scanning.

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Upon completion of the check-in process, patients can pay their co-pay directly through the kiosk.