Although still used in most waiting rooms, patients hate filling out clipboards, kiosks, or tablets at the point of care. This inefficiency of point of care intake/registration systems is costing care centers 14 to 22 minutes per patient - not including the many ad-hoc issues that arise when forms aren’t filled in correctly or patients are unprepared. Often, a patient will arrive uneducated, unprepared, or unable to provide the information necessary to complete the administrative engagement prior to receiving care. Preventing this situation through a pre-arrival focused patient intake solution results in a much more efficient and seamless process for both patients and staff.

Eliminating the time spent on patient phone calls, in-person admissions and appointment scheduling, healthcare staff can allocate more time and energy to direct patient care. This increased focus on patient well-being enhances job satisfaction, reduces stress levels, and ultimately improves staff retention rates.


Patients are embracing the new technology because they want a great consumer experience. 83% of patients said they would prefer to complete all necessary paperwork before stepping into the hospital or medical practice office. They have also embraced the concept of patient self-scheduling, cutting down on the number of phone calls (and minutes) they need to spend with front office personnel.

Scheduling an appointment is first step in the care journey for many patients and most prefer to self-schedule for both efficiency and convenience. However, it’s often the responsibility of the administrative staff to vet, qualify and place the patient in the correct time slot, for the correct amount of time with the correct provider at the correct location based on organizational protocols and routines. Simply opening a calendar online falls short of the necessary elements required to properly schedule a patient.

Fortunately, some patient intake solutions provide an intuitive and user-friendly interface that allows patients to properly schedule appointments online. These advanced self-scheduling solutions automate the vetting process through configurable logistical question trees. The most advanced can help navigate patients with healthcare organizations that operate in multiple time zones. These solutions integrate with existing EMR scheduling calendars, ensuring that appointments are seamlessly updated in real-time. By eliminating the back-and-forth communication between patients and staff for scheduling purposes, valuable time is saved, and staff can focus on critical patient care.

By implementing healthcare technology such as mobile intake, self-scheduling, and contactless payments, your staff will reduce the time spent on manual tasks. This leads to improved efficiency, fewer errors, and increased availability for staff to concentrate on enhancing the patient experience.

About the author: Hari Prasad is pioneering the modernization of the entire healthcare patient experience. He is co-founder and CEO of Yosi Health, a full-service technology ecosystem that connects patients with their providers through the entire care journey before, during and after the visit creating delightful patient experiences.

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