Healthcare kiosks offer increased patient feedback

A study has found that interactive touch screen kiosks can help improve patient care through customer feedback.

Picker Institute and Intouch with Health found that the technology was feasible for collecting data on patient experiences, but that certain measures needed to be applied to make the most use out of the system.

Patients overall said the touch screens were easy to use, and even older individuals were at home using the technology. Users also didn’t mind spending a short time after their appointment completing the touch screen questionnaire, although researchers could not be sure whether they would appreciate waiting in a queue for the screen.

Researchers said that live opinion data from patients would help clinics and hospitals to track their own performance, and can give instant feedback on patient treatment.

However, for the system to be used properly it is recommended that “hosts” ? either staff or volunteers ? are recruited to show patients to the screen and encourage them to use it.

Tim Markham, project manager at the Picker Institute, said: “It is important to take advantage of emerging technology to help find new ways of collecting and analysing patient opinion if we are to continue improving the quality of patient experience across the health care sector.”

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