How Urgent Care Centers Can Reduce Wait Times With Patient Check-In Kiosks

Urgent care centers are quickly gaining popularity for their convenience and lower costs. Patient check-in kiosks can help reduce wait times and administrative burdens.

Urgent care centers are serving a growing number of patients each year

In most cases, patients who show up at a modern-day emergency room with common health issues like a sore throat or minor burn will likely have to wait for an extended period of time before being seen by a physician. In recent years, urgent care centers have grown in popularity as an alternative to emergency rooms for patients by offering walk-in care, convenient hours, and the immediate treatment of urgent but not life-threatening emergencies.

A 2019 report showed the total number of centers had reached 9,616, a 9.6% jump from the previous year. “The year-over-year growth across the country shows the importance of urgent care in today’s healthcare marketplace, as today’s patients seek affordable healthcare options, shorter wait times, and more convenient access to care,” said Laurel Stoimenoff, the former CEO of Urgent Care Association.

Burnout and labor shortages are taking a toll

According to a report from HHS, the COVID-19 pandemic led to significant healthcare staffing shortages, increased worker burnout, and other hurdles that have persisted after the pandemic. Across the board, industries such as retail and quick-service restaurants are seeing this translate to declines in customer satisfaction.

According to one study, 80% of patients would switch providers for “convenience factors” alone— and that was before the pandemic triggered a sprint for healthcare providers to adopt more digital technologies such as patient check-in kiosks.

By making the jobs of healthcare staff easier, patient check-in kiosks are quickly becoming a primary alternative to the traditional paper-based intake process. By simplifying intake, verification, and payment processes, patient check-in kiosks free up staff to focus on providing personalized quality care. 

Patient check-in kiosks can help urgent care centers reduce patient wait times and more

Aila’s Interactive Kiosk lets patients at urgent care clinics quickly check themselves in with their ID, insurance card, or a smartphone in seconds. Urgent care centers can leverage our patient check-in kiosk to provide:

1. An easy to use patient-facing digital front door
2. Seamless verification of IDs and insurance cards
3. Shorter lines and lower overall wait times
4. Socially distant, “contactless,” or “touchless” options
5. Serve patients who speak a language other than English
6. Manage patient expectations around wait times for walk-in appointments
7. Processing payments 

Designed for large-scale deployments, Aila’s patient check-in kiosks provide more flexibility and superior user experience to urgent care centers compared to traditional systems. Our iPad-based patient kiosks feature integrated image-based scanning, power management and a range of mounting options, and accessories such as printers and payment cradles to match the exact needs across urgent care clinics.

The rise in urgent care centers across the United States speaks to the increasing demand for patients to access quality, convenient healthcare at lower costs. However, healthcare staffing shortages, increased worker burnout, and other challenges make it difficult for urgent care centers to preserve short wait times, streamline patient intake, and help staff. Aila can help. 

Our patient check-in kiosk for urgent care centers automates patient intake, reduces wait times, and frees healthcare staff to focus on higher-value patient interactions.