General Practice Zonneoord

General Practice Zonneoord, located in The Hague, is housed in a building shared with several (para)medical disciplines. The practice operates with a team of 7 GPs, medical assistants and practice nurses. The practice uses the HIS Medicom system by PharmaPartners.

Approximately 1 in 3 patients at this practice is functionally illiterate. This has prompted careful consideration of the design of the registration kiosk. Irma Wolters, practice manager at General Practice Zonneoord, explains: “A significant portion of our patients struggle with reading and writing. So, we were initially a bit anxious about how this group would react to the registration kiosk. Fortunately, our patients report that the kiosk is easy to use. In fact, they even enjoy using it!”

The registration kiosk uses a single button. This way, patients don’t have to worry about making the wrong choice. The text on the button is kept simple, and there's an icon of a stethoscope on it. This makes it clear that the purpose is to check in for a doctor's appointment.

Patients helping each other

Irma mentions that patients help each other if someone is having trouble with the check-in process, which she finds very heartwarming to see. She also observes that patients now walk straight to the kiosk since they've used it before. This is also beneficial for the medical assistants, as it reduces congestion at the reception desk. If a patient still approaches the desk, the assistant directs them to the kiosk.

Less crowding at the desk

The assistants have noticed the advantages of the registration kiosk. They experience much less crowding at the desk. Research conducted by Wachtkamerschermen®, which included baseline and final measurements, confirms this. The number of contact moments at the reception desk has decreased by 54%.

Irma elaborates: “Of course, it’s less personal to check in at a kiosk. But it used to be very busy at the desk, and patients sometimes had to wait for a long time. Now, patients can check themselves in and go directly to the waiting room. And as previously mentioned, patients don’t mind checking in via the kiosk.”

Wayfinding

The registration kiosk also functions as a wayfinding tool. There is one waiting area, which is divided into two sections: left and right. Upon successful check-in, patients are directed to either the left or right side. This is convenient for healthcare providers as they can retrieve patients more quickly since they are seated in the correct area.

Integration with Medicom

The kiosk is integrated with Medicom by PharmaPartners, which also offers benefits for the GPs. Irma explains that the doctors are very pleased with the check-in system: “Previously, a large portion of the patients would just sit in the waiting room without checking in at the desk. As a result, these patients were not marked as present in the Medicom schedule. Now, all doctors have an up-to-date overview of all registered patients. This is very helpful for them and prevents unnecessary trips to the waiting room.”

At General Practice Zonneoord, they celebrated the introduction of the registration kiosk: “It was a great moment for us to put the registrationsystem into operation. We wanted to introduce the new way of working to our patients in a fun way. Judging by the positive feedback we’ve received, we’ve succeeded!”