Vendor exec: Electronic history-taking has clinical as well as administrative benefits

Let's face it, nobody likes the clipboard you're supposed to fill out every time you visit the doctor. Electronic alternatives for taking patient histories--such as in-office kiosks and online patient portals--have been around for years, with a moderate amount of uptake, but the clipboard remains almost ubiquitous.

Automating the history-taking process certainly saves time if it's properly integrated into the workflow, and it's likely to make the office run a little more efficiently, shorten time in the waiting room and perhaps raise patient satisfaction by a few points. Raj Toleti, chairman of Orlando, Fla.-based kiosk-maker PatientPoint, argues that such technology can improve clinical quality as well.

Writing in Advance for Health Information Executives, Toleti makes the point that kiosks help triage information and, by keeping an up-to-date medication list for each patient, can improve prescription adherence. "Unlike traditional programs that target patients at home, kiosk-based medication adherence initiatives provide a unique opportunity to engage patients during the care episode when immediate action can be taken," writes Toleti, who also co-founded Galvanon, another producer of a self-service patient kiosk that's now owned by NCR.

"With self-service technology in place, providers can also enhance their clinical decision support capabilities for optimum evidence-based guideline compliance," Toleti adds. This works best when the data collected through a kiosk or portal is integrated into an EMR, but Toleti says it's possible to realize some benefits even without an EMR.

To learn more:
- read Toleti's commentary in Advance for Health Information Executives

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