Contactless care means healthcare services that use technology to lower face-to-face contact. Patients can handle many parts of their healthcare from home using devices like smartphones or tablets. This includes online scheduling, digital check-in, filling out forms before a visit, and contactless payment.
During the pandemic, in-person primary care visits dropped by 66%. High-margin services, like elective surgeries, fell by 99%. Hospitals lost about $50 billion each month. To recover and prepare for the future, many practices started using digital systems to give contactless services.
The first step in visiting a doctor is usually registering and scheduling. Before, this meant phone calls, paper forms, and meeting in person. These methods take time and can spread germs or lead to mistakes from typing data wrong.
With digital patient intake, patients fill out forms, update their info, agree to treatments, and answer health questions before arriving. About 77% of patients like filling out digital forms early. This helps lower errors and cuts down work for staff. When patients enter their own data, there are fewer billing mistakes and clinical risks.
Online scheduling lets patients book or change appointments anytime. Over 70% of patients prefer providers who offer online scheduling. Young people especially like this. Booking online takes about one minute, while on the phone it takes about eight minutes. This saves time for patients and office workers.
For example, Memorial Health in Ohio got 80% of patients to check in digitally just 60 days after starting the system. This lowered crowds in waiting rooms and saved over 220 staff hours.
Paying bills can be hard for patients. Contactless payments let people pay co-pays, deductibles, and balances safely and easily. Options include online payments, mobile wallets, card tap-to-pay, and secure kiosks.
Almost all healthcare providers (96%) take credit cards, and 78% of customers want to keep using contactless payments even after the pandemic. Besides making things easier, digital payments cut costs by removing paper billing and handling fees.
Security is very important. Providers like Health iPASS use technology such as EMV chips, Near Field Communication (NFC), and tokenization to keep payments safe. Mobile wallets also use device security like facial recognition to protect patients.
When payment systems connect with practice management and health records, money data updates in real time, collection improves, and staff spend less time chasing bills. Practices say payments happen faster and workload is lighter.
Contactless tech helps communication too. Automated reminders sent by safe SMS or email lower missed appointments and help patients with changes. Some systems like Yosi Health offer two-way texting that follows privacy rules. This lets patients and staff chat quickly without phone calls.
This kind of communication helps patients stay on treatment plans and keep appointments. With two-way texting, patients can ask questions or update info easily. Staff get updates right away and phone tag goes down.
A big challenge is making sure different software works together. If not connected well, systems create isolated data, repeat work, and cause slowdowns.
Top digital intake tools like Kyruus Health, Yosi Health, and Phreesia connect both ways with EHR systems. This means patient info entered during check-in or payments updates the clinic’s clinical and billing records automatically.
This real-time connection makes data accurate, lowers manual errors, and smooths workflows in registration, documentation, and billing. Providers see fewer billing delays, right insurance checks, and better patient care coordination.
Even though digital tools help many, some patients have limited tech access or are less comfortable using it.
Successful systems offer ways to help everyone. This includes QR code kiosks, tablets in the office, and support in multiple languages so all patients can fill out forms and pay bills. UnityPoint Health, for example, sends text alerts telling patients when to enter the building. This limits crowds and keeps communication clear for those who need extra help.
Healthcare offices train staff to help patients with digital check-ins and payments. This way, no one gets left out and rules on access are followed.
Beyond check-in, digital wayfinding tools help patients find their way in large healthcare buildings. Things like interactive kiosks, mobile apps with step-by-step directions, digital signs, and Bluetooth beacons make visits easier and less stressful.
For example, Boston Children’s Hospital saw 65% of patients and visitors had better visits after using wayfinding tech. Also, 77% said their stress went down.
But technology alone is not enough. Towne Health uses “Augmented Patient Navigation” (APN), which mixes digital tools with trained staff who give personal help. This helps with language, mobility, and quick changes in the building.
The APN system uses data to predict busy times and plan staff schedules. This makes the patient flow smoother and puts patients at ease.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation help make contactless care better and faster.
AI scheduling apps can guess which patients might not show up. They can also set appointment lengths and times using past and current data. This reduces delays and uses doctors’ time better. AI balances morning and afternoon slots and spots patients needing reminders or extra care.
Automation tools fill out forms automatically from records and change documents like faxes into digital files that fit EHRs. This saves staff time and cuts errors.
Biometric methods like facial and fingerprint scans let patients check in fast and securely. This cuts down repeated identity checks.
AI also helps with patient engagement by sending reminders and follow-ups at the best times. It can warn staff about problems before they happen so they can fix them quickly.
Practices using AI say they get back up to twenty times their initial investment by lowering labor costs and seeing more patients.
Contactless solutions help in many ways: they improve safety, make things easier for patients, reduce administrative work, and support better revenue. Alvin Amoroso says contactless check-in can cut front-office work by 80%, letting staff focus more on patients and urgent cases.
Contactless payments also affect patient loyalty and satisfaction. Most people now expect easy payment like in retail. Healthcare providers who don’t offer this risk losing patients and money.
AI in contactless systems helps practices manage patient flow, plan resources well, and keep good care even during changing demand or health emergencies.
Using digital contactless tools—from patient intake and payments to communication, navigation, and AI automation—is becoming necessary for healthcare providers in the U.S. A clear and patient-friendly contactless journey improves efficiency, safety, and satisfaction. It also helps healthcare systems adapt to the world after the pandemic.
COVID-19 has caused a steep decline in patient visits, with 66% of consumers postponing primary care appointments and a 99% reduction in high-margin services, leading hospitals to lose around $50 billion monthly.
Health systems can rebuild patient confidence by reimagining the patient experience to allow a contactless journey, addressing patients’ fears while ensuring safety and efficiency from pre-visit registration to post-visit payment.
Digital solutions like self-service platforms for COVID-19 screening, check-in processes, and virtual waiting rooms help create a seamless contactless experience, as demonstrated by facilities like Memorial Health and Banner Health.
Long-term optimization requires integrating digital solutions with updated strategies, including workflow modifications, staggering schedules, reconfiguring physical spaces, and revising staffing models.
Key benefits include preparedness for future surges, resilience in operations, restoration of patient confidence, improved operational efficiency, reduced exposure risks, and the ability to optimize physical space.
Health systems like UnityPoint Health have implemented text-based platforms to alert patients when to enter the facility and minimize contact, while others enable contactless check-in through mobile chatbots.
A multi-pronged approach is essential as it combines digital advancements with operational and strategic planning, ensuring a comprehensive and effective contactless experience that meets patient expectations.
Tactics include optimizing the mix of virtual and in-person visits, updating workflows, evaluating physical space, creating targeted marketing campaigns, and altering staffing models to improve patient interactions.
Digital technology is crucial for enabling a smooth, touchless patient journey, ensuring safety and convenience for both patients and providers, while facilitating communication and operational efficiencies.
The AVIA Network offers resources and expert guidance for healthcare organizations looking to create contactless patient experiences, empowering them through knowledge sharing and collaboration on best practices.
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