Airport-style check in reducing wait times and improving the patient experience

Patients with an appointment in the new Christchurch Outpatients building are enjoying a new, simpler and faster method to check-in for their clinics.

Canterbury DHB has installed several touchscreen check-in kiosks on the ground floor of the new building and at reception areas on all other floors.

The innovative new kiosks have been developed by Florence Health*, a New Zealand business from Hawke's Bay.

On entering the Outpatients building, patients are able to use the touchscreen kiosks to scan the barcode on their appointment letters – a similar system to that used at airport check-ins. With their details scanned in, patients will be directed to the correct floor and waiting room for their appointment.

The kiosks also allow patients to check and update important information, such as a change of address or phone number.

“Our patients’ time is valuable, so we must not waste it,” says Canterbury DHB’s Chief Digital Officer Stella Ward.

“Digital solutions such as kiosks reduce queuing and streamline our appointment processes – which is very important in a complex building such as Christchurch Outpatients. With hundreds of appointments booked every day, and with more than 20 different clinical services operating across five floors, it’s vital that the new building runs efficiently.

“The kiosks will also free-up staff time, enabling more high-value work to be completed by our administrative and clinical teams, further benefitting our patients and helping us to deliver the right care in the right place at the right time,” Stella says.