Adventist Health System Wins Self Service Excellence Award for Speeding, Simplifying Patient Interactions

Adventist Health System (AHS) has received the 2009 KioskCom Self Service Excellence Award in the category of Best Healthcare Deployment for its use of self-service kiosks and online applications from NCR Corporation, a leading provider of self-service solutions. Presented annually at the KioskCom Self Service Expo in Las Vegas, the awards recognize the most innovative and successful self-service programs in multiple categories.

AHS first implemented NCR Patient Portal in 2006, enabling patients to access to account balances and bill payment services, schedule appointments and pre-register for upcoming visits. The health system later extended its use of self-service to include NCR MediKiosk, which automates patient registration processes.

"With NCR, we’ve been able to consistently increase data accuracy, solicit outstanding patient balances and boost collections,” said Tim Reiner, senior revenue officer at Adventist Health System. "We are proud to be recognized for our enterprise-wide approach to self-service, which has enhanced staff productivity, increased patient volume and improved cash flow across the organization.”

AHS collects eight percent of its patient revenue through on-site kiosks and online bill pay, helping the health system to reduce days in accounts receivable and increase collections without having to add additional staff. In addition, AHS has increased patient satisfaction by enabling patients to pay bills, schedule appointments and pre-register for upcoming visits online at a time that is most convenient for them.

"If a patient realizes he or she can jump online, enter some demographics and schedule a procedure right away, we believe that will drive volume,” added Reiner.

According to a recent survey of U.S. and Canadian consumers commissioned by NCR, 62 percent of patients are more likely to choose a healthcare provider that offers the flexibility to interact via online, mobile and kiosk self-service channels. In addition, 53 percent expressed some level of interest in booking or changing an appointment online through a mobile device or at a kiosk.

Since launching its self-service program, AHS has also decreased average registration time for healthcare appointments by four minutes per visit and minimized costs related to printing, filing and storing paper forms. Upon arrival for appointments, patients now swipe a driver’s license or credit card on the kiosk to initiate the check-in process, and then enter or verify demographic and insurance information, sign consent forms and make co-payments.

"By adopting a multi-channel approach to self-service, AHS has demonstrated the potential of self-service in the healthcare setting, particularly when it comes to addressing the major challenges all providers face, from rising costs to increasing patient bad debt,” said Raj Toleti, vice president and general manager for NCR Healthcare and Public Sector. "As patients continue to demand greater convenience from their healthcare providers, self-service presents an opportunity for healthcare organizations to differentiate themselves in the local marketplace and strengthen customer loyalty.”

In 2002, KioskCom launched the inaugural industry-wide Self-Service Excellence Awards to honor the most successful and innovative self-service and interactive digital media solutions. Since then, KioskCom has honored more than 200 companies across multiple industries for their leadership, innovations and successes with self-service and interactive digital media solutions.

About NCR Corporation

NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is a global technology company leading how the world connects, interacts and transacts with business. NCR’s assisted- and self-service solutions and comprehensive support services address the needs of retail, financial, travel, healthcare, hospitality, entertainment, gaming and public sector organizations in more than 100 countries. NCR (www.ncr.com) is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio.

NCR is a trademark of NCR Corporation in the United States and other countries.