Self-service technologies are deeply embedded in the fabric of our daily lives. From ATMs and airline check-in to quick-service ordering, consumers increasingly rely on and prefer to manage routine transactions themselves.

The market tells the same story: self-service technologies totaled about $34 billion in 2022 and are projected to exceed $92 billion by 2030,¹ with healthcare among the fastest-growing use cases.

Self-service in healthcare delivery

Healthcare services face persistent staffing shortages driven, in part, by high stress and burnout contributing to job dissatisfaction and high attrition. Care teams are stretched, and front-desk roles absorb a widening scope — from appointment management to forms, benefits checks, and intake — that, coupled with workforce shortages and employee fatigue potentially lead to medical errors and diminished care quality.

However, technological advancements now allow for thoughtfully deployed kiosks that can offload repeatable tasks, standardize check-in, accelerate collections, and free staff to focus on navigation, patient experience, and high-yield priorities.

The front desk as the front door

At Montefiore Medical Center, the Patient Service Representative (PSR) is the gatekeeper to access and flow. While this role is low on the organizational hierarchy, it is essential to departmental efficiency. Core responsibilities include appointment scheduling, patient communications, triaging calls, processing forms, supporting revenue cycle operations, and more. This role is precisely where the right technology — such as a self-service kiosk — can remove friction and elevate the PSR’s role.

On March 24, 2025, Montefiore Medical Group (MMG), the primary care network serving the Bronx and lower Westchester County — launched a seven-phase plan to implement self-service kiosks across its 22 practice locations. These devices run EPIC Welcome, the native component of Epic (Montefiore’s EHR), enabling patients to complete check-in, verify demographics and insurance, e-sign required forms, respond to screeners, and pay copays. What follows is MMG’s journey from readiness to lessons learned.

Readiness: Governance, scope, and site selection

MMG began discussions in early 2024 and formed a cross-functional workgroup by mid-year. The workgroup was led by a Project Manager and included representation from senior leadership, registration, revenue cycle, marketing, product, and practice leadership.

Phase 1: Discovery and Preparation

• Understand core system capabilities
• Select vendor hardware and peripherals (kiosk device, PC, barcode scanner/card payment processing machines)
• Choose pilot sites in practices of all sizes (small to large) and conduct walk-throughs to finalize kiosk placement
• Design and order kiosk signage and other marketing materials

Phase 2: Operational Planning and Alignment

• Convert workgroup into a project team, including rationale and objectives for the initiative
• Choose a project planning tool to assist with detailed planning and tracking implementation
• Establish standing weekly meetings for the project team, as well as a timeline for deliverables (with resources assigned) and a go-live date
• Provide EPIC Welcome workflow training (with hands-on practice) to project team
• Identify gaps and optimize EPIC Welcome workflows to align and augment current registration and nursing workflow
• Create training document with “use-case” scenarios to train patient service teams
• Confirm kiosk placement for visibility and other key factors
• Define key performance indicators (KPIs) and build a dashboard to monitor adoption and performance
• Plan post-go-live support 

Phase 3: Activation and Engagement

• Conduct multiple on-site demo sessions and hands-on practice in a test environment
• Share MMG-specific EPIC Workflow document with patient services
• Run a soft go-live with on-site support to test various scenarios, including copay collection
• Stand up a Microsoft Teams channel for real-time questions
• Proceed to go-live with on-site support from technical, registration, leadership teams

Following the above phases, our three pilot practices were ready for implementation.

Post go-live support and monitoring

To sustain momentum and confidence, the project team prioritized planning for comprehensive post–go-live support and performance monitoring. The following measures were
put in place to ensure effective post–go-live support and monitoring:

• Two weeks of on-site support (technical, workflow and leadership)
• Daily huddle mentions to socialize the kiosk initiative
• Daily afternoon check-ins during the first week, then weekly stakeholder reviews of KPI dashboard, technical issues/updates, requests for changes, and knowledge sharing
• Real-time group chat during business hours (M-F)
• Rapid assessment of staffing gaps for
  navigation and pre-registration; surge
  support as needed
• Continuous patient feedback
• Associate feedback requested at 30-day mark
• Ongoing support from MMG Performance Improvement team.

Data and measurement

MMG defined KPIs during planning, and Web Intelligence (WEBI) was used to build dashboards with Epic as the data source to give broad access and robust filtering capabilities. Core dashboard metrics included:

• Kiosk utilization: tracking percentage of check ins via kiosk
• Patient profile: demographics of patient kiosk users
• Average Check-in time: kiosk vs. Front desk
• Copay collections: kiosk vs. Front desk
• Portal engagement: MyChart activation, eCheck-in rates for kiosk vs. non-kiosk practices
• Form completion: screening/questionnaire completion rates.

Early visibility via the dashboard enabled us to monitor progress in the first week of implementation, allowing us to identify areas of opportunity as kiosk utilization increased.

Lessons learned

The implementation of six self-service kiosks across three primary care practice locations yielded valuable insights.

1. A robust and hard-wired pre-registration process is required. Successful kiosk use for full check-in depends on prompting patients at least 24-48 hours prior to their scheduled appointment to ensure all necessary information is collected, insurance verified, and informing patients of the option to use self-service in a fast, efficient, and safe manner. Patients should also be advised it is the best practice to use the patient portal to complete their check-in.

2. Portal adoption amplifies speed. With more than 80% of MMG patients enrolled in MyChart, activation and utilization of the patient portal is a core focus of operations and workflows. Seven days prior to a scheduled appointment, patients will receive a push notification and/or text message directing them to complete a PreCheck-in for their upcoming visit. This includes verification of demographic information, satisfying copayments, updating preferred pharmacy, completion of screeners/questionnaires, and e-signature of required documents.

If this process is completed in its entirety, the patient will receive a barcode to scan at the time of visit, and he/she is fully registered and prepared for the visit. The barcode scanning process, which takes under 30 seconds, optimizes the kiosk’s operational flow. Engage staff and patients on the benefits of leveraging the patient portal ahead of kiosk implementation. Disruptions and frustration can be expected if workflows are misaligned.

3. Interoperability of Epic Welcome and MyChart must exist. Data entered during MyChart PreCheck-in must flow in an equal pathway into the same Epic Welcome fields. Any gaps force duplicate entry.

4. Redefine front-desk work (and name “navigators”). Identify senior associates with strong service and tech skills to serve as kiosk navigators initially. The navigator must possess strong technical and customer service skills. Co-located kiosks allow one navigator to assist two patients at once, doubling impact. Provide brief scripts for common scenarios and patient objections.

5. Plan for patient perceptions. Patients will be vocal in expressing their questions and sentiments about these new features. Equip front-desk staff with clear, consistent language to address patient concerns that frames kiosks as faster, safer, and more accurate — and explain how staff time is being redirected to higher-value help.

Preparing the front desk staff with responses to these questions and comments will provide the confidence and security needed to engage patients in dialogue, while subtly enforcing and promoting use of the kiosk.

6. Embrace ADKAR before day one. Put the ADKAR change management theory into use, with the letters A and D (Awareness and Desire) as a pre-requisite to the remainder (Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement). Creating awareness (why the kiosk was needed) and the desire (participation in and support of the kiosk) proved to be the most challenging components; we severely underestimated the extent to which this change would affect overall operations and the organizational culture of the practice.

Leaders should openly discuss why the strategic decision to add kiosks matters, what initial challenges to expect, and the WIIFM (“what’s in it for me”) for PSRs (e.g., less data entry, more navigation/patient help). Involve front-desk champions in design and go-live to build credibility. Buy-in from front-desk staff will play a vital role in the success of the project.

Results

Self-service kiosk utilization is encouraging and trended upwards. In the initial months of roll-out we understood the importance of having navigators at the kiosk as a method of improving patient engagement with the device. One of the practices experienced an operational emergency reflected in the dip in kiosk utilization in September 2025. But for the kiosks, the impact on operations would have been significant. (See Figure 1.) 

This self-service kiosk roll-out debunked the myth that older patients do not accept innovative technology. This age group adopted the kiosk and continued utilization despite having to complete several screeners. This also speaks to the importance of having well trained navigators at the kiosks to get patient buy-in. (See Figure 2.)

Self-service kiosk implementation has resulted in improvements in internal processes, in addition to revenue. It has significantly improved quality of data collected such as demographic, insurance, pharmacy, behavioral health screening information etc. Kiosk workflow ensures completion of forms and screeners at required cadence and in multiple languages. Initially, this step increased average check-in time, but since implementation, the duration is trending downwards. In addition, it has eliminated the need for paper screeners when patients utilize the kiosk. (See Figure 3.)

Historically, collecting patient copayments has been a persistent challenge, influenced by broader economic conditions and patients’ financial constraints. However, the introduction of self-service kiosks has dispelled this long-held assumption. Data shows that copay collections processed through kiosks are 32% higher than those collected at the front desk within the same practice location. With a total cost of $10,100 per kiosk, deploying one kiosk across 22 practice sites represents a $222,200 investment — an amount projected to be fully recouped within 9.9 months, based on the increased rate of copay collection. (See Figure 4.)

With fewer patients presenting to the front desk for check-in, additional capacity is created. Preliminary data suggests about 30%-time savings for front desk staff to redirect attention on other tasks. One such task is addressing patient messages. Patient messages are expected to be resolved within two business days. Practice locations integrated with self-service kiosks demonstrate a 30% reduction in turnaround time over a 6-month period. This performance has a positive impact on patient experience and health outcomes. (See Figure 5.)

Next steps

MMG will continue to scale self-service kiosks across the network, with a completion target date of December 2026. The team will monitor utilization patterns, address barriers, and implement enhancements and corrective actions, while maintaining transparency and open lines of communication with leadership, associates, and our patients.

Note:

1. Grand View Research. Self-service Technology Market (2023 - 2030). Available from: https://bit.ly/4iI0E1Y