It is vital in any industry sector that everyone is free from danger and threats and kiosks can help by enhancing security. Touch screen monitors can protect valuable information with a secure system which is much safer than leaving paper documents lying around.

But as well as information, kiosks can also benefit people’s security and this is especially in the case of some deployed kiosks in Ecuador in South America.

The 50 installed touch screens across 22 provinces across Ecuador assist in keeping drunken bus drivers off the road by testing their blood-alcohol levels at the start and end of the shifts.

The Ecuadorian government reportedly wanted a way to ensure that bus drivers were sober whilst on the clock and that they were accountable. As a result, they decided breathalyser kiosks were the solution to help make the public safe.

Ricardo Anton, former executive director of the Ecuadorian Transit Authority, told Kioskmarketplace.com: “The problem became pedestrian accidents in which intoxicated bus drivers were actually striking, and in some cases, causing the death of pedestrians along their routes.”

SO HOW DOES IT WORK?

The technology was provided with a collaboration of a Colorado-based manufacturer of breathalysers and a kiosk design manufacturer. The equipment now accurately measures Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) through breath testing and is protected, automated and connected to central administration and databases.

It works by permitting drivers to log into the system by scanning an ID card and upon registering their personal accounts; the screen prompts the user through the test. The results are stored and sent to the central dispatch administrator. The level of alcohol allowed for professional drivers is 0.1 and if a driver does fail the alcohol test the shift is ended immediately. The kiosk also allows managers to generate reporting on driver’s history.

SECURITY & HEALTH

This isn’t the only health monitoring kiosk. There are examples of kiosks that help consumers pick out eyewear and improve employee’s health by checking health signs such as body mass index, hydration level, blood pressure and body fat.

So if you want to boost the security of information in your business, let Protouch help you.

EyeClarity store in Melton, Australia

Many kiosks are installed in local hospitals and practices to aid healthcare professions check-in patients, take medical bill payments and provide wellbeing information.

Further touch screen units are deployed in retail outlets to provide consumers extra products to buy as well as way finding services.

But it seems that the features can be combined, after a touch screen kiosk was implemented in an optician store.

The “Myeyes” kiosk has been installed in the optometrist firm EyeClarity, in Melton, Melbourne, Australia. It won Business Review Weekly Australian Retailer of the Year 2011 Award for best use of technology.

The touch screen kiosks help the eye health care profession by allowing customers to choose eyewear to suit their lifestyle and budget without the need of a technical and further education (TAFE) dispenser to assist.

It can be complex when picking out eye wear especially in terms of finding glasses that look right on each individual’s face as well as choosing contact lenses that are suitable for the eyes. A touch screen can help when staffs are busy and sometimes people may be intimidated by the fact that vision and sight is a personal issue. By using the kiosk rather than a person, the consumer can find out which eye wear is right for them without the need to share personal details with a stranger.

The kiosk can provide all sorts of information on eye facts to aid consumers in looking after their eye sight and a payment feature would enable the eyewear to be bought there and then without the need for cheques or cash-transfers.

Many retail companies are reaping the benefits of touch screen technology; do the same in your business with Protouch.

The Kioskmarketplace.com has published a white paper regarding self-service in health care.

Touch screen kiosks, monitors and PCs are used in many industries to better customer experience and improve business efficiency. But it seems that the healthcare industry will benefit 9.5% from self-service in the next five years according to the report.

10% of the survey respondents thought there would be an increase in the works which is a surge from 7% in the 2007 survey.

So, more and more health care organisations are seeking out touch screen technology to slash costs, especially because of current government financial cuts. Kiosks can save costs in the long-run by reducing staff numbers and give employees the chance to better their time doing more important tasks such as tending to patients rather than burdensome paperwork.

So what features are there of a kiosk in health care;

- Way finding

According to the report, 13% of American hospitals use a kiosk for way finding purposes.

- Patient Check-in

The check-in process is the most consuming time spent for patients. Time consumed on filling in forms and making appointments is longer than actual time spent seeing the doctor.

- Educate

Health information can be displayed to better patient’s knowledge.

- Visitor Check-in

As well as checking-in patients, kiosks can also check-in salespeople, vendors and business associates.

- Payment

The survey findings show that 4% of Americans use a kiosk to pay medical bills.

Just in one health care organisation in America, the Adventist Health Systems, 55,000 people are employed to operate 44 hospitals with 7,700 beds. Care is provided for four million patients each year and that is just in the US alone in one company; so imagine how helpful touch screens can be for health care across the world?

Benefits include;

- Reducing paper work and postage costs

- Improved labour costs as staff can see to more patients in a given time

- Increased return on investment

- Reduce waiting times for patients therefore bettering their experience

- Faster payments from patients because it is easier to pay as it is right there and available

- Provide access to more audiences as multiple languages can be displayed which is great for communities that have multiple ethnicities and backgrounds.

So reap the welfares too by deploying a touch screen kiosk in your local hospital and health care organisation with Protouch.

Pic Credit: PublicPropertyUK.com

No-one likes being unwell and whether you mind doctors and needles or hate them, staying in hospital for a lengthy amount of time can be a huge bore for everyone.

Stuck inside a ward and confined to a bed can be energy exhausting and lonesome, and if a patient is in care for a considerable number of days or weeks passing the time can be hard.

Touch screen technology can help entertain people who are residing overnight. Television is already on offer at bedsides for a set price in most health care institutions but a kiosk can provide so much more.

With high-end images and video quality in full HD resolution, a Touch screen can give a patient the same excellence of amusement as they would experience in their very own house; so despite the fact that they are staying in a hospital they can still feel at home.

Kiosks designed for patient-bedside entertainment and patient-flow management that present video and voice communications, TV, games, movies, the radio and the Internet are brilliant to make one feel at ease and distract from the fact that they are poorly. And they are perfect for young adults and children to keep them amused when they may be scared and frightened!

The technology enables patients to still interact with the outside world and stay up-to-date and in touch with family and friends by email and instant messaging, so they are not really alone. It makes the whole experience more like staying in a hotel away from home rather than amongst sick people.

What is more, the units can aid the hospital staff too as well as the sufferer. Doctors and nurses can recover medical records and access databases from the bed to help with diagnosing the patient’s illness as opposed to waiting for paper copies to be transferred.

Software needed for the entertainment and communication purposes include;

- Barcode scanner

- Wi-Fi

- Multi touch interface

- Receipt printer

- Card reader, to make payments

- Remote control and handset

We have written a blog post beforehand about how touch screen technology and kiosks can aid the elderly in care homes.

There are many challenges in care homes to provide both the family members and patients about information; moreover monitoring visitors and guests. But a deployed unit can help speed up administration and improve services.

As well as this type of facility, kiosks can also aid educate seniors when it comes to info on benefits and saving ideas that they may not necessarily know much about.

Recent research by a national charity showed that thousands of retired people in the UK are missing out on as much as £3 billion because they are not claiming pension credit.

The statistics, published by Turn2us, reveal that 8/10 low-income pensioners are in fact unaware of their entitlement to pension credit and therefore do not claim what is lawfully theirs.

A touch screen Kiosk that is installed in the community somewhere central for example in the community centre, town hall, main church or in the centre of town can help OAPs find out more about what benefits are on offer, if they are eligible to it and how to apply for it. What is more, savvy-saving top tips and ideas can be given on the interface to support and benefit finances.

Information on care, medicine and drugs, savings programs, home energy assistance and more can be included on the machines as well as a staff member on-hand to aid the elderly person on how to use the technology.

Income can be tapped into the data that works out for you how much to save each week to be able to remain steady and financially stable. As long as the info is kept confidential and the unit employee is trained, the technology can really enhance a pensioner’s life and prohibit things becoming destitute.

So install a Touch screen kiosk in your local community today and help educate the elderly with Protouch; Europe’s number one manufacturer and distributor of Touch screen technology.

Security is important to everything; whether it is a kiosk, a computer, a jewellery store or a mobile phone.

It is vital to ensure that people are free from danger and threats and that those who need it, are protected. On a national scale, it is integral for country’s to defend its citizens against terrorism and criminal activity such as theft.

One example firm has been signalled out for its poor kiosk security to indicate to others how to look after and care for security efficiently. Its breach of security enabled the staff workforce unauthorised admission to private information.

For five months employees at a hospital in Massachusetts, in America had access to one another’s personal pay stub information via the hospital shared Kiosks.

At UMass Memorial Healthcare, 10 installed units gave employees information regarding their pay stub. But it also then gave subsequent users access to the info of previous users.

The personal information exposed the 13,500 hospital staff to learn of others’ names, bank name, bank transit number and bank account number. Private data that included social security numbers, medical records and patient information was not breached.

As a result of the security infringement, the organisation is offering potentially affected employees reimbursements of one year of free credit monitoring and the costs to institute a security freeze. Only those who accessed HRConnect using one of the Touch screen Kiosk between 7^th October and 11^th March have possibly been affected by the security violation.

A system-wide software change was applied to disable the organisation’s settings and the UMass Memorial kiosks have been returned for use.

Rob Brogna, UMass Memorial spokesman, said they have no reason to believe that any of the personal information on HRConnect has been misused.

He said: “UMass Memorial deeply regrets this incident and is continually evaluating and modifying its practices to enhance the security and privacy of all confidential and sensitive information entrusted to it.”

Stay safe with Protouch’s all in one software package, Gorilla Media. It can fully support your kiosk network and has the ability to securely lock down a machine using its secure browser and watch over an entire estate of kiosks through its network management application.

Its comprehensive suite of services cover hosting to displaying and scheduling content through to monitoring and reporting kiosk status.

Simply visit www.protouch.co.uk today to find out why we are Europe’s number one in Touch screen technology.

An NHS Trust has transformed its waiting times thanks to our touch screen Kiosks.

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) has installed one of our patient flow management kiosk solutions to help ease one of its busiest departments.

The queue management kiosk, which supports the blood taking department, has seen significant improvements for the patients with waiting times during peak periods up by a massive 50%.

Better still; during quieter off peak periods there is now no waiting time at all. This has drastically reduced the number of patients who up and leave before having their blood taken.

The kiosks, which were delivered by Q’nomy, overcame the challenges of cutting down waiting time, and reducing the number of patients abandoning – leaving without completing the medical procedure.

Our units have enabled dynamic load-balancing between the ward’s different services and improved overall patient experience, by addressing issues such as the different languages spoken by visitors and providing information to patients.

Steve Davidson, Service Manager, Haemostasis & Thrombosis Services, said: “The introduction of a kiosk in out-patients has enabled us to gain a better understanding of demand for our service.

“Since its introduction we have built a wealth of data that enables us to predict the days and times when additional staff may be required. It also tells us when our quiet periods are so that we can route staff resources to other areas.”

The system automatically replaces key patient information shown on the screens to other languages, so important messages about patient safety or hand hygiene can be shown in any language as chosen by the patient when they collect their ticket.

When a patient’s number is called, all messages on screen will change again to reflect the language choice of the remaining patients.

Mr Davidson added: “Feedback from staff and patients has been excellent and patients have noted a real reduction in waiting times and better organisation in the service. Patients have engaged in the development and provided us with ideas for improvements to the information pages shown on the screen.

“We are really encouraged by these suggestions and are continually working to make patient suggested improvements.”

Reap the benefits of a similar or different system and install a Touch screen kiosk in your local hospital with Protouch; Europe’s number one manufacturer and distributor of Touch screen technology.

It can be a distressing time when you put a loved one in a care home.

Obviously you want the very best for them which means you want the home to be clean, professional and have qualified staff to look after your relative with the utmost care.

It can be a challenge though when it comes to providing information for both patients and their family members. Moreover, when visitors make appointments to look around the premises or come to see a friend.

Touch screen technology in the form of a kiosk being deployed can help. Care home kiosks are quite unique in the market but this proves how versatile the technology is.

Installing one in your care home at the reception desk will give all people access to information 24 hours a day, easing your staff of administration duties and therefore giving them more time to care for the patients.

They also enable informative videos and campus messages to be shown so the staff can easily communicate with all occupants and their relations, as evident in a care home in West Virginia, America.

The Augsburg Lutheran Home and Village, a Continuing Care Retirement Community in Baltimore County, Maryland has deployed digital signage and touchscreen technology.

The touchscreen interface provides residents, visitors and employees with an interactive means for delivering educational videos, staff videos, religious videos and various site messages.

The kiosks currently provide over 62 design pages of content for viewing with ‘temporary’ marketing pages designed specifically for use when managers take the kiosks on the road for marketing events.

Further benefits of kiosks in care homes include;

- GP examinations. A kiosk in a nursing home managed by GP practises enables regular check-ups on patients.

- Current information for the elderly. Help and support the aging by offering the latest up-to-date news and material, for example laws that affect them.

- Socialising portal. The kiosk can include info on local clubs, meetings or groups to help the resident’s meet new people, make friends and enjoy a past-time hobby.

- Aid staff and visitors. Information can be uploaded to the kiosks such as what room the resident is living in, or checking-in process to speed up the whole ordeal. Regular family members can just scan their name in and can avoid filling out all their details every single trip.

Rather than asking where your relative is in case they have changed rooms you can simply search the kiosk. Clearly privacy issues will have to be controlled.

We have already talked previously how our taxes are leading to improved technology, in particular with the presence of kiosks in the Health industry such as the NHS or doctor’s surgeries.

In that post, we discussed how a unit can benefit your business, to enhance the customer’s experience and improve overall satisfaction and management e.g. patient’s checking in for appointments or logging in for medical data.

But how can a Touch screen better your own employee’s health rather than the customer; and what are the advantages for you as the employer?

A company in Paris has implemented some kiosks that concentrate on managing employee wellbeing  and health; checking their vital health signs, including body mass index, hydration level, blood pressure and body fat.

Capgemini, a consulting technology outsourcing and local professional services firm; issued out the units in France, as well as more than 35 countries.

The “Thrive initiative” is intended to increase focus on employee wellbeing in three phases over a six month period.

The first phase began three months ago in October 2010 with a staff campaign highlighting the importance of staying hydrated, with the workforce using the kiosks to receive their hydration statistics.

Phase two, which begins this January, will concentrate on body fat levels.

Phase three will centre on blood pressure and how its’ employees can reduce it or manage their levels.

The kiosks will be available throughout the campaign for staff to check their progress as well as an intranet site with the same information.

So far the campaign has seen about 2,500 tests completed in the Kiosks and about 50,000 hits on the intranet site.

But how can it benefit you the employer to know more about your employee’s health and how important is it?

-          A healthier employee has more prolonged life vitality and therefore would work for you longer.

-          A healthier employee is less likely to be taking working days off for being ill or sick.

-          Whilst at work, a healthier staff member can concentrate fully and put more effort into their workload, leading to better results.

-          Awareness of the working conditions possibly causing strain, stress and medical problems.

-          Understanding their physical working limitations.

To install a Touch Screen kiosk in your business, visit Protouch today.

It was always the case that when you visited your local doctor you have to sit and fill out a stack of forms before you get into the doctors office. And if you are only arriving with a few minutes to spare, you doctors appointment would be later than originally booked leaving you late for the rest of your day.

And if you are needing to visit several doctors over the course of one day across different medical areas, then the process could be repeated each time which can make the doctors more of a chore and stressful situation than it already is.

In most cases, the filling out of medical forms is more time consuming than anything else and far exceeds the time spent talking with a doctor or health professional.

It is also a long and drawn out process for the doctor and can prove costly, as once the patient has left the administrative staff have to sit down and log all the information into the computer which can sometimes result in incorrect information being included in the patients file.

Nowadays kiosks are quickly becoming a convenient solution to the problem.

“When people are coming in for an appointment, generally the last thing they want to do is stand in line at the window waiting to announce themselves,” said Robert Giblett, vice president, channel sales, at Aberdeen N.C based Meridian Kiosks, a kiosk solutions provider. “There is a higher level of customer satisfaction if they use a kiosk.”

If you look at the reality of running a doctors surgery and the amount of patients that come in and out every day, you can begin to weigh up how much paperwork there is to file and log in every day. This process can take up staff members time when they could be doing other important things that may often get left on the back burner until their time is freed up.

With a kiosk system, staff time dealing with administration is greatly reduced and the cost of paying extra staff to do the admin work is no longer needed.

However, a kiosk system is just about a cost effective solution.

“Way-finding is a fairly simple application, but a very popular one,” said Jared Rhoads, senior research analyst with Falls Church, Va based CSC, a global provider of technology abled business solutions and services.

“Patients walk into a big medical centre and they have no idea where to go,” Rhoads said. “Using the kiosk, they can type in the name of the person they are to see, and it will print out a map for them.”

Combine patient check-in and wayfinding kiosks and you can reduce costs, waiting time and stress for patients who already find coming to the doctors a struggle anyway.

And to make sure that the patient is who they say they are, they could be required to swipe their driving licence or special hospital ID which can cover security issues too.

For more information about self service kiosksand how they can benefit your business visit Protouch today.