How Healthcare Organizations Are Simplifying Patient Check-Ins

Many healthcare leaders say patients now expect these digital conveniences and that offering them helps providers stay competitive.

“You are transforming a very entrenched, manual, time-consuming process into something that’s automated, electronic, patient-friendly and tech-enabled — and that’s a huge transformation,” Shegewi says.

For patients, completing intake tasks at home reduces wait times. For providers, digital intake systems automate insurance verification and consent management, and in emergency departments, assist with triage screening, which reduces employee burnout, he says.

Furthermore, appointment reminders and easy rescheduling options reduce no-show rates, while data quality and accuracy are improved.

“It doesn’t just improve the logistics of access to care, it also strengthens the relationship between the patient and health system,” Shegewi says. “With these changes, you promote trust, preparedness, satisfaction, convenience and accessibility.”

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Nebraska Methodist Health System Opens Digital Patient Access

Nebraska Methodist Health System, which operates four hospitals and over 30 clinics, launched its digital access initiative in 2021 after patient feedback revealed the desire for more online capabilities.

The Omaha-based provider, which runs its Oracle Health EHR system on Oracle Cloud, previously offered a basic patient portal, but patients could not book appointments, search for available providers or fill out paperwork electronically, Hutteger says.

In 2023, Methodist integrated several third-party tools into its EHR to enable those features, including appointment reminder software that connects with its scheduling systems. In 2024, Methodist upgraded its mobile app to include doctor search capabilities.

Now, patients no longer have to call to make appointments. They can complete cumbersome paperwork beforehand. “People love it. It takes away some of the anxiety about coming to the doctor’s office,” Hutteger says.

Many patients prefer completing forms digitally at home rather than in waiting rooms, where they may feel pressure to answer quickly or feel embarrassed discussing sensitive topics such as mental health or food insecurity.

“Sometimes, it’s difficult to answer these questions on the spot,” Hutteger says. “Patients can think about it at home and complete them with help from a loved one.”

Methodist installed Apple iPad device kiosks in waiting rooms where patients can complete forms onsite. All patients check in digitally by entering their name and date of birth, though paper forms remain available for those who prefer them, he says.

The digital workflow eliminates the need to transcribe paper forms into electronic records.

“It speeds everything up for both staff and patients,” Hutteger says. “People hate waiting for the doctor, but a lot of it has to do with getting their insurance matched up and doing all these pre-appointment things that are necessary but not fun to go through.”

Previously, paper responses sometimes weren’t transcribed until appointments ended. Now, physicians have immediate access to screening information about falls, memory issues and other concerns that might otherwise be missed in short appointments. 

"I can see those answers up front and bring something up to the patient if I need to during the visit," Hutteger says.

Overall, the technology has improved patient experience scores, but Methodist isn’t done making improvements and continues to digitize forms in specialty areas, he says. In the meantime, the health system is making sure it balances technology with human interaction.

"When patients show up, we don't want them to feel neglected," Hutteger says. "Our receptionists still chat with patients and make them feel welcome."

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NYU Langone Health’s Digital Intake System Includes Biometrics

In New York and Florida, NYU Langone Health upgraded its digital patient experience seven years ago by studying airlines and other industries to identify customer engagement practices that would translate to healthcare.

The organization mapped patient care journeys and developed a comprehensive digital engagement strategy spanning every department, says Suzanne Howard, NYU Langone Health’s vice president of clinical systems and integration within the medical center IT (MCIT) department.

To digitize patient intake, NYU Langone Health implemented online scheduling, electronic forms and pre-appointment registration workflows, such as payment processing and demographic verification, through its patient portal and mobile app, Howard says. 

As part of the intake process, NYU Langone Health has added pre-procedural support. Before a surgical procedure, clinicians can send videos showing what patients should expect, plus provide mindfulness and relaxation exercises through the app, Howard says.

With Epic’s EHR as its foundation, the health system integrated custom applications, including a Find a Doc tool and commercial document management software to manage digital paperwork. NYU Langone runs a hybrid, multicloud solution with Epic operating on-premises and other apps running in Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, she says. 

There are also check-in kiosks, and in 2025 NYU Langone upgraded existing palm-scanning biometric readers with Amazon One devices. The technology speeds check-in and verifies patient identification, Howard says.

Patients can enroll from home using the health system’s smartphone app, which captures high-quality palm images through the camera. NYU Langone worked with AWS and Epic to integrate the new palm scanner into its patient check-in experience.

“Using biometrics helps us make sure we are pulling up the right record, which is an important safety feature," Howard says.

The kiosks resemble those at airport terminals, and they can be installed as tablet devices depending on space constraints, says Tim Meisel, NYU Langone’s clinical systems director within the MCIT department. Patients who complete pre-visit paperwork encounter streamlined kiosk screens with minimal questions when they arrive.

Front office staff also provide patients stand-alone tablet devices if they need to complete forms electronically on site.

“We make it quick, convenient and efficient for patients,” Meisel says.

To address a diverse population, kiosks operate in five languages, while patients can fill out electronic forms in 11 languages. The health system’s internal translation services team worked with the NYU Langone MCIT department to develop those capabilities.

The technology has made a huge, positive impact, Howard says. Patients enjoy convenient self-service options while staff can focus on more complex tasks.

“Patients can check in at the kiosk without talking to the front-desk staff if they don’t want to, which many patients appreciate,” Howard says. “We’ve seen significant savings and reduced the burden on staff.”

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MercyOne’s Ongoing Digital Patient Journey

In Iowa, MercyOne deployed digital patient intake in two phases: first, as a stopgap solution with older EHR systems, and more recently by standardizing on Epic’s EHR.

From late 2019 to early 2020, MercyOne deployed a third-party digital intake platform to address gaps in its existing EHRs. At the time, it ran two separate EHRs for its 500-bed Des Moines hospital and 200-bed Mason City hospital, along with 65 clinics across both markets.

The system provided appointment reminders via text, digital check-in capabilities and online scheduling. Patients could also fill out forms and upload insurance card images from home.

“As a parent, when my kid gets sick and the clinic isn’t open, rather than setting my alarm and calling the clinic at 8 a.m. the next day, I can go online and get an appointment,” says Brittany Erickson, MercyOne’s regional vice president of operations. “Someone like me who has small kids would much rather fill out a form before the visit than try to keep my 2-year-old from touching everything in the office, while I’m answering 10 minutes’ worth of questions.”

While IT staff integrated the digital intake software with MercyOne’s EHRs, the team couldn’t fully unify workflow, requiring clinic and hospital staff to work off different apps, Erickson says.

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In May 2025, MercyOne migrated to Epic as part of parent company Trinity Health’s systemwide standardization effort. Epic, which includes health records and billing, provides built-in digital intake software through its portal and mobile app, allowing patients to digitally check in, update information, sign forms and schedule appointments electronically.

Staff no longer have to toggle between multiple apps. More important, it connects previously siloed registration systems between clinics and hospitals. Before, a pregnant patient who previously completed the intake process at an obstetrics clinic would have to repeat the registration process when arriving at the hospital for delivery, Erickson says.

The unified Epic system eliminates the problem, allowing patient registration information to transfer seamlessly between all MercyOne facilities, improving care coordination.

“Coordination across the system has become much better, which is helpful for staff too, because we’re not reworking things every time a patient comes in,” Erickson says.