West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust is taking eight Savience self-service kiosks for outpatient departments at Watford General, Hemel Hempstead, and St Albans City hospitals. The trust deals with 374,000 outpatient appointments a year across the three hospitals. The deal is for a fully managed service over five years and includes six plasma screens and audio equipment for patient calling.

North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust has ordered two kiosks initially for the West Cumberland Hospital at Whitehaven, under a proof-of-concept project. Current plans are for further kiosks here and the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle. The trust handles 270,000 outpatient attendances a year across the two sites.

Both trusts aim to reduce administrative overheads, waiting times and did not attend rates.

The Savience kiosks allow patients to check-in for appointments automatically and to update their demographic details. The system also notifies staff of patient arrivals and directs patients to the appropriate waiting area.

In both cases, the kiosks are being integrated with existing iSOFT patient administration systems (PAS). Cumbria has also opted for a bi-directional interface so that its PAS is updated automatically with changes to patient demographic details.

"The benefits of the system will be many and far-reaching and its impact felt by patients, visitors and staff alike," said Sarah Toll, IT Business Applications Manager at West Hertfordshire.

"Patient confidence in our services is as important to us as the quality of the care we deliver. The Savience self-service check-in system will enable us to demonstrate to our patients and visitors that we are a progressive trust that is willing to employ modern day thinking to deliver highly-professional administrative services. Additionally, the system will improve the patient journey through outpatients by providing a streamlined service that reduces queuing and keeps people informed at all times.

"In the current financial climate it is imperative that NHS organisations invest public money in an appropriate manner," Toll said. "The Savience solution will make it possible to reduce the amount of money spent on staff employed to support outpatient services. The beauty of the system is that the remaining clinical staff will be able to deliver nursing care, rather than be sidetracked to deal with administration tasks, while administration staff can concentrate on improving data quality."

Crea Simpson, Cumbria's Outpatient Manager, says the decision to run a proof-of-concept implementation was "carefully considered". "The trust's patient panel will be represented on project working groups during planning and implementation to ensure that patient views are represented," she said.

"Outpatients is the first point of contact with the trust for many patients, so the introduction of Savience kiosks will give them an improved experience, while freeing receptionists to spend time with patients that need help.

"We anticipate that data quality will also improve as patients will be asked to confirm or amend their details on-screen, making future communications more reliable. We will also use the pilot phase to assess the benefits of using the Savience database to drive a deferred or 'partial' booking system for future review appointments," Simpson said.

"And, the project will give us the opportunity to review and realign our staffing levels to maximise the efficiency of the department. Of course, value for money is a key concern, and the benefits of the system will be closely monitored over several months so that the expected improvements in efficiency, quality and patient experience can be demonstrated before rolling-out the system across all outpatient areas."

"This is a prime example of the work we are doing with our customers to introduce innovative solutions that increase efficiency, improve the overall patient experience and cut costs," said Adrian Stevens, Managing Director of iSOFT's UK and Ireland business. "Self-service kiosks will become commonplace in outpatient departments; they offer obvious benefits and savings to the NHS, while patients recognise that touch-screen generally equals less waiting, shorter queues, and quicker service."

The latest orders follow a deal with Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust in September 2010 for five Savience touch-screen kiosks for the Darent Valley Hospital.

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About iSOFT Group
iSOFT Group Limited (ASX: ISF) is the largest health information technology company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, and among the world's biggest providers of advanced application solutions in modern healthcare economies.

iSOFT works with healthcare professionals to design and build software applications that answer all of the difficult questions posed by today's healthcare delivery challenges. Our solutions act as a catalyst for change, supporting free exchange of critical information across diverse care settings and participating organizations.

Today, more than 13,000 provider organizations in over 40 countries use iSOFT's solutions to manage patient information and drive improvements in their core processes. The group's sustainable development is delivered through careful planning, in-depth analysis of the market, and anticipation of our clients' evolving requirements. Our business is driven by the collective talent, experience and commitment of more than 3,300 specialists in 19 countries worldwide.

A global network of iSOFT subsidiaries, supported by an extensive partner network, provides substantial experience of national healthcare markets. As a result, we offer our clients comprehensive knowledge of local market requirements in terms of culture, language, working practices, regulation and organizational structure.