The role of kiosks on health services: a systematic review

Introduction: Emergency department visits have increased substantially, leading to a significant rise in waiting time for patients. Several kiosk-based solutions have been introduced to reduce waiting times in healthcare facilities and to increase efficacy and user satisfaction. Purpose of the Study: This systematic review aims to identify the most effective self-service kiosk features for collecting patients' health information and to evaluate their acceptability among elderly and less educated populations, despite not being the focus, there is pontencial in the development of the system interface to facilitate the perception and understanding of those with less digital literacy. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of studies on diagnosis, replacement of face-to-face consultation, and triage kiosks published between January 2009 and March 2023 in the databases PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, and Scopus. Results: The eight analyzed studies included 2,298 participants in total, with participants aged between 16 and 94 years. Most studies provided kiosk assistance. Elderly patients demonstrated the capability and willingness to participate in technological interventions. Conclusion: User interface elements were the most critical features in health kiosk design, followed by clear communication and patients' understanding of the benefits associated with kiosk use. The high levels of kiosk acceptance and satisfaction observed indicate a significant opportunity for the introduction of self-service kiosks in various healthcare contexts.