After the doctor says goodbye and closes the exam room door, an LCD screen on the wall flashes with instructions for the patient still inside: dress fully, open the lens of the camera and press “continue” to call a cashier.

Less than a minute passes before the camera light flashes and a Jefferson Health A scheduling staff member appears on screen.

“Hi, my name is Tommy. I’ll help you with your virtual checkout,” Tommy Brown, a central scheduling representative, said during a recent demonstration of the health system’s new virtual checkout technology.

Jefferson Health wants to eliminate the often tedious last step of a medical appointment: payment.

Patients normally queue to check out at the practice reception. But at the Honickman Center, a remote staff member helps troubleshoot issues and schedule follow-up visits virtually, before patients leave the exam room.

Jefferson launched its virtual checkout process earlier this year when it opened the massive medical building with 300 exam rooms and 10 operating rooms. The new Honickman Center In City Center It’s where the region’s largest nonprofit health system sees patients for asthma, urology, rheumatology and other services that don’t require hospitalization.

This approach aims to make checkout faster and more private for patients, who now wait an average of 30 seconds before a remote patient support team member appears on screen to greet them. Administrators say they have also reduced the number of patients who leave without scheduled follow-up appointments, but don’t yet have data to show.

Jefferson’s model is the first of its kind nationally, leaders say, as health systems in Philadelphia and beyond increasingly look for ways to use technology and artificial intelligence to improve operations daily.

Uses of Penn Medicine virtual monitors in his ICU to more closely monitor complex surgical procedures and respond within seconds when a patient needs help. Lehigh Valley Health Networkrecently acquired by Jefferson, uses monitors installed in patient rooms to connect to doctors and nurses to discharge patients virtuallyif they are not available for an in-person consultation.

But such innovation can create new challenges: Jefferson Abington Hospital was cited by the Pennsylvania Department of Health earlier this year after inspectors found that the virtual babysitters the hospital had installed behavioral health rooms to more closely monitor at-risk patients who posed a safety risk. Inspectors said patients could strangle themselves on the eight-foot-long extension cord plugging the machine into the wall.

With its virtual checkout, Jefferson must take extra precautions to secure private patient information now communicated to a staff member working remotely in their own home. Administrators also had to convince doctors, who were skeptical that this approach would clog exam rooms and slow them down. And while the technology is designed to be user-friendly, some patients may prefer in-person conversations or still need follow-up with a live staff member.

Still, they say the virtual approach has proven useful. The health system plans to expand virtual payment to more of its facilities over the next six months.

“It’s a much more personal interaction for the patient, rather than the next…next…” said Catriona Harrop, senior vice president at Jefferson Medical Group.

Technological advances at Honickman

The $762 million Honickman Center, located at 11th and Chestnut streets, was designed to embrace new technologies.

The lobby has self-check-in kiosks, much like those used for airport check-in. The building’s walls are adorned with deep grooves designed to be touched to calm sensory overload.

Such features “represent the future of healthcare by blending physical and virtual care, while enhancing the human interaction between a patient and their healthcare provider,” Jefferson Health President Baligh R. Yehia said. when the center opens in April.

Among the features administrators were most excited about were the 43-inch LCD screens installed on each wall of the exam room. They may play music or do breathing exercises to help calm nerves before an appointment.

Screens can be used to virtually include a family member or other medical provider in appointments who cannot be present in person, and can help patients check in after the appointment is over.

When the doctor closes his notes on the computer, the system is prompted to display a screen with step-by-step instructions: get dressed fully and when ready, open the camera lens (or choose to check with the camera off), then press the “continue” button to call a cashier.

Christiana Santiago, 35, said she appreciated being able to finish her appointment in a private room, where she didn’t have to worry about other people hearing her personal information.

The large screen and volume controls are thoughtful features for people who are hearing or visually impaired, said Santiago, who lives in Northeast Philadelphia.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Michelle A. Freeman, 66, of Philadelphia. She’s been to the new building three times, but she still doesn’t know where everything is. Being able to check into exam rooms means a little less wandering, she said.

Some patients are not as keen on the new technology.

“I prefer the old way,” said Frank Buonadonna, 67, of Philadelphia. He thought it was “a little weird” to speak to a planning manager over video rather than in person.

A nurse helped him use the virtual checkout after his appointment Monday morning because he didn’t know what to do, he said.

Expansion of the virtual cash register

About 64% of patients, or about 600 people per day, have used the virtual screens to check their appointments since the building opened in April.

The remaining 36% used a staffed checkout. This includes patients who required multiple follow-up appointments or had more complex needs and needed to coordinate with internal patient support staff.

Some patients, like Buonadonna, still need help using the program. Others may be hesitant to share information virtually.

Brown, one of those responsible for planning Honickman’s virtual checkout, said some people wonder whether it’s a real person or a creation of artificial intelligence.

He is wearing a blue Jefferson collared shirt and sitting at a computer in front of a blue fabric background in his guest bedroom at his home in Eastern Falls when working with patients.

All virtual planners wear headsets so their conversations are not overheard. They use Jefferson-issued computers, connected to the health system’s Epic electronic medical records system and heavily firewalled for security.

So far, the technology is only used at Honickman, where it has been integrated into the building’s design.

But virtual payment could also be made on tablets given to patients at the end of the appointment, Harrop said.

She declined to say which Jefferson facilities will adopt the virtual payment program next.