QR Code Patient Check-in System for Contactless Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for patient check-in at healthcare facilities expose patients to germs and lack an independently verifiable record of their physical presence, particularly highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitating a solution that balances safety and record-keeping.
Innovation Solution
A software-based system generates a QR code displayed in the healthcare facility, which patients scan using their mobile devices, allowing them to complete a questionnaire and transmit responses and a unique device ID to a cloud server, which then updates a local server's patient record, ensuring a secure and verifiable check-in process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If patients use a mobile device provided by the provider's office to check in, then the check-in process can be streamlined, but patients are exposed to germs from the device and other patients
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a QR code as a digital copy of the provider's office identifier. Patients scan this QR code with their personal mobile devices to initiate check-in, eliminating the need to use shared provider devices while maintaining a streamlined check-in process. The QR code serves as an information carrier that transmits facility identification without requiring physical contact with shared equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a QR code as an intermediary between the patient and the provider's system. The QR code is displayed in the provider's office and patients scan it with their own devices, which then transmit data to a cloud server. This intermediary mechanism enables contactless check-in while maintaining verification of patient presence at the facility.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a magnetic card-swipe system is used, then patients can check in without physical contact, but the system cannot provide a verifiable record of physical presence
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical card-swipe systems with a digital QR code scanning system. Instead of physical cards being swiped through a reader, patients use their mobile device cameras to scan QR codes displayed in the office. This substitution maintains contactless operation while enabling digital verification of presence through mobile device identification and cloud server recording.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the patient's own mobile device to scan the QR code and complete the check-in process. The patient's device captures the QR code, transmits identification data, and completes the verification process without requiring provider staff intervention or shared equipment. This self-service approach ensures verifiable records while eliminating contact with provider devices.
3Loss of information
If face-to-face interview is conducted to check in patients, then comprehensive patient information can be collected, but patients are exposed to germs from the provider and other patients
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital copy of the check-in process through QR code scanning and mobile device data capture. Instead of collecting information during a face-to-face interview, the system uses the patient's mobile device to capture and transmit their identification and presence data. This digital copying approach maintains comprehensive information collection while eliminating the need for physical interaction during check-in.
Solution Approach 2:
The QR code and mobile device serve as intermediaries that enable information transmission without direct human contact. The QR code displays facility identification, and the patient's mobile device captures and transmits their data to the cloud server. This intermediary system allows comprehensive patient information collection while replacing face-to-face interaction with contactless digital communication.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and instrumentalities are disclosed herein for allowing a patient to check in for a visit to a provider while creating a record of the patient being physically present at the provider's office at the time of the visit. The patient may scan a QR code associated with the provider using a mobile device. The patient's mobile device may download a questionnaire that may include one or more facility-specific questions, and may prompt the patient to enter biographical information and information. The mobile device may transmit the patient's responses and a unique ID associated with the mobile device, to a cloud server. The cloud server may transmit the responses and the unique ID to a local server in the provider's office. The local server may add the responses and/or the unique ID to a patient record associated with the patient and/or may log the information in an audit log.