An Evaluation of Kiosks for Direct-to-Consumer Telemedicine Using the National Quality Forum Assessment Framework

Background: Evaluation of direct-to-consumer (DTC) telemedicine programs has focused on care delivery via personal electronic devices. Telemedicine kiosks for the delivery of virtual urgent care services have not been systematically described.

Introduction: Our institution has placed kiosks for DTC urgent care in pharmacies. These kiosks can be used without a personal electronic device.

Materials and Methods: Retrospective review of adult patients using pharmacy-based kiosks (kiosk) or personal electronic devices (app) for DTC evaluation. Data for patient characteristics, wait time, technical quality, visit duration diagnosis codes, follow-up recommendations, and whether the patient was traveling were compared. Results were interpreted using the National Quality Forum framework for telemedicine service evaluation, focused on access, experience, and effectiveness. Comparisons were made using chi-square test, Student’s t-test, and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests.

Results: Over 1 year there were 1,996 DTC visits; 238 (12%) initiated from kiosks. Kiosk patients were slightly older (mean age 38 ± 13 vs. 35 ± 11; p < 0.001), more likely to be male (52% vs. 39%; p < 0.001), more likely to be remote from home (25% vs. 3%; p < 0.001), and had less technical difficulty (10% vs. 19%; p = 0.003). Referral for urgent in-person evaluation was low in both groups (10% kiosk vs. 16%; app p = 0.017).

Discussion: Kiosks may increase access to care and improve technical experience. Low urgent referral rates suggest effective care for both types of visit.

Conclusions: Despite their potential advantages, kiosk visits accounted for a minority of overall visits for our DTC telemedicine service line, and daily use of each kiosk location was low.