Use of a Kiosk-Model Self-Triage System for COVID-19 Triage

Pandemics put healthcare workers (HCWs) at risk of infections, making emergency department (ED) triage critical. This study aims to compare smart innovative self-kiosk triage (SKT) with routine triage (RT).

COVID-19-suspected ED patients enrolled. Volunteers received RT after completing SKT. The key outcomes were HCW exposure and total exposure time (TET). Secondary outcomes included participants' satisfaction with SKT.

The study included 115 patients with a mean age of 32.54±10.84 years old. SKT significantly reduced HCW exposures (median 0 [IQR 0-1] vs 2 [IQR 2-3], p<0.0001) and triage time (median 3 [IQR 2-3] vs 8 [IQR 5-10] minutes, p<0.0001), compared to RT. Elevated body temperature increased RT time (p=0.003), while higher education levels reduced SKT time (p=0.019). Oxygen saturation influenced HCW exposure in both methods, with higher saturation decreasing HCW exposure during RT (p=0.008) and increasing it during SKT (p=0.017). A PCR-positive status was associated with increased RT time but fewer HCW exposures. 80.0% of participants completed SKT independently. The majority of participants (72.8-82.9%) agreed or strongly agreed, based on a 4-point Likert scale, that the SKT procedure was user-friendly (mean score: 3.40±1.08), with clear instructions (3.35±1.16), easy-to-use oximetry and thermometer (3.12±1.29 and 3.31±1.16, respectively), and a reasonable time requirement (3.37±1.23).

Our findings suggest that emergency department self-kiosk triage can minimize medical staff exposure and time spent with COVID-19-risk patients, without compromising patient satisfaction.