TY - JOUR T1 - Electronic self check-in for patients: the costs and consequences JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 145 LP - 145 DO - 10.3399/bjgp16X684025 VL - 66 IS - 644 AU - Charlotte Williamson Y1 - 2016/03/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/66/644/145.abstract N2 - In some practices, a notice directs patients to check in for their booked appointments with their GP or nurse by using a computer screen instead of speaking to a receptionist. When I met this system for the first time its impersonality struck me as contrary to general practice’s emphasis on personal and therapeutic relationships. So I asked six patients from other practices what they thought. They were resigned but critical.Electronic self check-in is probably cost-effective for the practice because it frees up receptionists to do other things. It is quick for patients: they need not wait their turn at the reception counter. But it has costs:First, the system is symbolically and actually emotionally distant. The first contact between a person and an institution affects whether or not that person will feel secure (we know that when welcoming guests). The computer screen stands at the boundary between the outside world and the practice, where once the receptionist stood. Replacing a live person with a machine at this crucial boundary can raise apprehension about what lies inside that boundary. Second, the system’s impersonality jettisons … ER -