Patients can check themselves into the hospital, emergency room, or physician’s waiting room with touch screens, helping to shorten waiting time and allowing receptionists to do more valuable work. Patients can even pay their co-pay and swipe their card, verifying insurance information and capturing an electronic signature – all in a matter of minutes before seeing the doctor.

As diverse cultures and languages become the standard in the U.S., touch screen systems resolve this issue by providing an option of alternative language options. And because bacteria is a concern in a clinical space, many touch screens have anti-microbial coatings that help protect against the transfer of germs from user to user.

Some companies are working on touch screens that come with the ability to read your palm and record fingerprints so physicians can use fingerprints to identify patients. This biometric data can be used to match a patient to a file. Therefore, if a patient is unconscious and unable to identify themselves, medical information can still be retrieved.

This smart touchscreen may also protect against false insurance information or contrived identity. And researchers in Korea are experimenting with the idea of using touch screen technology for cancer screenings, theorizing that the presence of specific proteins and DNA could be recognized from specific electronic charges sensed from a user’s fingers. Thus, a mobile device could screen for cancer someday.

This technology is still in the future, but current touch screens are already having a positive effect on patient and staff stress levels. For starters, it can reduce patient queues, long a top complaint. Long waiting times lead to over-crowded reception rooms, angry patients, and stressed staff. However, touch screens reduce paperwork and speed up processes. One trial of touch screens saw wait times reduced by up to half, showing that touch screen solutions benefits healthcare staff and patients alike.

Expect touch screens in hospitals and doctor’s offices to be as common as touch screens in supermarkets and tablets. With touch screens, as quick of a swipe, your patient queues could go away.