How to Boost Adoption of Patient Engagement Tools

By Blakely Roth | September 24, 2025

Patients want digital ownership and access over their care, but don’t always use the tools they’re provided. Why, and how can you fuel adoption?

Digital tools have transformed how patients access care, yet a significant gap remains between interest and true adoption. Patients say they want convenience, with 80% reporting they would like to schedule appointments anytime, anywhere, while 82% believe they should not have to fill out paperwork if their information has not changed. These convenience preferences reflect a growing demand for digital access. Yet, for some practices, self-service adoption rates remain stagnant-to-low. 

According to the Experian State of Patient Access 2025 Report, the top challenge for 37% of providers is getting patients to use digital access tools for scheduling, registration or payments. Additionally, 55% of providers say patients are unsure how to navigate self-scheduling, while 39% still struggle to collect accurate and comprehensive information at intake. 

This disconnect means that while patients express enthusiasm for digital tools, adoption rates can stall, slowing operational gains in a time where workloads continue to increase for staff. Where’s the disconnect? How can you ensure adoption for the patient engagement tools you implement? Find out. 

Why Patient Adoption Matters More Than Ever

Patient adoption of digital tools isn’t just a convenience metric—it directly impacts operational efficiency, revenue capture and patient satisfaction. Providers that achieve higher adoption rates reap the benefits, while those who don’t miss out on the value they invested in. 

When patients fully engage with digital solutions, providers benefit from:

• Shorter wait times through self-check-in tools like kiosks and pre-registration 

• Cleaner data by reducing manual entry and increasing patient engagement in data verification 

• Increased collections from streamlined, private payment workflows 

Achieving these benefits demands that patients actually adopt the digital tools practices provide. Adoption often lags when practices (1) don’t implement the right tools or (2) mishandle the change management process. Let’s dive deeper.

1. Finding Highly Adopted Patient Engagement Tools

Many practices struggle with adoption because their solutions are not patient-centric, and as a result, they unintentionally make the process harder rather than easier for patients.

In today’s healthcare environment, practices need more than just another digital tool. They need a solution that’s both patient-powered and performance-focused. After all, when missteps occur, patient frustration grows, adoption remains low and the tools fail to deliver on their promise of efficiency. 

 When it comes to implementing patient-centric tools, here’s what to avoid: 

• Scheduling options that require staff intervention, such as phone-only booking or request-only forms that don’t offer true, 24/7 booking 

• Cumbersome ‘self-service’ options (such as tablets managed by staff or portals that require patient logins), which can feel just as limiting as traditional check-in 

• Manual or time-consuming eligibility verification, which delays check-in and lowers collections at the point-of-service 

• Staff-led payment processes, which can create frustration from all parties, leading to lower collection rates and bad reviews  

Go Beyond Traditional Digital Tools With a Patient-Led Platform

A Patient-Led Self-Service Platform eliminates the barriers above, which are typically caused by off-the-shelf patient engagement tools or one-off solutions provided by a practice management system. 

Instead, the right tools empower patients to manage their own data, scheduling and payments—without staff intervention. Review what these tools can provide and how they help practices achieve 96% patient adoption of self-service tools. 

Robust Online Scheduling

Patients want the flexibility to book appointments at any time, but providers need assurance that scheduling meets their requirements. Smart, patient-led scheduling tools make it happen by enabling 24/7 appointment booking with rules-based AI to ensure provider needs are met. This approach not only increases convenience but also boosts acquisition and retention by meeting modern expectations. What’s the difference? Find out for yourself, spot the 5 most common red flags of under-adopted scheduling tools. 

Patient-Led Registration

Self-service kiosks reduce check-in times by up to 90%, giving patients ownership of their data and streamlining payments. Practices using kiosks often see higher satisfaction, especially among returning and elderly patients who appreciate avoiding repetitive paperwork. Providers have debated the pros and cons of kiosks in healthcare for years, but the truth is that they’re imperative to higher patient adoption of digital tools.

Understanding patient perception of kiosks and how they create an experience that consumers are accustomed to is key. See what one CEO had to say about kiosks and why he would never go back to a time before them. 

Quick & Easy Payments

Delivering a better payment experience is crucial for patient satisfaction and increased payments. Patient-led solutions have revolutionized how providers manage transactions and interactions, even providing advanced payment features that simplify the process for patients like tap-to-pay, card-on-file, Google Pay and ApplePay.

For example, patient-led kiosks allow patients to handle sensitive financial transactions privately, eliminating potentially awkward conversations about payments at the reception desk and reducing collection mistakes. By facilitating direct and discrete interactions, kiosks speed up the check-in process, letting patients manage their details swiftly and securely.  

See Adoption in Action…

CAO Division 28 is seeing this patient satisfaction firsthand, with 99% of their patients adopting self-registration kiosks. The practice sees average check-in time of just over 3 minutes and a 72% co-pay collection rate, creating better patient payment experiences and overall faster visit.  

Therapy Director, Sonali Parry says, “Being able to collect upfront payments is a big benefit. It’s impactful that we’re able to take payments in a way that’s automatic, private and digital. No one’s paying by cash or check, and our practice gets paid faster. We’re increasing payments, and I’m seeing an increase in the number of people leaving a credit card on file, which helps speed up the collections process even further.”

Going on, “As a provider, it drove me nuts that patients would have to repeat a lot of their paperwork before seeing us, especially because most of our patients come in multiple times a week. It was a huge patient complaint, and now it’s one we no longer get. Eliminating that double work has been a huge win.” 

Dive deeper into how CAO Division 28 ensures not only high patient adoption of digital tools but also improved data capture and cash flow. 

Proven Success: Practices Achieving High Adoption Rates

CAO is just one example of the success the right tools and actions can achieve. Across specialties, Clearwave clients demonstrate that high patient adoption is possible, even in populations initially perceived as resistant: 

• Cary Dermatology sees 96% patient utilization of self-registration, which includes elderly patients, and drove a 31% increase in collections after implementation 

• Carolina Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Center reported nearly 200 online appointments booked in a single month—39% after hours—relieving staff workloads 

• Southeastern Orthopaedic Specialists saw initial skepticism from physicians fade as patients embraced digital tools, describing them as “no different than going to the airport.” Today, the practice sees 98% patient adoption and 89% average co-pay collection rates at the kiosk 

• Long Valley Family Health Center sees under 90-second check-in times for returning patients on average and 72% adoption of kiosks. The practice found that elderly patients were excited to learn how to use kiosks

• The Orthopaedic Group sees 84% adoption of online bookings from existing patients, reporting that online scheduling now runs “on autopilot,” seamlessly matching provider requirements and patient needs 

Each of these healthcare practices not only implemented the right tools, but also a strategic action to build ongoing patient adoption. See how they promoted patient adoption with proven tactics.

2. How to Manage Change to Ensure Adoption

Even the most patient-friendly tools require a strategy to get patients on board and acclimated. Successful practices pair technology with change management, focusing on: 

• Leadership engagement: to keep adoption top-of-mind across locations 

• Staff training: to address patient questions and promote benefits, using FAQs and scripts to keep messaging consistent, here’s an example! 

• Multi-channel patient promotion: from website banners to in-practice signage, email/text campaigns, and social media—all helping to boost patient awareness of the tools available to them and the benefits associated 

• Marketing resources and templates: to make promoting digital tools easy for staff and effective for patients, here’s an example of what we share with practices

• In-office adjustments: such as placing kiosks in high-traffic areas and making the front desk less visible, to encourage self-service first 

When providers pair the right platform with proactive promotion and staff commitment, patient adoption stops being a challenge and starts being a growth driver. Dive deeper by reviewing the checklists we share with practices to help them promote patient adoption: 

• Self-Scheduling Adoption Checklist 

• Self-Registration Adoption Checklist 

Closing the Patient Adoption Gap Once and For All

The data is clear. Patients want digital tools, and providers need them to work. The challenge lies in removing barriers by delivering solutions designed around patient behavior, not just administrative convenience. 

With robust scheduling, intuitive kiosks and automated payment processes, providers can transform adoption rates and deliver a better patient experience. Considering switching to the right tool for your practice? Spot the top 5 digital registration red flags that indicate you need a new tool!