The Front Desk Assistant (FDA) is HelloNote's self-service check-in kiosk. It lets patients check themselves in, verify their identity, sign forms, update their details, settle balances, book appointments and share documents — without needing to queue at the front desk.

This article covers both sides of the feature: how an office administrator configures it, and what a patient sees when they walk up to the kiosk.

Part 1 — Office Setup

1.1  Finding the Front Desk Assistant settings

After logging in, an office manager can configure the kiosk from the office record:

1. Go to Offices.
2. Select the office you want to configure.
3. Open the Configuration tab.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the tab to the Front Desk Assistant Settings section.

Front Desk Assistant Settings, at the bottom of the Configuration tab.

1.2  Settings reference

Saving your settings

Enter your preferred values, then click Save. To confirm the changes were stored, refresh the page and reopen the office — your values should still be in place.

1.3  Making tiles optional

Two of the patient dashboard tiles are optional and can be switched off per office.

To hide them:

• Uncheck Show Update Information and Show Schedule Appointment, then click Save.

The next time a patient checks in, the Update Information and Schedule Appointment tiles are no longer shown, and the remaining tiles reflow to fill the space.

With both settings switched off, the patient dashboard shows the remaining tiles only.

Re-check either box and save, and the corresponding tile reappears on the dashboard.

1.4  Idle marketing video

The kiosk can play a video of your choosing while it is not in use — useful for clinic promotions, service highlights or waiting-room messaging.

1. Paste a YouTube link into Video URL.
2. Set Idle Video Seconds to the delay you want — for example, 30.
3. Click Save.

Idle Video Seconds and Idle Timeout Seconds are set in seconds.

What patients see

• If the welcome screen is left untouched for the number of seconds you set, the video begins playing.
• Tapping or clicking anywhere on the screen closes the video and returns to the welcome screen.
• If the Video URL field is cleared and saved, no video plays at all.

1.5  Session idle timeout

Idle Timeout Seconds protects patient information on a shared device. If a patient signs in and then walks away, the session ends automatically once the timeout is reached and a Session Timeout message is displayed.

The session ends automatically after the configured period of inactivity.

Part 2 — The Patient Check-In Experience

This is the journey a patient follows at the kiosk, from the welcome screen through to their dashboard.

Step 1  ·  Welcome screen

The kiosk opens on your office's welcome screen with three options: Check In, Check Out and I'm a New Patient. An arriving patient taps Check In.

The kiosk welcome screen.

Step 2  ·  Verify identity

The patient enters their first name, last name and date of birth, then taps Verify. Anyone who is not yet in the system can use the new patient link at the bottom of the screen instead.

Identity verification using name and date of birth.

Step 3  ·  Two-factor authentication

A six-digit verification code is sent to the email address on file for that patient. Entering the code completes sign-in. If the code does not arrive, Resend Code sends a new one.

A six-digit code is sent to the patient's email address on file.

Step 4  ·  The patient dashboard

Once verified, the patient lands on their dashboard. It contains a personalised greeting banner and up to nine tiles:

• Sign Intake/Consent Form
• Update Information
• Schedule Appointment
• Make Payment
• Documents
• Scan Documents
• Request a Call Back
• Video Mode
• Help

The full patient dashboard with all nine tiles enabled.

Step 5  ·  The greeting banner

The banner at the top of the dashboard changes based on the patient's balance and their upcoming appointments. There are three variations.

Scenario 1 — Outstanding balance and a future appointment

The banner confirms the completed session, shows the amount due with a Pay Now button, and states the date and time of the next appointment.

Balance due plus a scheduled next appointment.

Scenario 2 — No balance, future appointment scheduled

No payment prompt is shown. The banner simply confirms the next appointment date and time.

No balance owed, next appointment confirmed.

Scenario 3 — No future appointment

The banner tells the patient no upcoming appointment was found and offers a link to book one straight away.

No upcoming appointment, with a prompt to schedule.

Part 3 — Dashboard Tiles

A.  Sign Intake/Consent Form

Opens the list of consent and intake forms assigned to the patient, grouped under two tabs. The number badge on each tab shows how many forms are outstanding.

• The patient selects a form from the dropdown, reads it, types their printed name and signs on screen.
• Tapping Submit files the completed form.
• Signed forms are stored in the patient's document section and are visible from their chart.

Consent and intake forms are completed and signed directly at the kiosk.

B.  Update Information

Lets an existing patient review and correct their own demographic details — name, phone numbers, email, address, gender, date of birth, primary care physician and emergency contact.

Changes saved here flow through to the patient's chart, so the front desk does not need to re-key anything.

Patients update their own details; changes are written back to their chart.

C.  Schedule Appointment

Lets a patient request a future appointment without waiting to speak to the front desk. The calendar shows availability, and the patient can either pick a slot or use Book Without Specific Time to request a general opening.

They select a provider, visit type and date, and can add a comment. Submitting sends a booking request to the therapist for confirmation.

Booking a future appointment from the kiosk.

D.  Make Payment

Lets a patient settle outstanding balances at the kiosk. Open visits are listed individually, and the patient chooses which ones to pay.

Selecting which visits to pay for.

The running total updates as visits are selected, including any card processing fee configured for your office. Continuing to the next step opens the card entry screen.

Card details are captured securely, then the payment is submitted.

E.  Documents

Shows the patient the documents their clinic has shared with them, along with the document type and date.

• Only documents marked Share With Patients appear here.
• Documents that have not been shared with the patient remain hidden.
• This is a view-only screen — there is no upload option on this tile.

Patients see only the documents shared with them.

F.  Scan Documents

Lets a patient send documents in from their own phone — insurance cards, referrals, prescriptions and similar.

A QR code is displayed on screen. Scanning it with a phone camera opens a secure upload page. If the patient prefers, the same link can be sent to them by email, by text message, or by both.

Scan the QR code, or send the upload link by email or text.

The upload link as the patient receives it.

G.  Request a Call Back

Gives the patient a direct way to flag something that needs staff attention. They select a reason — an urgent matter or a technical issue — and can add optional notes describing the problem.

Patients select a reason and add optional details for their callback request.

H.  Video Mode

Coming soon. This tile is reserved for live video assistance, allowing a patient at the kiosk to connect with a member of staff on screen. Details will be published when the feature is released.

I.  Help

Provides on-screen guidance for patients who need assistance navigating the kiosk.

Part 4 — Quick Answers