How to set up an iPad as a patient check-in kiosk

You don't need to buy a kiosk. An iPad, a Wi-Fi network, and the free TapIn app are the whole bill of materials, and the setup splits neatly in two: a few minutes at your computer in the admin dashboard, then a few minutes at the iPad itself. You can even do the dashboard half from home and text the pairing code to whoever is at the office.

What you need before you start

• An iPad that can install the current TapIn app. Older models are fine. No cellular plan needed.
• Wi-Fi that the iPad can stay connected to all day.
• A TapIn account. The 14-day trial does not ask for a card.
• Each therapist's phone with the free TapIn app installed from the App Store or Google Play. Notifications also reach Apple Watch.

The steps

1. Pick the iPad. Any iPad that can install the current TapIn app works, including older models. It only needs Wi-Fi, not cellular. Check that it holds a charge or can stay plugged in where it will live.
2. Create your TapIn account and add therapists. Sign up on the web with a 14-day free trial (no credit card). Add each therapist; they receive an invite with a short code to enter in the free TapIn app on their iPhone or Android phone, which is where their check-in notifications will arrive.
3. Add a kiosk in the dashboard. In the admin dashboard open Kiosks, click Add Kiosk, and give it a name such as "Front entrance" or "Suite 210". TapIn shows a QR code and a short pairing code you can type instead.
4. Install the TapIn app on the iPad and pair it. Download TapIn from the App Store on the iPad, open it, and scan the QR code from your computer screen, a phone, or a printout, or type the pairing code. The iPad registers itself with your practice and appears in the dashboard within seconds.
5. Customize what patients see. Upload your logo, pick your colors, and decide how much patients type: full name, initials only, or nothing for a fully anonymous check-in. Changes sync to the iPad live.
6. Lock the iPad into kiosk mode. Turn on Guided Access (Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access), open TapIn, and triple-click the top or Home button to lock the iPad to the app. Set Auto-Lock to Never so the screen stays on, silence notifications, and keep the iPad plugged in.
7. Place it and test it. Put the iPad where every patient sees it on the way in, at roughly eye level, with a small "Please check in here" sign. Then check yourself in and confirm the therapist's phone or Apple Watch buzzes.

Locking it down, in a little more detail

Guided Access is the iPad feature that turns a general-purpose tablet into a single-app kiosk. Once it is on, the Home button and app switcher stop working until someone enters the passcode you set, which is what keeps a bored sibling in the waiting room from opening YouTube. A few related settings are worth doing at the same time:

• Auto-Lock: Never. Otherwise the screen goes dark and patients assume the kiosk is off.
• Notifications off for every other app on the iPad, so nothing pops over the check-in screen.
• Brightness a notch or two below maximum. It is on for eight hours a day.
• Keep it plugged in. A cable running to the outlet is fine; a charging stand is tidier.

Where to put it

The kiosk works when it is the first thing a patient sees and the obvious thing to do with it. That usually means the spot where a receptionist would sit if you had one: on the counter facing the door, at standing height, with a short sign. A small practice in a shared suite often puts it just inside their own door rather than in the common lobby, so only their patients use it. If your therapists have separate entrances or you have more than one location, add a kiosk for each; they are unlimited.

Tell patients how it works

One sentence in your intake email and appointment reminders is enough: “When you arrive, tap your therapist's name on the iPad by the door and have a seat. They'll come get you.” New patients will do it without being asked, because the screen shows exactly one obvious action.

Troubleshooting

• QR code won't scan: improve the lighting, make sure the whole code is on screen, and adjust the distance. Or skip scanning and type the pairing code.
• “Code expired”: generate a new one from the dashboard.
• iPad won't connect: confirm it is on Wi-Fi and can load a web page.
• Kiosk missing from the dashboard: wait a few seconds and refresh; the dashboard polls for new kiosks automatically.
• Therapist isn't getting notifications: check that they finished the invite in the TapIn app on their phone and allowed notifications when iOS or Android asked.

Stuck on something else? Email us; there is a founder reading the inbox. And if you want the bigger picture of what the kiosk is for, start with the iPad patient check-in kiosk overview.