Whenever you have a doctor's appointment of any kind, one thing that can take a lot of time is the check-in process. Essentia Health announced a new feature that allows patients to skip the check-in lines and get into their appointment more efficiently.

Hello Patient is the new feature and it's available for Essential Health patients who have the MyChart app on their smartphones. It's a pretty slick feature that seems easy to use.

Basically, once you are within 100 feet of the Essentia Health clinic you’re visiting, Hello Patient will automatically check you in. Keep in mind, you must first have complete your e-Check-in and have location services for the MyChart app set to always on, but those are easy things to do on your own time.

Then, once you arrive at your scheduled appointment, you will receive a MyChart notification asking if you’ve arrived. If the answer is yes, you would select “I’m here.” If you’re not yet on-site, you would select “ask in two minutes.” Once “I’m here” is checked, on-screen messages will direct you where to go.

Once "I'm here" is checked, patients simply take a seat in the waiting room and wait for the name to be called to continue into their appointment. No need to stop at the registration desk at all.

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The video below offers a tutorial on the new feature.

Any Essentia Health patient needed help getting this set up is encouraged to call their support line at (833) 994-2250.

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