VA implements waiting room 'smart chairs'

The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is preparing to roll out "smart chairs" in waiting rooms at a small group of hospitals and clinics. This follows the agency's nearly completed implementation of 6,000 kiosks at 1,000 sites across the United States. The Vitals Chair, designed by the kiosk maker Vecna, is not your typical waiting-room seat. It includes an antimicrobial touchscreen with magnetic stripe, blood pressure cuff, anti-bacterial wipes, thermometer, printer, sensor, and scale -- all of which are FDA-approved, according to Vecna. The wheelchair-accessible seat has one power cord and a network cable but no hard drive, because it does not store data.