After an initial pilot program, Auxiliary Services officials have decided to expand DukeCard use at Duke Hospital by allowing employees to make purchases using their cards.
The DukeCard has been used for security and identification purposes in the Medical Center since 1998, but hospital employees can now use their cards to pay for food and have the money taken straight from their paychecks.
Administrators expanded the program to increase the efficiency of Hospital operations and to lessen the number of inconveniences employees experience.
"We thought we could make things run more quickly at the Hospital," said John Diaz, director of the DukeCard office. "For people that have very short lunch breaks they won't have to spend as much time waiting in line."
Joey Rock, a manager at Duke Clinic's deli, said the card has cut transaction time in half.
"In a given hour, on average, the wait time can [be reduced] by 20 or 30 minutes," Rock said. "The cards make things quick. For many people, it's also very convenient. They don't have to carry around cash."
The DukeCards are also quicker than credit cards, because DukeCards do not require the long authorization procedure credit cards demand.
Only a handful of Duke Clinic dining options have adopted card readers, unlike in Duke Hospital where many eateries accept the card. Additionally, several vending machines in central locations are equipped with card readers.
The card usually deducts from the employee's paycheck the amount spent, but employees can also add money to their accounts at automated machines located around the Hospital.
Administrators are hoping to make use of the card as common in the Hospital as it has become on East and West campuses. Only 10 percent of employees are currently enrolled in the program, but Diaz hopes to quadruple participation over the next year. "One-hundred percent participation is unrealistic," Diaz said. "There are always those who leave the hospital to go eat and people who bring their lunch."
To increase the card's use, Auxiliary Services officials are boosting advertising on the Hospital's closed-circuit television station. They are also working on plans to allow employees to use a variation of the Merchants-on-Points system used by students.
Currently, like students, Hospital employees can order food with their cards after 7 p.m. Diaz and other auxiliary services officials are considering allowing Hospital employees to order food on their cards throughout the workday.
"As the card is being used by more people, we're hoping to have more options for people to use their card," said Joe Pietrantoni, associate vice president for auxiliary services.
The DukeCard office has been working on a number of projects in connection with the payroll deduction option. The office is working on a system that allows Hospital employees to buy temporary cards and use them wherever DukeCards are accepted.
It is also developing a special card for visitors' use.
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