Sizing up the role POS (point-of-sale) devices will play.

As more providers attempt to automate such health care transactions as eligibility verification and claims filing, many are taking a look at point-of-sale terminals. POS devices provide low-cost, user-friendly access to a variety of on-line information. But critics say personal computers and practice management software are better suited to complex claims processing. Still, some say there may be a place for both, with POS terminals in physicians' and dentists' front offices and PCs for claims processing in the back offices.