SIDEBAR
Self-Service Appointments
Imagine a system where patients log on to
a computer, enter a portal into their physician’s
scheduling system, request the appointment they like, and then
receive a confirmation from the physician’s office.
“I would hope that
within the next five to six years, we have a very solid
national communication infrastructure that gives high level
service that you’d really like to have for an on-line
scheduling system,” says Dr. John Durham, the chief
medical officer at Greenway Medical Technologies, a provider of electronic health record and practice
management software solutions in Carrollton, Georgia.
The company is already
testing its beta version of on-line scheduling that is
incorporated into a more robust system that will also enable
patients to
view their lab results and parts of their
medical record on-line as well as receive alerts and reminders
for medication refills.
Some kinks still need
to be worked out. At times, patients can’t connect with
their doctors’ Web sites or are interrupted during the
process of scheduling an appointment. Likewise, such systems
must be intuitive by responding in the same way employees would
to a variety of scenarios. For example, the system must
recognize emergency situations and refer patients to the
emergency room instead of allowing them to book an appointment
days or weeks later.
Still, Durham believes
such systems will become the standard. Until then, the medical
technology community has only begun to identify its benefits.
“We look forward to
seeing how many different ways it can enhance the efficiency of
point-of-care,” Durham says. g