After complaints about appointment delays, HMC promises "system improvements"

After complaints about appointment delays HMC promises system improvements

After concerns from consumers about lengthy waits and a shortage of appointments, Hamad Medical Company (HMC) has announced "system adjustments" to better serve patients making appointments across all of its businesses.

The modifications were made public on Saturday and call for the creation of "new referral management sections in each of HMC hospitals under the direction of appointment management teams."
Moreover, HMC stated that it intends to provide evening clinics for the ophthalmology, ear, nose, and throat, urology, and audiology clinics at the Ambulatory Care Center.

Staff members with extensive experience have been chosen to work in these sections. This helps prevent needless delays and gives hospitals greater control over scheduling appointments for their patients, according to a tweet from HMC.

HMC Implements Enhanced Appointment Booking System to Improve Patient Care

Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has announced a set of system changes to enhance the outpatient appointment booking process and improve access to care for patients. pic.twitter.com/ftBgW4kRYG

— ????? ??? ?????? (@HMC_Qatar) February 25, 2023

The concept was initially introduced in March 2022, according to Nasser Al Naimi, Director of the Hamad Hospital Quality Institute and Deputy Head of Quality for the Center for Patient Experience and Staff Engagement.

The most recent declaration was released earlier this month and detailed patient complaints, including those who claimed they had to wait at least a year to make an appointment with a doctor.

Over 40% of survey respondents, according to a recent DN poll, claimed they had to wait more than six months to receive an appointment at HMC or Public Health Care Company facilities.
When asked if they had to wait for an appointment while having a medical emergency, 73% of respondents indicated they were unable to do so at a public institution in Qatar. However, 27% of respondents disagreed.

"A full assessment of the end-to-end booking process to identify and rectify difficulties with respect to referral, e-triage, in-calling, and appointment booking processes," according to HMC, led to the establishment of the new system.
Al Naimi stated that the modifications would be implemented in stages, with the first covering seven HMC institutions.

The organizations are the Bone and Joint Center, Hamad Dental Center, Ambulatory Care Center, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Al Wakra Hospital, Al Khor Hospital, Qatar Rehabilitation Institute, and Hamad General Hospital.

As we successfully continue to make significant adjustments to improve patient care, the project will be implemented in the remaining hospitals this year, Al Naimi stated.

The HMC official continued, "Qatari patients' appointment waiting list difficulties are no longer present in any of the stated hospitals."
The HMC representative reported that in 2022, the Nesma'ak teams fielded more than 971,000 patient calls.