Regional Information System of Doctor’s Appointments Planning

“Samozapis.ru” serves for planning doctors’ appointments by means of personal computer, cell-phone, as well as Contact-Center. The system provides patients with an opportunity to schedule an appointment with a doctor from any place of the Russian Federation.
The system concept involves the use of modern cloud computing. It is a technology which provides a user with computer resources as a service. Our concept is to offer our customers the most advanced solutions. New information technologies being the ground for “Samozapis.ru” information system improve the patients’ life quality and, first of all, improve medical service rendering. In the near future the cloud computing will make mass medical services available for everybody, self-scheduling an appointment with a doctor will be a part of daily life.
This service is available for any person in any place and any time.

Nowadays the people living in many Russian regions face the challenges by registration for a doctor’s appointment. Those include queues, lack of appointment slips, constantly engaged telephone lines, impossibility of pre-scheduling for an appointment with a doctor of a regional healthcare institution. That is not a finished list of the stumbling blocks which are thoroughly familiar to the people.
At the same time every manager of a healthcare institution knows a lot about weak points of existing out-patient departments: uneven clinicians’ work load, queues at reception desk and at doctors’ offices, patients ‘unwilling to visit the institutions and as a result lost profits.

 We are ready to help!

“Samozapis.ru” regional information system of a doctor’s appointments planning will allow solving all above mentioned problems.
The main system task is improvement of service quality by scheduling a doctor’s appointment. The main set of services allowing solving the assigned task includes:
- automatic appointments scheduling, convenient for a patient registration for a doctor’s appointment:
- convenient way of scheduling a doctor’s appointment for a patient: 
- via Contact-center at free telephone numbers;
-via personal computer www.samozapis.ru;
-via cell-phone, web-site www.samozapis.ru;
-calling for a doctor by any of the described ways.

The structure and functions of “Samozapis.ru” system

The system includes the following units:
- “Doctor’s Appointment Planning” Unit;
- “Call-center Operator” Unit;
- “Healthcare Institution Reception” Unit;
- Web-interface for Patient’s Self-scheduling a Doctors’ Appointment;
- “Doctor” Unit;
- “Operator” Unit;
-“Statistics” Unit;
- “Settlement Payments” Unit;
- “Administrator” Unit.

 “Doctor’s Appointment Planning” Unit is a convenient tool for scheduling doctors’ appointments with even work load distribution. Among unit services there are appointment type selection, rescheduling appointment or appointments over the period for different time or a different doctor; appointment cancellation, use of a previous schedule as a template; minute scheduling if necessary.

“Call-center Operator” unit is a high-powered means of communication with patients by pre-scheduling. The unit allows the quickest registration of a patient for a doctor’s appointment or call; meanwhile the system determines a district doctor in charge or a healthcare institution automatically and doctor’s call time is reported to a patient. The patients are being recorded in electronic logs. Doctors’ Calls Registry could be printed and handed to the doctor before the round. If a patient seeks for chargeable medical care, the call-center operator can provide the patient with the precise information about service costs in any healthcare institution chosen by the patient. Appointment pre-scheduling is confirmed by an SMS or an e-mail.

 “Healthcare Institution Reception” unit is an advanced receptionist’s tool serving for quick and exact identification of a new patient as well as a patient with a pre-scheduled appointment. Beside standard patient search (by first letters of the surname, name, patronymic and birth date) it is possible to use quick search by FAMIOGR that is 7 characters, identifying a patient precisely. For address input one uses All-Russian address classifier quickening address input and reducing mistakes quantity. Moreover the unit has the following services: appointment slip printing, data input and appointment ticket printing, appointment scheduling, rescheduling, appointment cancellation, automatic disposal of appointment data in case of patient’s failure to appear. Appointment scheduling, rescheduling and cancellation are confirmed by an SMS or an e-mail.

Web-interface for Self-scheduling a doctor’s appointment is an up-to-date service of patient pre-scheduling a doctor’s appointment allowing as well preregistration for a doctor’s call. The service allows a patient to self-schedule an appointment per any computer (phone) with Internet connection with min personal data input and min time spent. Beside the pre-scheduling function it is possible to determine a healthcare institution and therapist’s district by a patient’s address input. Scheduling is confirmed by sending an SMS or an e-mail to a patient.  Doctors’ schedule view in a chosen healthcare institution is another useful service.

“Doctor” unit is an electronic doctor’s assistant.  It allows easy compiling electronic medical records, filling in examination record sheet, diagnosing the case, compiling the prescriptions list, scheduling an appointment, patient registration for regular medical check-up and taking off the list.

“Statistics” unit is a high-powered tool allowing compiling both standard statistical reports and reports on visits, disease incidence, and clinicians’ workload which are set by users. The function of schedule reports e-mail sending allows the specialists to analyze necessary reports in convenient time and at a need place.

“Settlement Payments” unit is a means of data exchange with insurance companies and Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund on the services rendered to the patients. It allows compiling the lists of invoices, agreements, correcting account registries on Compulsory Medical Insurance, Voluntary Medical Insurance and chargeable services.

“Operator” unit is a tool serving for prompt input of appointment tickets information into the database. The unit allows patient searching both by surname input and by reading of out-patient card bar-code. The fields list corresponds with Form № 025-12/u. The input data can be uploaded for reporting to the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund.

“Administrator” unit is a high-powered means aimed at adjusting of “Samozapis.ru”.  The unit includes all necessary reference books and allows setting up IS work profile for it to match the healthcare institution processes, administrating users and their rights by means of a role model. Besides, the unit allows entry/exit auditing, monitoring of user’s data changes and monitoring of SMS-center activity.

Technological Benefits of “Samozapis.ru” System

“Samozapis.ru” have been developed using up-to-date technologies provided by Microsoft .NET platform. The system is scalable that allows its using both in a small doctor’s surgery and within a region or city scopes.
The major part of services is available via web-interface that allows using of free operating systems.
Most IS functions are web-based and thus one can access to the system from any workstation with intranet connection. The service requiring the highest speed interface work, have been developed as a Win-application. “Samozapis.ru” has a built-in access restriction system. The IS data and units are accessed according to the role model.
Single Integrated Registry includes core set of the program components necessary for observance of Federal Statute N152-FZ “On personal data”, dated 27.07.2006.
The IS is provided with a mechanism for recording of all users’ activity resulting in data change. The data are transmitted by means of SSL protocol, providing client-server secure connection. “Samozapis.ru” has a function of out-dated information archiving but at the same time it is possible to request DB for any period of time.
“Samozapis.ru” allows automatic updating of Win-applications versions by system entry.
 The system has a user friendly and easy-to-learn interface.

“Samozapiz.ru” Implementation

The system can be deployed both on healthcare institution servers and on Medotrade Company equipment. Besides we can provide equipment for organization of Call-center work. Implementation time is approximately 1 week. If necessary we can implement conjugation with the HIS existing in a healthcare institution.