Features of Online Hospital Appointment Systems in Taiwan: A Nationwide Survey

Po-Chin Yang, Feng-Yuan Chu, Hao-Yen Liu, Mei-Ju Shih, Tzeng-Ji Chen, Li-Fang Chou and Shinn-Jang Hwang
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Po-Chin Yang: Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Feng-Yuan Chu: Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Hao-Yen Liu: Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Mei-Ju Shih: Graduate Institute of Communication Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Tzeng-Ji Chen: Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Li-Fang Chou: Department of Public Finance, National Chengchi University, Taipei 116, Taiwan
Shinn-Jang Hwang: Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 2, 1-10

Abstract: Background: In the Internet era, many web-based appointment systems for hospitals have been established to replace traditional systems. Our study aimed to highlight the features of online appointment systems for hospitals in Taiwan, where patients can visit outpatient departments without a referral. Methods: All hospitals online appointment systems were surveyed in October 2018. Features of first-visit registrations were analyzed and stratified according to the hospitals’ accreditation levels. Results: Of the 417 hospitals, 59.7% (249) had public online appointment systems. For first-visit patients, only 199 hospitals offered the option of making appointments online from 7 to 98 (mean 38.9) days prior to the appointment itself. Before appointments, 68 (34.2%) hospitals recommended specialties for patients to choose according to their symptoms, and only 11 (5.5%) had a function for sending messages to doctors. After appointments, 176 (88.4%) provided links to real-time monitoring of outpatient service progress. Conclusions: More than half of the hospitals in Taiwan have public online appointment systems. However, most of these systems simply fulfill the function of registration, and rarely take the opportunity to improve efficiency by gathering information regarding patients’ medical history or reasons for making the appointment.

Keywords: appointments and schedules; online systems; outpatient clinics; hospital; Taiwan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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