Doha, 26 February 2012: From 4 March 2012 a new fixed time appointment system will be introduced in the Outpatient Department at Hamad General Hospital. The new system, designed to reduce waiting times, will start with Urology clinics and then roll out to cover all clinics before the summer.
The new system will mean patients are seen by the right doctor, at the right time and patients will find they spend less time waiting in the Clinic.
Patients will no longer need to visit the hospital in person to make an appointment and their appointment will be made for a fixed time, so they won't have to spend as long in the clinic and will have protected time with the specialist. In addition they will be reminded of their appointment by phone and SMS.
In order to be seen by a specialist doctor in the Outpatient Department, patients must be referred. This referral could come from Primary Healthcare, the Emergency Department or a private clinic.
Once a patient has been referred their referral will go directly from the referring doctor to the new Hamad Medical Corporation Patient Contact Center. Following an assessment of their clinical need by a doctor they will be telephoned to arrange a suitable time for their visit to the Outpatient Department.
Patients will no longer be seen without a referral or if they walk in to clinics without an appointment.
Patients will also be asked to keep to their allocated appointment time. If they can't keep their appointment they need to call the Patient Contact Center in advance and a new appointment can be arranged for a more convenient time. If a patient is more than 15 minutes late for an appointment it will have to be rebooked for another day.
For more information please visit www.hamad.qa
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About HMC:
Hamad Medical Corporation is the premier non-profit health care provider in Doha, Qatar. It was established by Emiri decree in 1979 and manages eight highly specialized hospitals, namely, Hamad General Hospital, Rumailah Hospital, Women's Hospital, Al Amal Hospital, Heart Hospital, Al Wakra Hospital, the Cuban Hospital and Al Khor Hospital. Since its establishment, HMC has rapidly developed medical facilities capable of providing state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment of diseases that previously could only be managed in overseas medical centers.
HMC prides itself in providing quality and cost efficient health care for all patients regardless of nationality, in line with the State of Qatar's pledge of "Health for All". For this purpose, the Corporation implements a policy of continuous improvement of all management systems and patient care protocols. HMC's ethos is based on three key pillars which are Health, Education and Research.
For more information, please contact:
Marketing and Public Relations Department
Hamad Medical Corporation
Tel. No.: +974 4439 6126
Fax No.: +974 4439 5002
www.hmc.org.qa
© Press Release 2012
