Many patients face difficulties scheduling medical appointments in hospital units, and, when successful, they often endure long waiting times to be attended. This situation is aggravated by problems such as the incompatibility of schedules between patients and healthcare professionals and structural gap between the demand for medical care and the available response capacity. As a result, many end up giving up their appointments or turn to private healthcare facilities that offer faster service. This scenario contributes to a significant problem: high no-show rate for medical appointments, with an estimated one million consultations annually not being conducted in Portugal due to patient absence since 2010. This phenomenon adversely impacts hospitals both in terms of the occupation of healthcare professionals, who prepare for appointments that do not occur, and the financial sustainability due to lost revenue from missed appointments.
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Home / Publications / Publication

Médicos com um tablet

Publication type: Article Summary
Original title: eHealth and patient relationship management
Article publication date: December 2022
Source: Repositório da Universidade do Minho
Author: Rui Paulo Pereira
Supervisor: José Manuel Machado

What is the goal, target audience, and areas of digital health it addresses?
     The objective of the study is to create applications that facilitate the interaction between patients and healthcare professionals within hospital units, delivering a simple and accessible experience while promoting a more organized and efficient hospital management system. This work is part of the e-Health area, focusing on hospital management and technological accessibility.

What is the context?
     Many patients face difficulties scheduling medical appointments in hospital units, and, when successful, they often endure long waiting times to be attended. This situation is aggravated by problems such as the incompatibility of schedules between patients and healthcare professionals and structural gap between the demand for medical care and the available response capacity. As a result, many end up giving up their appointments or turn to private healthcare facilities that offer faster service. This scenario contributes to a significant problem: high no-show rate for medical appointments, with an estimated one million consultations annually not being conducted in Portugal due to patient absence since 2010. This phenomenon adversely impacts hospitals both in terms of the occupation of healthcare professionals, who prepare for appointments that do not occur, and the financial sustainability due to lost revenue from missed appointments.

     E-Health is an emerging field that combines medical information, public health, and business, utilizing the Internet and related technologies to deliver health services and information, promoting not only technological innovation but also a global commitment to improving health care through efficiency, quality, education, ethics, and equality.

What are the current approaches?
     Current approaches in the digital health market focus on developing hospital applications that enhance patient access to medical services and improve administrative processes. Examples in Portugal include the MySão João App, CHUPorto App, MyLuz App, and Trofa Saúde App, which offer functionalities such as scheduling and rescheduling appointments and exams, accessing medical histories, receiving automated notifications about medical events, and conducting video consultations. Others, like the PROXIMO App, focus on managing waiting lines and providing efficient service, enabling patients to book service tickets and check-in remotely. Internationally, the MyMediclinic 24×7 App offers advanced features such as searching for doctors by specialty and language spoken, online consultations, and managing family member appointments.

What does innovation consist of? How is the impact of this study assessed?
     The innovation of this solution consists in the creation of an integrated and comprehensive platform, which combines a mobile application for patients and a web application for healthcare professionals, offering interconnected features that improve the relationship between patients and hospital units.

     The mobile application allows patients to schedule appointments and exams for themselves or family members, access the appointment/exam calendar, consult appointment reports/exam results, and use an interactive chatbot to simplify these tasks.

     The web application allows healthcare professionals to manage appointments, approve or reject appointments, submit consultation reports, upload exam results, view profiles of patients and other professionals, edit their own profile and, in the case of administrators, manage user access.

     The solution uses React Native for the mobile application, ensuring compatibility with iOS and Android, and React for the web application, providing interactive and responsive interfaces. Its scalable architecture offers secure and seamless access to features, combining token-based authentication, password encryption, and a Node.js server integrated with a MySQL database for data storage.

     The impact of the solution was evaluated through a proof of concept, which demonstrated the technical feasibility and functionality of the developed tools. The tests included processes such as scheduling appointments/exams, submitting appointment reports, uploading exam results, and using the chatbot for guided interactions. In addition, a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis was conducted for a comprehensive assessment of the project’s potential impact.

What are the main results? What is the impact of these results? What is the future of this technology?
     The main results include the successful implementation of the proposed functionalities, promoting a seamless interaction between patients and hospital units. Highlights also include optimized scheduling for healthcare professionals, robust data security, and the accessibility provided by the chatbot, which simplifies app usage even for patients with limited technological familiarity.

     These results have the potential to significantly impact the relationship between patients and hospital units, strengthening trust in the public health system and optimizing hospital resources. Furthermore, by reducing the costs associated with missed appointments, this solution can contribute to increasing hospital profitability.

     In the future, the technology could be improved by adding new features, such as queue management systems similar to the PROXIMO App, improving the graphical design of the mobile application and a reinforcing data protection. The chatbot could also be more dynamic, making interactions more natural and responsive. Furthermore, conducting pilot studies with end users to collect feedback and integrating the solution with other healthcare platforms will be crucial.

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Home / Publications / Publication

Médicos com um tablet

Publication type: Article Summary
Original title: eHealth and patient relationship management
Article publication date: December 2022
Source: Repositório da Universidade do Minho
Author: Rui Paulo Pereira
Supervisor: José Manuel Machado

What is the goal, target audience, and areas of digital health it addresses?
     The objective of the study is to create applications that facilitate the interaction between patients and healthcare professionals within hospital units, delivering a simple and accessible experience while promoting a more organized and efficient hospital management system. This work is part of the e-Health area, focusing on hospital management and technological accessibility.

What is the context?
     Many patients face difficulties scheduling medical appointments in hospital units, and, when successful, they often endure long waiting times to be attended. This situation is aggravated by problems such as the incompatibility of schedules between patients and healthcare professionals and structural gap between the demand for medical care and the available response capacity. As a result, many end up giving up their appointments or turn to private healthcare facilities that offer faster service. This scenario contributes to a significant problem: high no-show rate for medical appointments, with an estimated one million consultations annually not being conducted in Portugal due to patient absence since 2010. This phenomenon adversely impacts hospitals both in terms of the occupation of healthcare professionals, who prepare for appointments that do not occur, and the financial sustainability due to lost revenue from missed appointments.

     E-Health is an emerging field that combines medical information, public health, and business, utilizing the Internet and related technologies to deliver health services and information, promoting not only technological innovation but also a global commitment to improving health care through efficiency, quality, education, ethics, and equality.

What are the current approaches?
     Current approaches in the digital health market focus on developing hospital applications that enhance patient access to medical services and improve administrative processes. Examples in Portugal include the MySão João App, CHUPorto App, MyLuz App, and Trofa Saúde App, which offer functionalities such as scheduling and rescheduling appointments and exams, accessing medical histories, receiving automated notifications about medical events, and conducting video consultations. Others, like the PROXIMO App, focus on managing waiting lines and providing efficient service, enabling patients to book service tickets and check-in remotely. Internationally, the MyMediclinic 24×7 App offers advanced features such as searching for doctors by specialty and language spoken, online consultations, and managing family member appointments.

What does innovation consist of? How is the impact of this study assessed?
     The innovation of this solution consists in the creation of an integrated and comprehensive platform, which combines a mobile application for patients and a web application for healthcare professionals, offering interconnected features that improve the relationship between patients and hospital units.

     The mobile application allows patients to schedule appointments and exams for themselves or family members, access the appointment/exam calendar, consult appointment reports/exam results, and use an interactive chatbot to simplify these tasks.

     The web application allows healthcare professionals to manage appointments, approve or reject appointments, submit consultation reports, upload exam results, view profiles of patients and other professionals, edit their own profile and, in the case of administrators, manage user access.

     The solution uses React Native for the mobile application, ensuring compatibility with iOS and Android, and React for the web application, providing interactive and responsive interfaces. Its scalable architecture offers secure and seamless access to features, combining token-based authentication, password encryption, and a Node.js server integrated with a MySQL database for data storage.

     The impact of the solution was evaluated through a proof of concept, which demonstrated the technical feasibility and functionality of the developed tools. The tests included processes such as scheduling appointments/exams, submitting appointment reports, uploading exam results, and using the chatbot for guided interactions. In addition, a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis was conducted for a comprehensive assessment of the project’s potential impact.

What are the main results? What is the impact of these results? What is the future of this technology?
     The main results include the successful implementation of the proposed functionalities, promoting a seamless interaction between patients and hospital units. Highlights also include optimized scheduling for healthcare professionals, robust data security, and the accessibility provided by the chatbot, which simplifies app usage even for patients with limited technological familiarity.

     These results have the potential to significantly impact the relationship between patients and hospital units, strengthening trust in the public health system and optimizing hospital resources. Furthermore, by reducing the costs associated with missed appointments, this solution can contribute to increasing hospital profitability.

     In the future, the technology could be improved by adding new features, such as queue management systems similar to the PROXIMO App, improving the graphical design of the mobile application and a reinforcing data protection. The chatbot could also be more dynamic, making interactions more natural and responsive. Furthermore, conducting pilot studies with end users to collect feedback and integrating the solution with other healthcare platforms will be crucial.

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