Now, patients can pre-register online

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 14

In what may be termed as a breather for patients visiting the Advanced Eye Centre (AEC) at the PGI, the institute today started the online pre-registration facility. The facility now allows patients to skip standing in queues for the OPD registration and make registration in advance for a chosen date. The facility has been introduced for those visiting the PGI for the first time and not for follow-up patients. A senior official said a similar facility will be launched for the follow-up patients shortly.

The facility has been introduced as a pilot project and only 40 patients will be issued the pre-registration numbers and CR numbers using the online appoitment facility.

A link available at the PGI website allows the pre-registration by issuing a reference number and a CR number. On visiting the pre-registration counter on the chosen day, the OPD card will be issued within a minute (as claimed by authorities at the PGI).

The patients can register themselves for a visit to the Advanced Eye Centre (AEC) on a chosen date in the next one week by accessing the official website of the PGI. After filling in some information, a pre-registration number will be sent to their registered mobile number and e-mail ID. By presenting this number at the special pre-registration counter in the AEC on the chosen day, an OPD card with a unique and permanent patient CR number will be generated immediately.

The permanent CR number will be used by the patient for all subsequent visits to the hospital to the AEC and all other departments.
If the patient does not come to the OPD on the chosen day, he will have to re-register on the web.
The facility assumes significance since most of the patients are forced to wait for two to three hours in queues for the registration before meeting the doctor everyday. More than 7,000 patients visit the OPD everyday and there are nearly 15 registration counters catering to them from 8am to 11 am everyday.