Online registration fails to reduce patient rush, waiting period at PGI

Charu Chhibber

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 7

Long waiting period for outpatients has always been a major problem at the PGI. To address this issue, an online appointment process was started on September 2 last year. The aim of the initiative was to provide registration service for first-time outpatients in order to reduce rush at registration counters of the PGI besides the waiting period.

According to the PGI’s official website, “Those using this facility (online appointment process) will not have to stand in long queues.”

However, not only has the system received a lukewarm response, it has also failed to reduce the waiting time for patients.

According to official figures, since September 2, 2015, 60,174 online registrations have been made at the PGI.

While patients coming to the PGI with online registrations already may not have to wait in serpentine queues to get their OPD cards made, the waiting period at the OPD is no different for them than other patients.

Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Rashmi, Kharar, who had come to the department of orthopaedics, said, “While registering online, I thought I’ll not have to stand in a queue to see the doctor but to my utter dismay, it was not so. I just got my OPD card at the counter number 16, which is meant for patients who registered online, and had to wait three hours to see the doctor.”

Another patient, Rudrapratap from Balia, Uttar Pradesh, said he had to wait for two hours at the gynaecology department OPD even though he had registered online for his mother.  

Meanwhile, officials at the PGI said patients had to endure long waiting period at the doctor’s office due to a heavy footfall. Moreover, the online registration does not have the provision of fixing an appointment with the doctor. “There was a proposal in this regard but is yet to be implemented,” said an official.

He added that the web-based appointment system would significantly increase patients’ satisfaction with the registration process and reduce total waiting time effectively.   

Process for registration  

While taking appointment online, the patient is issued a an online registration number to be shown at a separate registration counter between 8 am to 11 am (Monday to Friday) at all OPDs except the department of paediatric medicine (where time is between 8 am to 11:30 am and between 8 am to 10.30 am (Saturday and gazetted holidays) on a chosen day. An OPD card with a unique and permanent CR number Is given to the patient. This permanent CR number is used for all subsequent visits to the PGI. The patient can avail this facility up to 30 days in advance from the date of visit and up to 6 am on the day of the visit. This online appointment number is valid only for the “date of the visit”. In case the patient does not come on the chosen date, his/ her details will be deleted and he/ she will need to re-register.

Departments where facility is available 

The facility of for online registration of OPD patients is available at departments of internal medicine, general surgery, plastic surgery, ENT, urology, ophthalmology (advanced eye centre), dermatology, obstetrics and gynaecology, otolaryngology, paediatric medicine, paediatric orthopaedics, paediatric surgery, orthopaedics, drug de-addiction and oral health sciences centre.