Smart time finder solution launched in the national e-booking system
A new time finder solution for finding doctors’ appointments has been launched in the national e-booking system. Provisionally, the time finder is looking for specialist appointments for the six most in-demand services in five medical institutions.
“In the past it could take weeks to find a time to see a specialist, because you had to constantly look for times yourself. Now you can simply enter your preferences in the time finder and the smart e-solution will immediately look for suitable times for you, ”said Tõnis Jaagus, Head of Health Services of TEHIK.
When the suitable time has been found, the time finder will send an SMS and an e-mail to the person. To confirm or cancel the proposed appointment, you must respond within 24 hours by SMS or at the Patient Portal.
The idea for the time finder was born in the 2020 Public Sector Innovation Programme. “When talking to users, we realised that finding appointment times is a big concern for people," said Merilin Truuväärt, project manager of the innovation team. “The new solution helps to save time and find appointment times.”
The e-solution gives health care providers a better overview of the need for treatment in different specialties. “The time finder gives us the leverage to assess the extent to which the need for treatment is uncovered in which regions and specialties, and thus to direct the financing of treatment services more precisely,” said Marko Tähnas, Head of the Partnership Relations Department of the Estonian Health Insurance Fund.
The time finder will be tested in 2022 with six different services in five medical institutions to analyse the effectiveness of the solution and identify possible bottlenecks. Currently, the time finder is looking for appointments at the North Estonian Medical Centre, Tartu University Hospital, East Tallinn Central Hospital, Medicum and Medita in three specialties - endocrinologist (incl. paediatric), cardiologist (incl. installing cardiac stimulators) and skin and venereal diseases (incl. skin tumours).
At the beginning of 2023, the next steps will be decided in cooperation with medical institutions and stakeholders. If the solution justifies itself, it will be extended to other specialties and institutions.
The time finder was born in cooperation with the Public Sector Innovation Team, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Health and Welfare Information Systems Centre and the Health Insurance Fund, based on data from the health information dystem. Medical institutions and the system developer Kodality OÜ have made a significant contribution to the development of the idea.
Read more about time finder: https://www.tehik.ee/ajaleidja