On Tuesday, October 16, the pilot of another e-health project will start. This time it is about e-referrals. The tests will last until mid-2019. As Deputy Minister of Health Janusz Cieszyński emphasizes, e-referrals across the country will replace traditional forms on January 1, 2021. Their introduction is intended, inter alia, solve the problem of artificially extending queues to doctors, which is the result of patients signing up to several specialists.
The pilot will start in Warsaw – first it will cover sports medicine and then computed tomography. It is about testing the solution in relatively narrow and “countable” fields. Almost at the same time, a pilot was planned at the Specialist Medical Center. Jana Pawła II in Polanica-Zdrój – there the e-referral will be implemented in all areas. Within a few months, the ministry should have a full picture of the situation and identify all the most important problems, both in terms of sectors and territories. According to the estimates of Deputy Minister Cieszyński, the pilot program in Warsaw will cover about two hundred institutions – e-referrals issued in the capital will be available only in this city.
– E-referral will make it possible to end the practice of patients signing up to several queues at the same time. In this way, the lines are artificially extended, emphasized the deputy head of the health ministry. On the other hand, it is supposed to be a relief for patients. It will be possible to register with a specialist or for examinations (except for occupational medicine services for which the labor department is responsible) without the need to appear in person at the facility (it will be possible to do so by phone, providing a four-digit PIN in the registration). Patients will not be burdened by doctors’ mistakes (e.g. illegible handwriting) or their own (lost or forgotten referral).
– The pilot will start on October 16. The system will be ready, but we anticipate that a real large-scale issuing of e-referrals will start in January – announced Janusz Cieszyński.
The Ministry of Health plans that, in addition to the office software prepared by commercial suppliers, doctors will be able to use a mobile application financed by the ministry – thanks to this, e-referrals can also be issued during home visits.
What will e-referrals look like?
- A doctor or an authorized medical worker will issue and digitally sign the e-referral.
- The system will verify them, save them and generate a PIN or barcode.
- The patient will receive an e-referral in the form of his choice: SMS or e-mail, he can also receive an information printout.
- After receiving a four-digit PIN number or barcode, the patient will choose the facility where he or she wants to provide the service.
- The patient will provide the access data in the healthcare facility of his choice: PIN or barcode.
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