Doha: Responding to public demand for more convenient ways to obtain personal medical in-formation, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has launched an easy to use online service for patients requesting copies of their medical report. This service allows individuals to submit an application for a medical report, for themselves or on behalf of someone else, and pay the fee online without having to visit the hospital.
“HMC is committed to delivering better customer service through the use of digital solutions, in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030 goal of modernizing to meet the healthcare service needs of the population. Wherever possible, we are looking to provide digital solutions to make it easier for patients, and the populations we serve, to interact safely and efficiently with our organ-ization. This solution is one of the performance measures that will help streamline an important service for our patients,” said Ali Al Khater, Chief Communications Officer at HMC.
HMC receives between 80,000 and 90,000 visitors for medical reports annually; approximately 60,000 of these are handled by Hamad General Hospital alone. The new smart system enables requests to be made online, along with the processing of the applicable fee, through a secure payment gateway arranged with Qatar National Bank. Once finalized, patients can request the option for Qatar Post to deliver their medical reports at their doorstep for a nominal fee. Current-ly, the service is only available for Hamad General Hospital, but it will soon be implemented across other HMC facilities.
“Due to the coronavirus infection risks, we have been limiting visits to hospitals; and consequent-ly, the onsite requests for medical records have been stopped. A key infection control measure is restricting the number of physical documents that are handled by different people, face-to-face interactions, and handling of bank notes or bank cards by different people. It was therefore immensely important to develop a solution that allows the request and submission of medical re-ports without having to handle requests printed on paper,” explained Dr. Yousuf Al Maslamani, Medical Director at Hamad General Hospital.
“Under the new service, patients no longer need to visit the hospital on multiple occasions to re-quest their medical information, pay for, and collect their report. This patient-friendly service is much more convenient for our patients and also conforms with our infection control protocols,” added Dr. Al Maslamani.
In the last three years, HMC’s Nesma’ak (customer service) teams responded to more than 90,000 inquiries about patient medical reports. Nasser Al Naimi, HMC's Deputy Chief of Quality, Center for Patient Experience and Staff Engagement and Director of the Hamad Healthcare Quality Institute explained that this new improvement is part of HMC’s commitment to enhance patient care and experience.
“We had received very positive feedback from patients about the convenience and reliability of the premium delivery service through Qatar Post following the launch in mid-2019. Our goal is to continue on this pathway to deliver further improvements using smart solutions that make opti-mal use of digital platforms, including smart e-payment systems which help make a real differ-ence to our customers,” said Al Naimi.
“Not only is this solution more convenient for patients, but it will also reduce overcrowding of people who are coming onsite for the sole purpose of obtaining a medical report in our hospitals. This is a win-win solution for all parties concerned, and we are delighted that the collaboration between different departments has made this new service possible,” Al Naimi added.
Previously, obtaining medical reports required a patient, or their representative, to visit one of HMC’s hospitals to first submit the request, and then wait to pay the fee at a cashier’s desk, and then followed by another visit to collect the documents. The need for multiple visits was exacer-bated if the individual had to request reports from different hospitals. The online solution and col-laboration with Qatar Post remove the extra steps.
The online application service can be accessed here (www.hamad.qa/en/medical-reports)