At the St Jan hospital in Bruges, Belgium, e-health is now a reality
The St Jan hospital of the historic city of Bruges, Belgium, has always been ahead of its time when it comes to cooperation with primary care. In fact, their primary care physicians have had access to a well-secured health portal since 2005. Using this network, they are able to easily follow the stays of their patients and access information like test and lab results, PACS images and discharge letters.
Today, St Jan has taken this one step further. Now online referrals and online appointment bookings are also available. And not just to physicians, but to patients as well. Via UG Broka, integrated in the health portal, referring physicians have access to a number of "referral paths". Depending on the specifics involved and the information provided, these can lead to an online and automatic referral authorization for a specific appointment type, saving a lot of time when the patient calls for his/her appointment.
For certain clinics and departments, the service even goes further than that. In some situations, the patient can pick up the referral online from his GP and convert it into an appointment himself. And it’s all done with the strictest confidentiality regarding the schedules concerned. The result? More efficiency for everyone involved—not to mention, service around the clock!