Development of specialized radiological examination appointment program in the Radiology Department at Phichit Hospital

Abstract

Background: Specialized radiological examinations are crucial tools for diagnosing and monitoring various diseases. However, the traditional appointment scheduling system faces issues such as delays, illegible handwriting, the duplicate appointments, and inefficiencies, causing inconvenience to patients and reducing the overall service efficiency of hospital. To address these problems, the researchers proposed the development of a specialized radiology appointment scheduling program. Methods: The study began with an analysis of the issues in the traditional appointment system, followed by the design and development of the program. The research evaluated user satisfaction with the new system and compared it with the traditional appointment system. Results: After implementing the program, user satisfaction improved significantly: appointment procedures increased by 70%, data security by 62.50%, convenience by 67.50%, accuracy of data entry by 65%, appointment data retrieval by 72.50%, and reduction of duplicate appointments by 65%. Additionally, the waiting time for appointment slips decreased from 10-15 minutes per case to 2-3 minutes, and no duplicate appointment incidents were reported. Conclusion: The developed specialized radiology appointment program can effectively replace the traditional system, improving service efficiency, reducing appointment steps, decreasing waiting times, enhancing user satisfaction, and supporting better management and delivery of high-quality medical services.