Medical appointments made easy: SAMSO has
more ways to connect
When patients are unable to access HR Online or prefer to get more personalized help making an appointment, the Outpatient Scheduling Unit offers a centralized appointment service. SAMSO has reduced on-hold times by placing additional agents at the call center.
DHAHRAN - It's 2 p.m., and Sarah suddenly remembers she missed her 9 a.m. medical appointment. When she gets home in the evening, she finds out she has run out of her blood-pressure medication.
What can she do?
Since this is the Saudi Aramco Medical Services Organization's (SAMSO) "Year of the Partnership," SAMSO is partnering with patients to avoid such situations. Now from home, Sarah can use her log-on ID, access HR Online, rebook her appointment with her Primary Care physician, sign up for the SMS reminder and renew her prescription - all in five minutes.
To simplify access to health services, improvements now offered through HR Online include medication refill, Primary Care and Dental appointment booking, and Specialty and Primary Care medical appointment cancellation functions at http://hronline > Medical, in addition to the appointment reminder system.
Employees are able to view their own and dependents' prescribed medications, check refill dates, request refills and renewal of prescriptions, and access online leaflets about their medications in English and Arabic. But that's not all; they can check their immunization records, blood group Health Dashboard and more.
Taking advantage of the cancel/reschedule function is an important way for patients to partner with SAMSO because other patients can fill those cancelled appointments. Email appointments have enhanced attendance by reminding patients to attend, cancel or reschedule their medical appointments. Employees can also take advantage of the HR Assistant tool, or the SMS appointment reminders.
SAMSO is reaching out to its patients in many ways and recently started conducting regular community forums. One forum suggestion was to offer call-center services during the weekend. In response, as a six-month trial, SAMSO will expand call-center working days in Dhahran into Thursday and Friday. If deemed successful, the service will become permanent and will expanded to the districts
SAMSO has a wealth of plans in the pipeline to enhance partnership with patients. Stay tuned.
(Wiam AlAshgar)
