Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 21: The online appointment and report-access facilities established at SKIMS, Soura to minimize rush and save time have found few takers, with people still seen standing in queues to avail the services.
Officials told ‘Excelsior’ that only a small percentage of people-described as “negligible”-are utilizing the services, while the majority still visit the hospital in person to collect reports and book appointments with doctors.
“We have time and again urged people to utilize the services that have been made available so that they do not have to visit the hospital, but it appears that they are not inclined towards using these,” an official said.
It is to be noted that, apart from payment services, SKIMS Soura has made two online facilities available-one for booking consultation appointments with doctors and another for accessing investigation reports.
However, officials stated that despite repeated appeals, people have not shown a willingness to use the services, which in turn would have de cluttered the OPD section and made the system more seamless.
“We do not expect everyone to use it, but if at least some percentage of people visiting the OPD would have utilized it, it would have made a great difference; it would also then lead to a cascading effect,” the officials said.
They noted that many times, staff members have approached people standing in queues, urging them to use the online services. However, many expressed their inability to use them due to limited know how.
The online appointment facility, the appeal noted, has been specially designed for second consultations and follow up visits, eliminating the need for patients to wait in long queues at OPD counters.
Investigation reports are also accessible online through the SKIMS website [https://patient-services.skims.ac.in], which, it stated, must be used by people instead of physically visiting the hospital.
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