Electronic scheduling is chaotic

The selected doctors claim that the situation regarding electronic scheduling is chaotic, that there is no room for an examination with certain specialists this year, and that the new model is extremely burdensome and exhausting for them.

According to Bojan Bekan, the elected doctor of the Podgorica Health Center, when making an appointment, doctors encounter situations where there is no place for an examination. With certain specialists, not until the end of 2017.

"It is difficult to find appointments for some radiological procedures, and it is necessary that they be done before the specialist's check-up. This is an additional complication," answered Bekan. He says that it has happened that some scheduled appointments have not already been made by patients due to various reasons that are communicated to them verbally. when they return from the Clinical Center (KC).

"So, the already overburdened elected doctor now finds himself with an additional burden, which he has to deal with on the fly, all the while taking care of the health of the patients...", said Bekan. He adds that the situation is chaotic and that he does not believe that anyone can be satisfied with the appointment so far. He emphasized that they cannot see the benefit in cases where the patient is sent to a specialist for the first time, because the vast majority of patients have already been examined and controlled by the same doctors.

"Vijesti" reporters were also convinced of this, because most of the patients they spoke with last week had already been examined for the first time - they are mostly elderly patients and chronic patients, who come exclusively for check-ups.

Bekan claims that in most situations, numerous obstacles are present.

"First of all, it's the holiday season and the workload of the chosen doctor is double, because he also covers the patients of absent doctors, so the working hours are too short to approach the patients in the right way", he believes.

However, the Ministry of Health, headed by Kenan Hrapović, claims that electronic scheduling has brought "much more positive than negative experiences".

"We visit health facilities every day. It is too early for general evaluations about the new appointment system, but after a few turbulent days, things are returning to normal," they said. The Ministry believes that the main problem was the scheduled patients from the period before the introduction of the new appointment method. and that because of this, KC opened additional outpatient clinics, in order to distribute patients who are referred for the first specialist examination in a proper manner.

The Ministry replied that the patients who had the opportunity to schedule a specialist examination with their chosen doctor were satisfied with the new concept and that they received an appointment much earlier than was the case until now.

The parents of the minor, who is to be operated on at the beginning of July, do not agree with this attitude of the health department, and the first examinations by specialists, who should show whether the child is ready for anesthesia, are scheduled for the second half of that month.

Some doctors, as well as Democratic Montenegro, previously accused the Ministry of not implementing the electronic scheduling project in accordance with the Law on Patients' Rights, which defines that the patient has the right to choose a medical specialist, in accordance with staffing capabilities.

"Vijesti" asked Hrapović's department if they believe that the law has been violated, because electronic scheduling applies to all specialist examinations, not only those where there is a problem with staffing.

The Ministry replied that the Law is not being violated, given that the Montenegrin healthcare system "currently does not have sufficient personnel capacity".

The Ministry may introduce lists of "bona fides" of doctors

The Ministry claims that they are considering introducing a list of "bona fides" doctors, the most sought-after doctors, for which they will define how they will be available to patients and under what conditions. In this way, as they say, it will give them a chance to earn extra money, and give patients access to exactly the doctor they want to receive health care from. The Ministry said that 1647 doctors work in the system, of which 1097 are specialists and 93 are narrow specialists. There are 405 doctors in specialist training, and 62 in sub-specialist training.

"With the return of these doctors from education to the health system, we believe that all segments of the provision of health services will be strengthened and conditions will be created for patients to be able to choose a doctor at both the secondary and tertiary levels," they concluded.

Health Center Podgorica: We are ready to welcome the project of electronic appointments

The Podgorica health center readily welcomed the project of electronic scheduling of specialist examinations, from which both the health system and citizens expect significant benefits. The project is being implemented according to the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, without major problems, so there is no assessment that the "situation regarding electronic scheduling is chaotic," announced the Podgorica Health Center.

"At the Podgorica Health Center, as the largest health facility at the primary level, seven to 10 thousand patients are examined daily, so crowds are not an uncommon sight in front of the clinics. The selected doctors absolutely follow the instructions prepared by the Ministry of Health, based on which they assess whether the patient needs a specialist examination, and if so, they first instruct him to perform the necessary diagnostics and, after he is prepared, make an appointment with a specialist. Therefore, it cannot be said that the new appointment system "extremely burdens and exhausts the selected doctors", because everything is done in accordance with the prescribed procedure",

"The Montenegrin health care system strives for constant improvement and modernization, with the ultimate goal of more accessible and better quality health care for citizens. In this sense, the electronic appointment project was launched, which is necessary to organize and control the system. When the reform of the primary level began in 2004 health care and IT-networked health centers, there was also misunderstanding, confusion and fear as to whether the system would take off and whether the elected doctors would have enough time to devote themselves to the patient from the computer. We are witnessing that the project has fully taken off. We expect that and electronic scheduling of specialist examinations to fully come to life, despite the minor problems that occur, but which are immediately overcome on the fly", announced the Podgorica Health Center.