According to data from the My Appointment system for the month of January, the total number of scheduled appointments with an appointment is 214,285. The total number of canceled appointments is 26,217. In the same month, 34,406 scheduled referrals are appointments where patients did not show up, i.e. no admission was recorded in My Appointment, but they were not canceled either. The largest number of canceled appointments was recorded in the Health Center Skopje, 2,874 scheduled referrals from 32 specialties or devices were canceled, and patients did not come to 3,833 scheduled appointments. In the GOB 8-mi Septemvri, 1,547 scheduled referrals from 48 different specialties or devices in the institution were canceled, and 2,650 scheduled appointments remained unrealized. PHI Clinical Hospital – Bitola “Dr. Trifun Panovski” has 1214 cancellations from 40 different specialties or devices, and for 960 scheduled examinations, patients did not come. PHI Clinical Hospital – Shtip follows with 1094 cancellations from 42 different specialties or devices, and for 771 scheduled examinations, patients did not come. Then follows PHI Clinical Hospital – Tetovo with 1094 cancellations from 42 different specialties or devices, and for 1447 scheduled examinations, patients did not come.
These cancellations may be due to various factors, such as the inability of patients to appear at the scheduled appointment, a change in their health condition or organizational reasons in the health institutions. The number in these health institutions is the largest because they have many specialties, diagnostic procedures or devices.
In accordance with our responsibilities, we are taking a series of measures in order to reduce the number of uncancelled scheduled examinations (as mentioned in the previous response, in January this number was high, i.e. 34406 scheduled referrals that remained unrealized) and to enable more efficient use of health services.
As part of these measures:
Insured persons receive an SMS notification several days before the scheduled examination.
The reminder functionality is also available through the mobile application “Moe Zdravje”, where patients receive a reminder for the examination and the opportunity to cancel.
Information about the need for timely cancellation is constantly emphasized (e.g. https://e-health.gov.mk/cpp/
), it is also found on each printed referral.
Additionally, a process of updating patients’ contact numbers through their family doctors is underway, which will enable greater efficiency of notifications and communication.
We believe that these measures will contribute to better organization of appointments and enable faster access to health services for all citizens.
Link to video