A Quebec company offering online booking services for medical appointments is now offering its system for free across the province.
Bonjour-santé has operated for over a decade, offering an online appointment booking system through the web. Its software is popular among clinics, with almost 50 per cent of Quebec clinics offering online booking through Bonjour-santé.
Now, the company is offering its new system — called UGO, which stands for universel, gratuit et ouvert, or universal, free and open — to all clinics across the province.
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There are at least half a dozen other companies offering similar services, and the Quebec government has its own system, too. But Bonjour-santé says UGO is the first private, free system available in Quebec.
“It’s (the) first time in Quebec where we have a universal system,” said Bonjour-santé president Benoit Brunel. “Every Quebecer can access their appointment online.”
The Westmount Medical Clinic has used Bonjour-santé’s program for two years now. Patients book appointments online for the next day, starting at 5 p.m. the day before. Staff say it’s helped eliminate long lineups of people trying to get into the clinic each morning. Those lineups used to start hours before the clinic opened.
“It’s a great system because we don’t have this lineup of 20 people,” said Debra Payne, a clinic employee. “They come, they present their card, they have a time, they are triaged with the nurse and then they go see their doctor.”
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Patients not comfortable booking online can still call and make an appointment.
Clinic operators say easier automated booking eases the burden on hospitals.
“I think it’s way better than going to the ER. It’s a nightmare for many people,” said Luc Provost, director of the Westmount Medical Clinic. “Long hours with people who are often sicker than you. You go to clinics, and the experience is totally different. That’s the point.”
The system is only available to book with general practitioners for now, however the company hopes to offer bookings for specialists by the fall.
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