In the last couple of decades, with the advancement and newer innovation in the field of communications technology, the world has been witnessing an exponential growth in online services and with the devastating invasion of Coronavirus pandemic such services have become part and parcel of human life.
Now-a-days any service, whether it is from private entities or government agencies, can be availed at the click of a button from the convenience of home at any time, which disposes the requirement of visiting offices, most of the time multiple times, for a single service.
Qatar is one of the leading countries, which has been quick to adopt digital developments and as a result, the country has achieved almost hundred percent digital literacy and almost all the services are available online. Recently, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) encouraged people to make use of the Medical Reports Online Service, which is available at all the health facilities run by HMC.
With the easy-to-use online service patients can conveniently request copies of their medical report and a hard copy of which will be delivered to the applicant at their doorstep through Qatar Post, said Executive Director of Media Relations at HMC Nayef Al Shammari. An applicant, a patient or one of the close relative of the patient, whose age is 18 or above with proper authorisation can request the release of medical information. Such a report can be requested by parents for their children or grandchildren, adult children for their parents or grandparents, siblings, spouse and guardians with the relevant documents, the HMC added.
Medical reports can be applied by submitting applications through HMC website either in Arabic or English and the payment of the prescribed fee can be made through a safe portal via Qatar National Bank. The applicant will have the option of having a hard copy of the report delivered at their doorstep for a minimal fee paid to Qatar Post, or it can be availed through email.
The new facility avoids the need to visit HMC facilities often multiple times, to submit the request, wait to pay fee at the cashier’s desk and then followed by another visit to collect the documents. The service was launched in November 2020 during the pandemic, when people were not encouraged to visit the hospital facilities to avoid the risk of getting infected and now the service is available with all the HMC facilities.
The service not only is more convenient to the patient, but also will reduce overcrowding of people visiting hospitals for the sole purpose of obtaining medical reports. When authorities are making services more user-friendly people should avail of the facilities and refrain from overcrowding hospitals and leaving them more patient-friendly.
