A patient app allowing Islanders to rearrange hospital appointments must be introduced before proposed charges for repeatedly missing appointments without notice, the Health Minister has said.
Around 12,000 appointments are missed each year, according to a government response examined by the Public Accounts Committee.
The minister has proposed charging patients who repeatedly fail to attend without giving notice, but wants the ‘Patient Knows Best’ portal introduced first.
The free, secure online service will allow patients to manage their information and reschedule appointments remotely.
The condition was outlined in the government’s response to recommendations from the Comptroller and Auditor General on sustainable healthcare funding.
The auditor recommended identifying high-profile early users to share their experiences and encourage others to use the app.
The government accepted that recommendation and said its Patient User Panel would help identify people to support the launch. Its Digital Health team is managing development and implementation.
However, the Public Accounts Committee said that “successful adoption of the Patient Knows Best application should ultimately be assessed by reference to measurable outcomes rather than uptake alone”.
The committee wants future reporting to show whether the portal improves efficiency and productivity, demonstrating its contribution to wider healthcare reform.
The government identified a risk that, without widespread and prompt adoption, the app would fail to achieve its objectives, including reducing missed appointments.
Its response did not specify a launch date or the amount of the proposed missed-appointment charge.
The document also said further consideration would be given to whether additional healthcare charges should be introduced, taking account of increases in households’ cost of living. No decisions had been taken on those further charges.
The Public Accounts Committee urged the government to explain the wider pressures facing healthcare, raising concerns about the focus on “communications around potential future charges rather than the broader need to explain rising healthcare costs, changing service delivery, and future system pressures”.
“Without this wider context, public debate may focus on individual charges rather than the long-term sustainability of the healthcare system,” the committee added.
