Does the 2024/18 appointment system circular apply to us — what are we supposed to do?

The circular in question is aimed at the efficient operation of appointment capacity in public healthcare providers. The operations of private diagnostic, treatment, or consulting centers are governed strictly by their licensing regulations and the prevailing USS data framework; circular 2024/18 introduces no new penal sanctions for private businesses.

Legally speaking you don't need to do a thing, the circular doesn't apply to you. But definitely adopt the state's approach of getting confirmations the day before into your own workflow. Catching cancellations early lets you slide in standby clients and protects your revenue.

Is your business licensed by the Ministry of Health as a "Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Medical Center," or are you operating under the status of a solo physiotherapist practice or a wellness consulting company? Your license type directly dictates your regulatory scope.

MHRS web services operate on a closed-circuit protocol restricted to the public sector anyway. It isn't even technically possible for private software to connect directly to MHRS and create appointment slots. Private centers only submit patient examination packages via USS; your appointment calendar stays strictly internal.

Taking inspiration from this circular, at our 4-physiotherapist clinic, we switched to making confirmation calls and sending SMS confirmations 24 hours before appointments. We used to average 6 no-shows a day, but in the two months since switching to the confirmation system, that number has dropped to 1 or 2 a day.

note: I wrote this based on my own experience, it might not apply to everyone.

There is no guarantee that a rule applied to the public sector today won't be applied to private hospitals and medical centers 2 years from now. The Ministry aims to centralize all healthcare data. There are no penalties for now, but make sure your software vendor is staying on top of developments.

we heard a similar rumor from friends working at the polyclinic. we called the provincial health directorate to ask, they said the circular is strictly for state hospitals and mhrs, so you can rest easy.

Let me summarize what's been said so far. Just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's right.

Good luck with that.

I'll argue the opposite, don't get mad. Trying to do this alone is the most expensive way.

Everyone rushing into appointment system circular 2024 gets stuck at the same point. Hope this helps.

to get into the details: Look where the bucket leaks; pouring watter on top doesn't solve it.

if I were you I'd go this route.

The most overlooked point about appointment system circular 2024 is this: If you get three different answers on a topic, the question was asked wrong.

i have a question. changing habits is harder and more expnesive than setting up a system.

proven by experience.

Let me summarize what's been said so far. The harder it is to reverse a decision, the slower you should make it.

There is something to watch out for. People defend habits not processes. Resistance comes from there.

If you post the result here it will help others too.

I've been dealing with this for a long time. Changing habits is harder and more expensive than setting up a system.

Trying to do this alone is the most expensive way. If you post the result here it will help others too.

You're right, I've been down that road too. Just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's right.

If you get three different answers on a topic, the question was asked wrong. Proven by experience.

i've been down this road, let me tell you and tbh a small market isn't bad; working cheaply in a small market is.

the biggest time-waster for us was not knowing who had the final say then if you have questions write them; I'll answer as best I can.

Timely topic.