Some cities are exploring "three days of one-time registration management", and if the examination results are not available on the same day, patients need to be re registered | hospitals | examinations

Visiting a hospital for registration is only valid on the same day of the visit and is a common practice in most hospitals. Regarding the hospital's requirement for re registration and payment of fees for follow-up visits, some citizens feel it is unreasonable, while others believe it is necessary. Some places have attempted to make changes.

"After the child recovers from illness, he needs a follow-up certificate to return to school. He went to the hospital to obtain the certificate, but was told that he needs to register again to pay the fee." Recently, when Mr. Zhao reported his experience to reporters, he said that repeating the registration not only costs more money, but also delays time and is completely unnecessary.

In most hospitals, the registration form will indicate that it is only valid on the current day, but often some patients cannot receive their test results on the same day, or some conditions require follow-up visits every few days. In such cases, they can only register again. Therefore, there is ongoing controversy over the payment of follow-up registration fees. Is there any measure to improve it?

Visit the hospital once and register twice

Mr. Zhao told reporters that last month, the child caught a cold and had a fever. After visiting the hospital for consultation, he underwent a check-up and prescribed medication. A week later, I went to get a follow-up certificate and was informed at the hospital that I needed to register again to pay the fee.

Mr. Zhao is a bit puzzled. Shouldn't registering once include the entire process of doctors prescribing, treating, and revisiting?

"Hospitals have thousands of patients every day, and registration is a proof of establishing good order." A medical staff from a tertiary hospital in Chongqing told reporters that in the current "Hospital Work System", the registration work system states that registration is effective on the same day of diagnosis and treatment, which is not a self regulation or unique phenomenon of a certain hospital.

The medical staff explained, "If registering once includes processes such as consultation, treatment, and follow-up visits, the outpatient room may become a vegetable market. Imagine, if follow-up patients go in and out directly, would it bring interference to normal registered patients?"

Ms. Peng recalled an experience when she accompanied her father for medical treatment, which was also full of doubts. "After finally queuing up, I hung up an expert account for my father. After a preliminary consultation, I was asked to undergo a series of tests. However, when all the test results came out, it was already 6 pm in the afternoon, and the experts had finished their consultations and finished work."

A week later, when Ms. Peng brought her father back to the hospital, she was asked to register again and pay the fee. She explained to the medical staff that the delay was not due to her own reasons, but the response she received was: "This is a regulation."

"Why should we bear the consequences of not completing a diagnosis and treatment on the same day, even if it is due to the hospital's fault?" Ms. Peng said, "It is expensive and time-consuming to see a doctor once and register twice.".

Lack of rationality in the process or need for orderly consultation

In recent years, it is not uncommon for patients to complain about the payment of re visit registration fees, and the discussion and suggestions are also continuing.

A professional has said that during the process of seeking medical treatment, there are many types of diseases that require multiple visits to the hospital for follow-up consultations. Sometimes, if the follow-up medical advice is only one or two sentences, or if the examination items are not completed on the same day, it is necessary to register again and submit the examination form. This process lacks rationality.

Therefore, the person suggests that patients should not be asked to spend money again to register without completing the medical treatment process.

The medical staff from the top three hospitals mentioned above told reporters that the registration and payment of follow-up visits have caused confusion among the public, and it is also because everyone is not very clear about the hospital's workflow. He said that currently, most hospitals in China are managed through information technology, and patient related information is recorded in the system. Without registration, the system cannot display information, and doctors cannot further diagnose and treat patients. So, it is necessary to re register and pay for follow-up visits, and both doctors and patients should understand each other.

However, there are also other sounds appearing. Some legal professionals have pointed out that according to the Contract Law, if a patient registers, it is deemed that the patient has signed a medical service contract with the hospital and should receive a complete medical service, including consultation, examination, diagnosis, and treatment.

"Before this process is completed, patients should not pay any registration fees. During the period when patients are waiting for examination and laboratory results, it can be regarded as a temporary suspension of the medical service contract relationship. After the hospital issues the test results, it indicates that the contract relationship between doctors and patients has been restored, and the hospital should continue to fulfill the unfinished contract content," said the legal professional.

Some cities are implementing a "one-time registration management for three days" policy

"In the past, filming had to wait in line for half a day. If we couldn't make it on the same day, we had to grab the next day's number and queue up again to pay the fee. Now we finally don't have to repeatedly register." At the Zibo Central Hospital in Shandong Province, a patient praised the hospital's "one registration and three day management" system.

It is reported that in recent years, Jining, Zibo, Qingdao and other places in Shandong Province have implemented a policy of "three days of one-time registration management" and free registration fees for follow-up visits in some public hospitals throughout the city. According to statistical data released by the Zibo Municipal Health Commission, this measure can reduce registration fees for patients by about 2.4 million yuan per year.

"Some people are concerned that this will increase the workload of doctors and pose new challenges to the management order of hospitals." Professor Wang Conghu from the School of Public Administration of Renmin University of China believes that in fact, as long as hospitals have a reasonable evaluation and performance evaluation standard, this problem can be solved.

"Hospitals, as providers of public medical services, offer innovative forms such as' one registration for three days', giving patients more choices," said Wang Conghu.

The reporter found that the Notice on Chongqing's Comprehensive Reform Implementation Plan of Public Hospitals, issued in 2017, stipulates that only one consultation fee will be charged for one course of treatment for outpatients with injection and infusion, dressing change, physiotherapy, acupuncture and moxibustion, massage, hemodialysis, radiotherapy, etc.

"The examination fee includes registration fees, outpatient fees, etc. This measure aims to optimize the medical process, improve the medical experience, and reduce the burden of patients' medical treatment," said a person from the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission.

Some citizens have expressed that the system of "one registration for three days" can be further improved in the future, such as breaking the time limit and allowing for free registration and payment for all follow-up visits?

Several healthcare industry experts interviewed have stated that it is currently not possible to fully implement it. On the one hand, having no time limit can cause difficulties for doctors in scheduling appointments; On the other hand, every consultation by a doctor is also a process of putting in effort. If the time limit is exceeded, re registration and payment are necessary to respect and ensure the value of the doctor's labor.