SHAC

Appointment Improvement
Recommendation Statement for UNM Student Health and
Counseling
Recommended on
April 30, 2016
By: Michael Roybal,
UNM Student

Table of Contents

Abstract. 1

Introduction.. 2

Methodology & Criteria... 3

Results.. 4

Conclusion and Recommendation 5

Abstract

I am writing this recommendation to your department in order to improve universal design
within your website and to improve customer satisfaction. My goal is find the best way possible
to improve the website and become more accessible. In my report I lay out two systems that
the SHAC could implement to improve accessibility. The first option is a way to integrate an
online booking program that allows patients to schedule appointments on the internet. The
second one is to create a program similar to one used by other hospitals, that allows patients to
see doctors, via video call.

I conducted my report by creating a system to find the best way possible. I first came up with a
list of what the best system should have. Next I researched other health care providers
websites. I then conducted interviews of current patients, of the yours and from there I
analyzed each option based on the effectiveness, cost distribution and patient opinions. I
conclude my report with my final recommendation of creating a system that allows the patients
to book appointments online.

Introduction:

The Student Health and Counseling Center (SHAC) is a service offered at UNM for all students
and staff members. At the SHAC students are give the opportunity to see a doctor, counselor or
get advice with anything they need. For many students this allows students who dont have
insurance or who have poor health care to get see by doctors at a reasonable price.

The Student Health Center is very accessible physically, with its central location on campus but
not via internet. In a time where time management is key to almost everything being able to
schedule appointments or see a doctor online is very beneficial, especially to college students.
The purpose of this report is to come up with a way to make seeing a doctor more accessible to
students and staff members at UNM. My goal is to allow students a more efficient way to
receive health care.

In a survey published by the SHAC 35.56% of your patients said the availability and timeliness of
appointing scheduling was good,
satisfactory, poor or not applicable
(Figure 1). With a mission of
ensuring 100% customer
satisfaction allowing a more
universal design aspect for online
health care can increase the satisfaction patients have. With how much you

Figure 1

can do on the computer and internet and how well people can communicate through it many
people do not have cell phones or home phones that they can call from. Implementing a system
that allows individuals to book appointments online and have easier access to doctors is
beneficial. In order to increase patient satisfaction, I recommend you implement an online
booking protocol so patients can schedule and appointment with their doctors online.

This report is composed of a four parts that include: 1-Methodology & criteria, 2-results, 3-
discussion & analysis of the results, and 4-conclusion and recommendation.

Methodology & Criteria

This four-part document was used in order to lay out the most efficient way for your
department to increase customer satisfaction.

Step 1: Develop Evaluation Material
To insure universal design within any solutions the first thing I did was determine what kinds of
things my solution should include. I concluded that the solution should be:
Cost effective: It should not be a solution that requires an exponential amount of money to
implement and keep running.
Simplistic and Intuitive use: I should be the simplest way for patients to receive health care. It
shouldnt be too complicated where its a hassle. This system should be easy to use and easy to
implement.
Minimal Maintenance: It shouldnt require a lot of time and up keep. The more upkeep the
solution requires the less likely it is to work.

Step 2: Research
The second step to this was to research health care providers. I wanted to see how other health
care providers utilized online healthcare. I researched the way Presbyterian Hospital took
advantage of the internet as well as Lovelace hospital. By finding ways in which other
healthcare providers use the internet the SHAC can learn from them and utilize similar features.
I found that setting up something like this would require the University to hire more physicians
and IT guys to keep up with the visits and websites. Based on a Medscape physician
compensation report the average annual wage of a physician is $189,000. As well as this the
SHAC would have to hire IT workers to keep the video services running. The average salary for
these workers is average of
about $75,000/yr, based on
the Bureau of Labor statistics.

Salary

Required

Cost

Physician

$189,000

2+

$378,000+

IT Manager

$75,000

2+

$150,000 +

Total Cost

$528,000

Step 3: Interview
The third step I began interviewing students who use the SHAC. I interviewed two students I
asked them questions that were related to appointment scheduling, efficiency, and
accessibility. I asked them the following questions:
1. Do you think booking appointments over the phone is the quickest way to schedule
appointments?
2. How efficient would you rate the SHAC with their appointments and booking process?
3. How easy is it for you to book an appointment with the SHAC?
4. Do you think being able to book appointments online would be easier? Why?
5. Do you think being able to see a doctor over the internet via video call would be easier?
Senior, Megan Perez, stated, I use the SHAC a lot and sometimes its difficult to get ahold of
them over the phone. Being able to book online would help me. Another student, Kayla Howell
said, I think appoints booked over the internet would allow the SHAC to be way more efficient.
When I go they always take forever to check me in. Doing it online would be much quicker.

Step 4: Analyze
The last step was to evaluate whether or not implementing an online booking system would be
better, based on the criteria, or allowing patients to see a doctor via video call would be better.
After obtaining information from the evaluation criteria, research from other hospitals and
opinions of current patients I came up with my recommendation on what would improve
universal design the best.

Results:

Option 1: Online Scheduling
This included implementing a system that allowed patients to use the SHAC website to schedule
appoints they needed. The cost of this program would be miniscule for the University. With the
use of an online booking service there wouldnt be an additional cost to keep the system
running. The website developers are already paid to improve the website and keep things
running. It is already apart of their job which would require no additional expenses. As well as

there wouldnt be no additional cost for receptionists to run the website. Currently, at the
SHAC, people have to call and book appointments and with the online booking the receptionists
would be doing the same thing. No additional cost for wages would be incurred. In addition to
this, users of the SHAC stated that having an online booking service would be beneficial.

Option 2: Video Call Services
This option required more funding from your department. With the second option you would
implement a program to allow your doctors to see patients over video call. In my research I
found that Presbyterian hospital has a similar feature. A patient can get advice from a doctor
and their opinions without having to book appointments. In order to implement you would
have to hire roughly 2 additional physicians to be on stand-by, to see patients as well as extra IT
managers. In addition, video calls have a high chance of being interrupted and a high chance of
the system crashing. This would cost a minimum of about $500,00 per year to keep up this
service. Unlike the online scheduling this would require a great deal of upkeep as well.

Conclusion and Recommendation

To increase customer satisfaction and create a more universal design for your website the
department should implement an online booking system.

Based on the evaluation of the extra costs that would be incurred for trying to use an online
video call service and the technical issues that could arise, the best way to ensure this ease of
access and satisfaction is to allow patients to book their appointments online. With this system
patients check-in process would be quicker and would allow for a better environment. The
System would not raise any costs for the department and would provide a better way of seeing
a doctor. In addition to the cost effectiveness of this, based on the response of current SHAC
users, I also recommend this system. Customer satisfaction would increase because of this and
it could be implemented quickly. This system would allow the website to be accessible and
more universal for a wider variety of people. If you would like to discuss my recommendation
further please contact me at roybalm@unm.edu. Thank you for your consideration.

Works Cited
"Databases, Tables & Calculators by Subject." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics, 03 May 2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
Peckman, Carol. "Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2015." Medscape Physician
Compensation Report 2015. Medscape, 21 Apr. 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.
Perez, Megan, and Kayla Howell. "The SHAC." Personal interview. 07 Apr. 2016.