You get home from work, look at the note on the refrigerator and kick yourself for not remembering that for the third day in a row, you failed to make your annual check-up appointment with your doctor.
You tried to do it on your lunch hour but got distracted with other to-dos on your list.
Frustrating!
But one health system may have the answer to your problem. UCHealth has made it easy for patients to schedule appointments online.
“I booked my last appointment that way and I thought it worked great,” said Curtis Sutton, who just needed his annual wellness checkup. “It was very easy to use. I just clicked on my doctor’s name and it booked me for the following day. I was kind of surprised at that.”
Sutton says he’ll definitely use it again.
Patients encouraged to use online scheduling
The system has been in place for some months, but UCHealth recently started encouraging current and new patients to use it.
“One of the biggest advantages is that you can set an appointment when it’s convenient for you to do so,” said Carla Bowen, director of primary care operations for UCHealth Medical Group. “You can schedule that appointment whenever you want, at 7 o’clock at night, on a Sunday afternoon, or whenever you think of doing it.”
“It’s really quite easy,” said Arlene Ward, practice manager for UCHealth Primary Care – Chapel Hills in Colorado Springs. “If you’re a patient, you can schedule an appointment through My Health Connection either online or using the UCHealth app.”
If you have a My Health Connection account:
- Sign on to My Health Connection at the UCHealth website (uchealth.org) or login to the UCHealth app
- Go to Appointments and click on schedule an appointment
- Follow the prompts and select a provider, date and time for your appointment based on your need
If you are a new patient, follow the below steps:
- Visit uchealth.org and click on the Schedule Online button
- Under the New patients tab, click on Schedule online now
- Select your insurance provider, the type of care you’re looking for – Family Medicine or Internal Medicine, and enter your zip code
In just a few steps, you’ll have an appointment.
My Health Connection is a convenient, online portal where patients can communicate with their doctors, request prescription refills, access test results and now schedule appointments online.
If you’re a new patient or don’t have your My Health Connection profile set up, visit uchealth.org and click on the Schedule Online button. Under the New patients tab, click on Schedule online now. Select your insurance provider, the type of care you’re looking for – Family Medicine or Internal Medicine, and enter your zip code.
Sometimes, a call to the doctor’s office is inevitable. You may be unsure whether or not you need to see your doctor or someone else. Maybe you just have a question that doesn’t require a visit.
“If you have questions you want answered before scheduling an appointment, you should call,” Ward said. “Then you can talk to a nurse or get advice. You can also communicate with your care team online via My Health Connection.”
Scheduling online can actually be faster than the traditional route. Is it an urgent situation? The scheduling option will ask you that, too. You might get an appointment in two hours or so.
With the new system, patients may also cancel or reschedule appointments online. Staff is notified of each change in real time.
Though the tool is new, it’s easy to use and not much different than making an online reservation at a restaurant.
“I think people are hesitant to use it at first because they are not always sure how easy or accessible it will be,” Bowen said. “It’s a new thing, but once they see how simple it is, it really is a timesaver.”
Ward said she thought the new tool would be a hit with younger patients, but she is surprised by the number of older patients who love it, too.
“I had a patient tell me the other day, ‘My mom is so excited about this!’’”
(To make an appointment with a referred specialist, call the office of the specialist directly.)
