Online OPD slots bring relief to GMC patients

Panaji: The introduction of online outpatient department (OPD) appointments for select departments at Goa Medical College (GMC) from Wednesday has brought relief to patients who earlier spent hours waiting in queues to consult doctors.The facility, which will be extended to other departments in phases, is expected to ease crowding during morning hours. “While it may not eliminate congestion entirely, it will help reduce chaos,” a GMC official said. E-OPD slot booking opened with 100 slots each for orthopaedics, general surgery, ENT, medicine and dermatology. In the first half of the day, orthopaedics recorded 32 online bookings, while general surgery saw 30 slots filled.“Patients who booked a slot online will be allowed to see a consultant without waiting in a queue,” the official said. However, several walk-in patients, unaware of the new system, expressed disappointment. Some said they would have waited a day or two had they known about the online facility.Umnesh Parsekar, a Mapusa resident accompanying a relative with a fracture, said he would opt for online booking on his next visit.Dashrath Kanobajuvekar, who travelled from Betul in Salcete with a severely swollen leg, said the system would greatly benefit patients coming from distant areas.He added that he would book an appointment in advance instead of arriving early to collect a token.A Chimbel resident said she chose walk-in registration as it was her first visit to the hospital. A Bambolim resident, who is a regular at the general medicine OPD, said she still finds walk-in registration more convenient than online booking.On average, each OPD handles around 200 patients daily. “If we combine walk-in registrations with online slots, we can manage close to 300 patients. Once awareness increases, we will establish a system to handle higher appointment volumes,” the GMC official said.