Kodality’s solution for remote appointments brings healthcare to your home

The virus crisis set new challenges for the healthcare sector; regular treatments and consultations were often swapped for remote appointments. In cooperation with hospitals in Pärnu, Ida-Viru, Narva and Rakvere, Kodality created a secure and convenient solution specifically for remote appointments. 

Kodality’s Development Manager Maksim Žukov explained that remote appointments through the hospitals’ patient portals ensure a reliable and secure connection with healthcare providers and allow patients to receive service without leaving home. All patients need for a remote appointment is a computer with an Internet connection and their ID card or Mobile-ID.

After scheduling a remote appointment, patients receive a notification message and an e-mail with instructions on how to log in to and use the patient portal. The portal is accessible at all times and displays information on the date and time of the scheduled appointment. On the day of the appointment, the call link becomes active and when the patient clicks on it, the doctor will be able to see from their office that the patient is in the remote reception area waiting for their appointment. The doctor will join the call at the agreed time. The service is provided as usual and the appointment is documented under the patient’s medical history as required.

“The emergency situation changed everyone’s lives drastically,” said Igor Bossenko, Member of Management Board of Kodality, on the origin of the service. “Out-patient appointments were suspended and people no longer had access to the medical care they needed. We couldn’t simply stand by, so we decided to help alleviate the situation. We organised an internal hackathon and developed the remote appointment solution in four days.”

Security is the keyword used to describe the service. The technology establishes a peer-to-peer video connection between the doctor and patient that cannot be hacked. This means that users can be 100% sure that their health data are safeguarded during the remote appointments.

At present, all customers of the HEDA hospital information system (15 healthcare providers) can use the service. All new members can immediately start using the remote appointment solution since it is included in the main service package.

Midwives were among the first to put remote appointments into wider use in Pärnu Hospital. Many other specialist areas are also prepared to implement remote appointments. Internists, cardiologists, gastroenterologists, rehabilitation doctors, dermatologists, psychologists, allergists and various nurses are expected to start remote appointments soon.