The Centers for Civic Initiatives (CCI) and Tešanj General Hospital today presented transparent waiting lists for patients seeking healthcare services. With the aim of improving the quality of healthcare, protecting citizens’ right to health, and facilitating easier access to services, electronic waiting lists have been introduced for selected healthcare services at Tešanj General Hospital.
Patients, as users of public healthcare services, often lack sufficient information about internal procedures within healthcare institutions, their capacities, and the priorities according to which waiting lists are formed. Additionally, the lack of insight into the waiting lists themselves contributes to patients’ distrust in the public healthcare system and increases dissatisfaction with the services provided. On the other hand, the lack of transparency in this process creates opportunities for corruption and for scheduling appointments “out of turn.” The introduction of transparent waiting lists enables patients to access information more easily, while also facilitating the work of healthcare professionals and improving and simplifying communication.
“By introducing transparent waiting lists at Tešanj General Hospital, we aim to contribute to improving the quality of services for patients, reduce waiting times for certain healthcare services, increase the level of transparency, and help prevent corruption in the healthcare sector. CCI welcomes healthcare institutions that have implemented this system and calls on others to follow this positive example by introducing transparent waiting lists, with the goal of improving the healthcare system and ensuring simpler and easier access to healthcare services for citizens,” said Asmir Ćilimković, Project Manager at the Centers for Civic Initiatives.
Tešanj General Hospital has been provided with an appropriate software solution, compatible with its existing system, for the public disclosure of waiting lists for the most important medical examinations and procedures, as selected by the hospital’s management. Currently, waiting lists are published for services with the highest demand, with the possibility of expanding to other healthcare services (examinations, surgical procedures, etc.). The electronic waiting lists are available at: https://lc.bolnicatesanj.ba/
“Our goal has always been to provide high-quality, timely, and accessible healthcare services to all our patients. Transparency enables us to work together in addressing existing challenges with full accountability, ensuring that our patients are informed in a timely manner. For this reason, transparent waiting lists represent a significant step forward in increasing trust in our work and improving communication between our healthcare staff and patients,” said Omer Bedak, MD, MSc, Director of Tešanj General Hospital.
Through the established system, patients are able at any time to track their scheduled appointment or other healthcare service and to see in real time whether there are significant changes in appointment timing. This approach allows Tešanj General Hospital to better manage waiting lists, monitor patient flow, and conduct analytical and statistical tracking of healthcare service delivery.
“We developed software for the automatic creation and public publication of waiting lists, which—following additional coordination and staff training at Tešanj General Hospital—has been operationalized and is now in use. This system has significantly improved transparency and accessibility of healthcare services for the citizens of Tešanj. It is also important to highlight that the appointment scheduling procedure itself is simple and accessible to all citizens,” said Mersad Avdić, Director of Creativo Center.
One of the most effective ways to improve service quality and prevent corruption is to introduce a higher level of transparency in the work of healthcare institutions, including the establishment of electronic waiting lists for patients at Tešanj General Hospital. This positive example should serve as an incentive for other healthcare institutions across Bosnia and Herzegovina to further improve healthcare services and restore public trust in the healthcare system for the benefit of all citizens.