Redesign of NUHS Appointment System to reduce manual intervention
Care Process & Redesign
Technology
National Healthcare Innovation and Productivity Medals
National University Health System
30 January 2026
To improve the efficiency of the referral scheduling system at NUHS. The redesign of the appointment system reduces manual intervention and improves scheduling efficiency.
Year Submitted: 2025
Published Date: 30 January 2026
Tags: Care Process ＆ Redesign, Access To Care, Turnaround Time, Operational Management, Scheduling ＆ Planning, Quality Improvement, Workflow Redesign, Technology, Digitalisation, Automation
About this Content
Aims
To improve the efficiency of the referral scheduling system at NUHS.
Background
The existing scheduling process is manual, lengthy, and takes up to 8 days, involving multiple phone calls and manual checks.
Methods
Redesigning the appointment system to automatically and accurately provide the next earliest appointment considering clinical requirements.
Results
The redesign reduced turnaround time from 5.1 days to 1.9 days.
Conclusion
The redesign of the appointment system reduces manual intervention and improves scheduling efficiency.
Lessons Learnt
Transition to a unified EMR and scheduling system allows patients to manage appointments via HealthHub and NUHS App.
Decentralizing and automating the scheduling process can significantly improve efficiency.
Keywords
Turnaround time, referral, scheduling, EMR, NUHS, appointment system
Innovators' Details
Innovators' Details
Healthcare Cluster(s) | National University Health System |
Organization(s) Involved | National University Health System (NUHS) |
Platform(s) | National Healthcare Innovation and Productivity Medals |
Healthcare Professional Group(s) | Healthcare Administration |
Applicable Specialty or Discipline | Healthcare Administrators, InfoTech, Operations |
Project Lead(s) | Yvonne Chia |
Project Member(s) | Marissa Tan |
Connect with this contributor!
Yvonne Chia - yvonne_yiwen_chia@nuhs.edu.sg
Project Attachment
438_NUHS_NHIP_2024_Redesign_of_NUHS_Appointment_System_to_reduce_manual_intervention.pdf