One of many main causes of loss of life in Singapore is pneumonia, claiming greater than 4,000 lives annually.
To allow the general public to conveniently ebook pneumococcal vaccination appointments, Open Authorities Merchandise (OGP) — a division of Authorities Know-how Company (GovTech) launched the Well being Appointment System (HAS) at the moment (29 August).
In collaboration with the Ministry of Well being (MOH) and the Well being Promotion Board (HPB), this pilot authorities initiative not solely permits Singaporeans to ebook their pneumococcal vaccines throughout a whole lot of taking part CHAS Normal Practitioner(GP) clinics, but additionally helps clinics facilitate massive volumes of appointments with out the necessity for extra administrative manpower.
Regardless of 1 / 4 of pneumonia instances being simply prevented by the pneumococcal vaccine, a survey of Singapore residents aged between 65 and 74 years previous revealed that solely 14 per cent have acquired at the least one dose of the vaccine.
Additional interviews with a dozen GPs, clinic assistants, and seniors discovered that ease of entry and comfort to find a close-by GP clinic with pneumococcal vaccine inventory on-hand is among the key causes behind the low vaccination charges.
How does the HAS work?
This pilot launch permits any senior above 65 to ebook their pneumococcal vaccination at CHAS GPs on-line.
It’s inspired that every one seniors aged 65 years previous and above obtain two varieties of pneumococcal vaccination for long-term safety towards pneumonia.
Adults aged 64 years and beneath with sure medical situations are additionally beneficial to obtain the vaccine.
HPB will ship out a letter to 650,000 seniors between finish August and October 2022 which is able to comprise particulars on the significance of getting protected. The letter may also comprise a QR code which eligible seniors can scan to ebook their vaccines.
As of twenty-two August 2022, greater than half of CHAS GP clinics islandwide — roughly 657 clinics — have already registered for an HAS account and are progressively opening up appointment slots. This solves the difficulty of accessibility to enough vaccine provide and obtainable vaccination slots.
Seniors solely must key of their postal code to seek out the closest clinic and choose an acceptable timing. Rescheduling will also be finished conveniently through the SMS hyperlink.
Kenneth Sng, Product Supervisor for HAS shares: “Seniors ought to [now] be capable of make their pneumococcal vaccination appointment in sixty seconds. Residents will a lot much less probably should take care of lengthy strains at clinics, or clinics working out of inventory.”
“We hope that HAS might be a catalyst for saving lives, and takes us one step nearer to our imaginative and prescient of a society largely free from main vaccine preventable diseases.”
Featured Picture Credit score: Open Authorities Merchandise / SMU Newsroom
