Patients can now self-schedule appointments via the patient portal

July 12, 2023

The Fitzgibbon Hospital patient portal, known as Fitzchart now has a feature that allows individuals to schedule their own appointments with their primary care provider from the comfort of their own home, or even “on the fly” via their phones.  The new feature is available for providers in Fitzgibbon Hospital-operated primary care clinics and chiropractic.  Individuals will not need to wait until the clinic is open to make a phone call for appointment scheduling. Instead, the scheduling system is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week to those who log into their online patient portal.

            “It is so easy and convenient, and we are really excited to make this available for our patients,” said Susan Forst, Clinic Director of Operations for Fitzgibbon Hospital.  “Individuals can click on ‘Appointments’ on the left side of their patient portal and then click ‘Schedule an Appointment.’ Then they can either select a reason for the visit, or they can click ‘provider’ to choose a schedule for a specific doctor or provider. That provider’s availability for the next seven days is then displayed; or you can load more appointment times. Finally, a click of a button schedules your appointment.”

            An individual can provide additional details for their provider about why they are requesting a visit. All communications through the portal are secure. Individuals can also select the ability to receive follow-up notifications and reminders directly from the appointment scheduling screen.

            “This new feature in our patient portal will make appointment scheduling much more convenient for our patients rather than waiting until the clinic opens to make a phone call,” said Forst.  “It is our hope that implementing this scheduling feature will help people receive the care they need quicker rather than waiting until their conditions have deteriorated, which may require more advanced care or hospitalization.”

            All clinics within the Fitzgibbon Hospital system including family practice, obstetrics and gynecology, mental health and chiropractic are available for scheduling within the portal.  Fitzgibbon Orthopedic and Sports Medicine and Marshall Surgical Associates are not currently available for scheduling in the portal, as their visits tend to be more involved, with specific imaging frequently needed as part of the appointment.