Georgetown’s Student Health Center will begin offering online appointment scheduling and prescription refill service within the next four weeks, according to Dr. James Welsh, director of the Student Health Center.
Welsh said that the directors of the Student Health Center have been working for about four months with the Medical Center and Relay Health, a company that provides online communication between doctors and patients, in order to create and implement the online services.
According to Welsh, MedStar’s e-Health Initiative, a group that explores applications of the Internet in enhancing health care, has several initiatives similar to the online scheduling and prescription refill service, including one that allows physicians to electronically write and fax prescriptions.
The creation of online options for students coincides with the Student Health Center’s move from the Medical Center to Darnall Hall. Welsh said that the move not only caused the Center to be more convenient for students, but has also allowed for an upgrade of equipment as well.
“Everything is brand new,” Welsh said. “The layout is more conducive to patient flow and we have new equipment and new computers.”
In addition to the new computers, one of which is in the lobby for patient use, the Student Health Center has procured electrocardiogram and pulse oximeter equipment. At the Health Center’s previous location, students would have had to go to the Medical Center to access these machines.
The Student Health Center was given a two-year lease at its previous location when the University sold the Medical Center to MedStar, a private corporation, in 2000. The lease ran out in July 2002, and the Health Center was given an extension until the space in Darnall Hall was secured.
Walsh said although the clinic has only been open in its new location for a week, he has received positive feedback from patients.
