A new way to book an appointment with a doctor in Fort Frances will be rolled out next week.

The Fort Frances Physicians Group will begin accepting them online.

Business manager Lisa Slomke says the Online Appointment Booking (OAB) system allows patients and caregivers to book appointments electronically.

They choose the date and time and will receive an appointment confirmation by email.

“OAB will enable patients and caregivers to view available times for specific providers and choose the appointment most convenient to their schedule, spending less time back and forth with clinic administrative staff, and receiving confirmation and an appointment reminder prior to the appointment,” says Slomke.

“OAB is expected to decrease the number of no-shows, reduce the amount of time administrative staff are on the phone and improve overall efficiency for the whole clinic.”

Slomke says initially, appointments to see Drs. Mitchell and Arneson will be set up to accept same-day appointments beginning on Monday, June 5.

Over the coming months, additional physicians will be added.

When the system comes online, patients will be required to enter their name, health care and date of birth to start.

“Once all the keyed-in data matches our system, your provider will be listed with the available offerings for appointments. If there are no appointments showing, you will have to try again another day. If your provider does not come up on the screen, it means that the data you keyed in does not match our system, such as an expired health card.”

Slomke says patients can still call or visit the clinic to make an appointment.

Other electronic opportunities are also being considered.

This includes patient messaging and an electronic wait list for residents without a family physician.