Abstract

The granting of dental appointments to requesting patients is often a problem when automated tools are not available to reduce the time of completion and optimize the process. The objective of this work was to develop a tool for optimal appointment scheduling and patient registration in dental clinics. A technological innovation study was carried out in the "Ana Betancourt" stomatological clinic of the Playa municipality in Havana, Cuba. The ethical norms established for the type of research involving participants were complied with. For the development of the tool, Internet connection, computer and Microsoft Excel® 2021 program were available. The phases of the incremental system for the development of computer tools were followed: analysis, design, coding, testing and maintenance. The application and its respective versions are available in the Zenodo repository. An operational scheme of interaction between the patient and the operator was established. Following the steps for the development of the digital tool, five spreadsheets were created with two work environments, one for the registration of patients and the other for the granting of appointments. The average time for general registration and patient appointments, using the tool, was 2.75 and 1.03 respectively. In contrast, when using the traditional method, in both cases, it was 5.31 and 3.15, respectively. The proposed tool provides improvements in the monitoring of appointments and patient registration, combining the reduction of time in the processes and the saving of resources.