DINSTAR Singapore - TechBytes

Introduction

The customer, a Singapore Medical Group, operates 20 clinics across the island, located in various shopping malls. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the clinics faced a challenge maintaining social distancing norms as patients could not wait inside the clinic for their turn. If patients waited outside, they could not hear the receptionist call their turn. To address this issue, we designed an SMS Queue system with SMS and Voice Reminders.

System Design

The solution involved both hardware and software components. The hardware included a 4G VoIP Gateway Dinstar UC2000-VE, 4 channels, deployed in the clinic, and a Windows Server to host the application. The software component was an application that processed incoming queue SMS and managed the queue system.

Here is the software design architecture diagram:

The diagram shows the relationship between the VoIP Gateway, the Windows Server for the application, and the Users.
 

Product used for this case study

DINSTAR UC2000-VE GSM/WCDMA/LTE VoIP Gateway

Workflow

The workflow of the system is as follows:

1. The patient registers at the counter, and the nurse guides them to send an SMS to a fixed mobile number.
2. The VoIP Gateway, hosting a SIM card, receives the SMS.
3. The Windows Server application processes the incoming Queue SMS and registers the person into the queue. The patient can now wait nearby the clinic.
4. The application monitors the queue and triggers an SMS to the queued patient when there are only three persons in front of them. The patient can acknowledge the SMS by clicking on the link in the SMS.
5. If the patient does not acknowledge the SMS, the system triggers a voice call to the patient by playing a pre-recorded message when there is only one person in the queue.

Here is the workflow diagram:
 

Implementation Steps

The detailed steps for implementing the system are as follows:

1. Hardware Setup: Install the 4G VoIP Gateway Dinstar UC2000-VE in the clinic and set up the Windows Server to host the application.

2. Software Installation: Install the queue management application on the Windows Server.

3. SMS Configuration: Configure the VoIP Gateway to receive SMS from patients and forward them to the application on the Windows Server.

4. Queue Management: Set up the application to process incoming SMS and register patients into the queue.

5. SMS and Voice Call Triggers: Configure the application to send SMS reminders to patients when there are three persons in front of them in the queue and to trigger a voice call when there is only one person in the queue.

6. Testing: Conduct thorough testing to ensure the system works as expected.

This solution allows patients to wait for their medical consultation without queuing in a single place, thereby maintaining social distancing norms. The customer has been very happy with the result, and the system has significantly improved the clinic's operations during the pandemic.