V.W.H. Campbell Jr., Post-Gazette Georgiann Robbins, of Canonsburg, is one of about 350 West Penn Allegheny Health System patients who have used ScheduleConnect to make an appointment for diagnostic tests online. Click photo for larger image.

When she needed to schedule her annual mammogram last fall at Canonsburg General Hospital, Georgiann Robbins turned to her personal computer.

A friend had told her about Sched-uleConnect, a service that allows patients of the West Penn Allegheny Health System to request diagnostic tests online.

A link on the health system's home page, www.wpahs.org, takes patients through a secure online process that allows them to choose the tests they need. A scheduler then calls back to confirm a specific time and date.

Using the system wasn't complicated, said Ms. Robbins, 61, of Canonsburg, who said she also shops and conducts personal banking online.

The health system began accepting online requests for mammograms and bone density tests in October 2005. Other tests, such as ultrasounds, CT and MRI scans and X-rays, were added about six months ago, said Nicholas Valadja, a system vice president and chief information officer.

"The whole concept behind it is convenience to the patient," Mr. Valadja said, noting that patients can request appointments online at any time rather than needing to telephone during business hours.

Not everyone, of course, has online access, Mr. Valadja acknowledged, and officials noted the vast majority of people still request appointments by telephone.

About 350 people have used Sched-uleConnect so far, but officials expect the number of users to grow significantly.

In a statement, they said they hope to eventually "give patients the ability to schedule a full spectrum of clinical appointments online."

Ms. Robbins said she would recommend ScheduleConnect, saying it was at least as easy as making a call.

Heritage Valley Health System offers a similar service, Health Link, that allows patients to use computers to request mammograms and bone density tests and to pre-register for other services.

Later this year, both health systems plan to begin phasing in other changes that could allow patients or their doctors' offices to directly schedule diagnostic testing appointments online.

Tests ordered by a family doctor, for example, could be scheduled by computer before a patient leaves the office, said David Carleton, chief information officer for Heritage Valley, which operates The Medical Center, Beaver and Sewickley Valley Hospital.

Other health systems also are offering computer-based approaches to help patients request appointments or other services, said Chantal Worzala, senior associate director for policy at the American Hospital Association.

UPMC HealthTrak, an online service of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, allows some patients to access personal health information and contact doctors to request appointments or prescription refills. Danville-based Geisinger Health System offers a similar service.

At Duke University Medical Center, patients can make online requests to schedule and cancel appointments, seek referrals to specialists and obtain other services.

A 2005 American Hospital Association survey found that hospitals use many different types of information technology, including systems for billing and scheduling and clinical applications.

Some approaches, including bar coding for administering medications and "computerized physician order entry," which allows doctors to electronically order tests or drugs, have shown potential for limiting errors and otherwise improving patient care.

But many hospitals are at the "lower ends of the spectrum" in implementing the expensive technology, the survey found. Large urban hospitals tended to be further along than other hospitals.