A new tool to better inform patients about live Emergency Department (ED) wait times at Windsor Regional Hospital has been launched.
Patients can now find out how long they will wait to see a doctor or nurse practitioner through a real-time online ED wait times clock. Hospital officials say an algorithm compiles data and predicts future wait times with more accuracy. The old, homemade system had wait times but didn’t have the number of patients waiting or being treated in the ED. Officials add the lack of accuracy often created confusion and frustration. Both Met and Ouellette campus ED wait time clocks are online and they update every ten minutes.
Jeff Theriault, the ED program manager, says the new tool is a win-win for staff and patients because there’s more decision-making power for patients and less stress for staff.
"Coming into the department with that information as well as having it available to them while they are in the waiting room hopefully will help alleviate some of that stress on the patients as well as the nurses and physicians," says Theriault.
The new tool is powered by Oculys and their tech officials say it is 90% accurate, is based on patient flow data and 18 other hospitals use it. You can find the wait time clocks here.
Theriault says the new tracker should speed up service at the EDs.
"Crowdsourcing that distribution of volume, I think that will help alleviate some of those bottlenecks when we have more [patients] at one site than the other and that one site is just getting slammed," he says.
Theriault says the wait time clock seems to be working great at other hospitals.
"We have spoken to other hospitals about how the community feedback was on the release and it's always been positive," Theriault says.