ER wait time info now available
By Gillian Slade on September 20, 2017.
gslade@medicinehatnews.com @MHNGillianSlade How long you will have to wait at the emergency department is no longer a guessing game. Alberta Health Services has rolled out a service that tells you in real-time how long your wait is likely to be. On the AHS website you can choose the city and the hospital and then see at that point in time an estimated emergency department wait before you can expect to see a physician. It is another tool to help people decide where to access medical care for themselves and their families. “It is really about giving our patients information that will help them decide what the most appropriate service is,” said Katherine Chubbs, chief zone officer for Alberta Health Services’ south zone. Patients can then consider options such as the emergency department, health link, accessing a doctor in the community, or going to a walk-in clinic, Chubbs explained. The patient can decide, based on wait times, what will work best for them considering their medical situation and the day and time. The posted wait times are an estimate of how long it takes from being assessed by a triage nurse in the emergency department to being seen by a physician. Times are calculated through a software system that uses current data from the facility compared to the number of people in the emergency department, how sick they are and how many resources are available and required to treat those patients. It does not take into account seriously ill patients, who will be seen immediately, and patients with non-urgent concerns, who may wait longer to be seen depending on resources, said a press release. Wait times do not represent the total time patients may spend at the hospital. The website also allows patients to view the wait times at other hospitals in the province. This may indicate a much longer wait time in some emergency department than others. “I certainly anticipate that people will be looking at the information and draw conclusions based on that,” said Chubbs. The emergency department wait times are being provided for “general information only”, the website states. Wait times “can change significantly and immediately, without warning and therefore are not guaranteed”. http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/waittimes/waittimes.aspx#disclaimer 12
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