Hospitals in Calgary using website to estimate wait times
Posted July 28, 2011 8:37 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It’s designed to improve access and reduce hospital wait times. So, could it work here?
People in Calgary can now go online to find out how long they’ll spend in the waiting room. Alberta Health Services says the service has real-time estimated wait times on its website for the city’s emergency departments and urgent care centres.
This tool is designed to help Calgarians decide where to access care for themselves and their families. Although doctors caution the times are just estimates, medical staff who have used it say it’s accurate to within one hour, 75 per cent of the time.
Four hospitals are taking part; estimated wait times will be provided for the emergency departments at Foothills Medical Centre, Peter Lougheed Centre, Rockyview General Hospital and Alberta Children’s Hospital.
AHS is the first health care organization in the country to provide real time wait times.
