Automated Triage and Treatment solution will slash wait times at Canadian hospital EDs

Sep 15 2010

Healthcare technology leaders collaborate to create solution to slash wait times and improve experience for patients seeking basic treatment

NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), and PharmaTrust have joined with Stayhealthy, Inc. to develop and deploy a self-service kiosk solution to help speed the triage and treatment of patients at Canadian hospital emergency departments (ED) and rural healthcare facilities.

Targeted to non-critical ED patients who often wait up to two hours or more to be seen by a healthcare professional, the automated three-step Triage and Treatment solution completes registration and assessment, measures vital signs and dispenses medication based upon telemedicine control by a physician and pharmacist.

"Self-service technology has been proven to reduce wait times at some hospitals in the U.S. by up to 75% in an emergency room setting," said Luc Villeneuve, president, NCR Canada. "Moving patients through the emergency department and out of the hospital environment allows them to recover in the comfort of their home, while freeing up time for medical staff to focus their attention on patients who are high risk and need immediate care. Collaborating with channel partners like PharmaTrust and Stayhealthy is helping NCR grow our health care presence in Canada to deliver self-service solutions that enhance the patient experience"

Patients will begin by registering at the NCR MediKiosk™ with a swipe of their health card. The touchscreen guides them through a self-assessment where they register, describe their symptoms and outline the reasons for their visit.  Vital signs are then captured at an interactive StayHealthy® Kiosk.  The third step allows patients to speak with a doctor via video conferencing for diagnosis. If medication is prescribed, it will be dispensed by a licensed pharmacist at the PharmaTrust MedCentre kiosk.

"Nearly half of ED patients experience long wait times because they are classified as 'low-risk,' meaning they are treated during their visit and sent home after waiting an average of two hours," said Don Waugh, co-founder and CEO, PharmaTrust.  "Governments are trying to help reduce these unnecessary wait times to improve the patient experience by incenting healthcare providers to employ new technology solutions to streamline the process."

Adds Brian Baum, president, Stayhealthy: "Working with NCR Canada and PharmaTrust is a powerful demonstration of Stayhealthy's role in the future of healthcare. The Stayhealthy Health Center Kiosk, developed and validated through extensive research, measures things like blood pressure, temperature, respiration and body composition, then integrates seamlessly, to deliver the biometric information triage specialists need to evaluate the patient.

The solution is scheduled to be validated by the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation at the University Health Network (UHN) by a team led by Dr. Joseph Cafazzo, Centre Lead and Director of Medical Device Informatics and Healthcare Human Factors.