Hospitals across the country are investigating ways to improve their patients' experience through decreasing waiting times in emergency rooms and in immediate care settings. To address the important issue, Alexian Brothers Health System implemented a wait time feature on their website and mobile site (www.alexianbrothershealth.org) that notifies the public about the current waiting time at its hospital emergency rooms and immediate care centers. Now the Health System has gone one step further by adding a service called InQuicker that allows individuals to "hold a place" at the ER online, while waiting in the comfort of their own homes.
With InQuicker patients have the option of "checking in" online with the emergency department at Alexian Brothers Medical Center, Elk Grove Village, or St. Alexius Medical Center, Hoffman Estates, or any of the Health System's seven suburban Immediate Care Centers, for a non-life threatening illness or injury. When patients log into the system from the Alexian Brothers Health System website or mobile site, they fill out a form indicating the reason for their visit. A staff person receives the message and then confirms the appointment.
"The system is designed to ensure that patients facing a life-threatening condition are red-flagged, as InQuicker can recognize key words such as 'chest pain', triggering an immediate call from an Alexian Brothers Health System clinician," said Andrew Snyder , Alexian Brothers Health System Vice President of Marketing. "For the first time ever staff are able to see who is coming and with what symptoms, so they can better prepare staff, space and supplies ahead of time."
InQuicker will not only reduce the log jam in waiting rooms, but will also reduce the number of patients who leave without being seen. The system is secure, using industry-leading technology and HIPAA-compliant policies that safeguard patient information.
Parents or guardians can use InQuicker for pediatric patients, and caregivers find the service to be useful when helping elderly patients avoid a long wait in the emergency room. "It's important to note that InQuicker patients don't skip the wait, nor are they seen in front of others because they are using InQuicker," says Chris Song , Director of Public Relations for the firm. "Rather, InQuicker patients have the convenient option to wait from an environment other than the waiting room, helpful for patients looking to avoid exposure to infection," says Song.
Tyler Kiley , Chief Technology Officer for InQuicker, developed the system in 2006 in response to feedback from his hospital CEO father and ED nurse mother. The company reports that the service is in use in 192 facilities in 22 states, and is achieving 95% patient satisfaction. "InQuicker was created to remove the barriers of fear and anxiety that many patients experience when considering health care access," notes Song. "As such, we strive to make access to InQuicker as barrier-free as possible—a simple, intuitive design that is accessible across all internet/mobile web platforms with no cost to the patient."
"The Health System is always looking for ways to differentiate itself from the competition and to create a really outstanding customer experience, and InQuicker is expected to help in that regard," said Snyder.
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