Whether its a sprained ankle, a fever, or an unexplained rash, people who find themselves seeking medical care outside normal business hours are usually seen in an emergency room. More and more hospitals have reconciled themselves to serving these low-grade emergencies and at Akron General Hospital, technology is now being used to alert the public about how long they'll have to wait. Nick Jouriles, head of Akron General's department of emergency medicine, explains how it works.
JOURILES: When I go see a patient the patient is already logged into the system about when they arrive, and when I go in and click on the electronic record it time stamps when I go and see the patient. Then that data is measured, put through a program and then posted immediately on the internet. And that same information that's on the internet is what you see on the billboard.
It's not exactly immediate - the posted wait times are 20 minutes behind -- but that's about as close to real time as you're going to get. Plus Jouriles points out that the numbers are averages - some patients may wait a little more or a little less, and true emergencies will always come first. Still he says its a way for the hospitals to display how efficient they are and help the public make an informed choice about which hospital to go to.
JOURILES: The bottom line is we're saying, you need to see a doctor. Our doctors are available in 5 or 10 minutes at some sites and 30 minutes at others, and the numbers are there for everyone to see 24-7.
Emergency room wait times is one of the strongest indicators of patient satisfaction. Similar digital billboards have been in use for several months by hospitals in other states , but Akron General is the first hospital system to adopt the billboards in Northeast Ohio.
Gretchen Cuda, 90.3