Giving lower acuity patients the option to wait for hospital care at home has reduced wait times and proven popular

The option to wait for care from the comfort of home has proven popular with patients at Sault Area Hospital.

The Virtual Home Waiting Room ran as a pilot project between August and November, giving 350 non-urgent patients the chance to wait from home before heading into the hospital to receive care.

The virtual waiting room works by placing patients in line and notifying them via text about when to physically come into the hospital for triage and care.

At the end of the pilot this fall, 87 to 89 per cent of patients were satisfied with the virtual queue, and over 90 per cent said they would use it again, according to a report from hospital staff.

“This also has had a relationship to improvements in time to physician initial assessment and length of stay,” said Ila Watson, president and CEO, at Monday night’s board meeting.

The 90th percentile wait time for initial physician assessment improved from 5.8 hours to 2.7 hours, and from 7.7 hours to 4.0 hours for total length of stay under the project.

Moving forward, the hospital plans to keep the Virtual Home Waiting Room in place – which accommodated up to 10 patients per day in its pilot phase – and gradually expand it.

“With the pilot now complete, emergency department leadership will determine opportunities for potential expansion early in the new year,” said Brandy Sharp Young, director of corporate affairs and patient engagement.

Beyond improving wait times for patients, Sharp Young said the virtual waiting room eased the workload of hospital staff as it “improved patient flow and reduced congestion in the emergency department.”

While more serious conditions still merit a trip to the emergency room, the public can make use of the virtual waiting room for a variety of needs:


Cough, cold, and sore throat
Ear ache
Rashes
Dental pain
Prescription renewal
Suture or staple removal
Minor cuts and scrapes
Sprains and strains
Burning with urination

More can be found about the virtual home waiting room here.