Emergency Rooms Post Wait Times for All Area Hospitals
His smashed finger wrapped in bandages, Len Balon walked into an emergency room and eyed the flat-screen monitor broadcasting live wait times for Scottsdale Healthcare’s area hospitals. Osborn Hospital, where he was standing: two hours and 55 minutes. Thompson Peak hospital, a short distance away: four minutes.
Full story on posting ER waiting times.
Great idea but where is the incentive for the hospital? You don’t see McDonald’s advertising wait times at Burger King do you?
Ken may be wrong. If I know that only one hospital posts wait times, I’ll go to that emergency room first.
Why couldn’t somebody do this on line and charge a small fee, so that people would know the average waiting times prior to going to any emergency room.
Larry, the Internet service would still have to get the info from the hospitals. What incentive would the hospitals have to cooperate? It’s in the hospital’s self interest to have a lot of people waiting so that its revenue generating resources are always fully utilized.
Ken,
They were advertising wait times at other locations owned by the same company. That would be like McDonalds saying you could have a shorter wait at the chains other store a few blocks away.
Scottsdale Healthcare does post ER wait times on their website. It is updated every few minutes.
Rationing means waiting – as we look ahead, it is surprising how sanquine so many people are about the future we are facing – specially the baby boomers. Read my take if you will:
Christina Jeffrey (congressional candidate, SC-4)