Can We Eliminate Waiting Times From Healthcare Forever?

Wake up early, get ready quickly, travel to the hospital while hoping to get there before others start lining up and wait till the doctor sees you. If you encountered any downtimes along the way to this “hospital journey maze”, you know you’ll be there for more time than planned. But you know the drill as it’s a quasi-global phenomenon and an expected component of the healthcare experience: waiting times. This component is as “pleasant” as it sounds. A survey from Software Advice that involved over 5000 patients found that 97% of respondents were frustrated by wait times at the doctor’s office. Another report from Vitals showed that 30% of surveyed patients have already walked out of an appointment because of a long wait and 20% have changed doctors due to wait times. We can surely empathise. Source: https://dribbble.com/mdabujas Moreover, waiting times have further economic repercussions. The Altarum Institute’s 2019 report found that long wait and travel times lead to some $89 billion annually in missed opportunities. Another analysis by an economist at the University of South Carolina found that a 10-minute increase in emergency room (ER) wait time for patients with serious conditions will increase the hospital’s cost to care for the patient by an average of 6%. The author further noted that such critical patients are currently waiting nearly an hour. To make waiting more bearable, you might have noticed hospitals offering reading materials or...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Artificial Intelligence Healthcare Design waiting time Source Type: blogs