Visiting the Emergency Room can be as unbearable as the health condition that brings you there. Wait times can become long.
According to tbo.com, a local group of hospitals are now having their wait time posted online. This is a rough idea because the wait time can really change once you do get to the hospital.
The HCA Pinellas County hospitals along with 11 other HCA hospitals in West and Central Florida now post hospital emergency room (ER) wait times to see a qualified medical provider on their websites and via text messaging, according to Daniel Miller, President of the HCA West Florida Division. You can view these wait times around the clock at www.EdwardWhiteHospital.com, www.LargoMedical.com, www.NorthsideHospital.com, www.StPeteGeneral.com, www.SunCoastHospital.com or www.hcadocs.org or you can text ER to 23000. The ER wait time for each hospital is updated approximately every 30 minutes, using an average wait time from the previous four hours. In most cases, HCA West Florida hospitals consistently rank below the national wait time average of one hour. Text message responses will include wait times for the nearest HCA ER’s, based on the zip code provided in the text message.
Many people do not visit the emergency room for things they did in the past. Most would rather go to the urgent care facility for things that can be handled by the urgent care doctor or after hour’s pediatricians than have to go to the emergency. But there are some cases where the emergency room is a more prudent place go to and most after hour’s pediatricians and urgent care centers are not open after midnight.
The emergency room is going to be used, but will it the wait time posted on the internet determine if you choose to go there?
Source:HCA West Florida
Leave a Reply