Some Kelowna walk-ins put wait times online

KELOWNA – Anyone who has used a walk-in clinic knows it can be frustrating to arrive only to find out the clinic is already full for the day or there are a large number of patients already waiting to be seen.

Now there is a way to check the status of some local clinics before heading out the door.

A couple of Kelowna clinics have started listing their wait times and letting patients know when they are at capacity on a B.C.-based website.

The Medi-Kel Family Practice and Walk-In Clinic has been updating their clinics status online for two months now.

“Each day our clinic reaches its capacity for patients and the doctors can’t see more patients so it is good to have that capacity button,” said Mike McLoughlin the clinic’s the managing director.

“That way patients won’t make a long trip to try and come and see us if they know that they can’t get in.”

The website was the brain child of a Lower Mainland duo.

Blake Adam and Jonathan Clark first started the website as a pilot project with clinics in White Rock last September.

“We are not reinventing the system, we are just eliminating the process that already exists of patients having to call into the clinics to find out what their estimated wait time is. So, saving time for the patient that has to make that call and also saving time for the staff that has to answer that call,” says Adam.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We are not reinventing the system, we are just eliminating the process that already exists of patients having to call into the clinics to find out what their estimated wait time is. So, saving time for the patient that has to make that call and also saving time for the staff that has to answer that call," says Adam.

McLoughlin, who also founded a walk-in clinic advocacy group, says he would like to see more clinics in Kelowna, Vernon and Kamloops use the website and see the data displayed in local emergency rooms.

He believes that would give patients better information about where they are mostly likely to get in to see a doctor and help relieve pressure on local emergency rooms by diverting patients who don’t need to be in the hospital to walk-in clinics.

McLoughlin says his clinic updates wait times every 15 minutes but some patients have been upset when wait times change rapidly.

Adam points out that the site also includes information about when the wait time information was last updating allowing patients to factor that into their decision-making.

“It is strictly a matter of finding a balance between it not being onerous or frustrating for the staff to maintain it and also making it current enough that it is relevant to patients,” he says.