The Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) has launched a new online tool that provides information about the province’s busiest emergency departments.
The tool “FOCUS on Emergency Departments” will have information about 16 emergency departments in Alberta from the last five years.
READ MORE: How long should you wait for an emergency room doctor in Edmonton?
“We believe in the power of information – that Albertans benefit when they have access to information about their health-care system,” HQCA CEO Andrew Neuner said.
“Transparency is important to a publicly funded health-care system. It fosters trust and confidence among the public. Knowledge can start conversations, and when necessary, lead to improvements.”
The information, available on a new website, is based on responses from patient surveys and hospital data about Albertans’ experiences with emergency departments. The online tool also provides 18 measures and compares findings to similar types of emergency departments in the province.
“This approach to reporting brings a heightened level of transparency to the emergency care we deliver to Albertans in the 16 busiest emergency departments in the province,” Dr. Brian Holroyd, Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry chair, said.
“The site includes data that is credible, understandable and relevant.”
READ MORE: Wait times for health care services vary across Canada: report
The online tool offers interactive charts along with narrative to help start conversations about the information.
The tool is intended to stimulate conversations about health-care quality, encourage quality improvement efforts in Alberta, and allow users to track progress. HQCA said evidence shows when quality measures are publicly reported, the results of the measures improve.
“Healthcare is important to all Albertans; timely, relevant information can start the conversations that need to happen to make our health-care system the best it can be,” Holroyd said.
Information will be updated four times a year.