Hospitals around the country are starting to advertise their emergency department wait times in some unexpected ways. Notwithstanding the obvious fascination with watching an enormous billboard post such information, does this help or hurt a local emergency health system?

Some critics argue that a patient with a true medical emergency may travel further to an emergency department with a shorter wait time, irrespective of the triage system employed by hospitals to ensure critical patients are seen as soon as possible.  Others find this may deter “unnecessary” visits to overcrowded facilities while sending marginal cases to the emptier ones.

[audio:http://hospitalstay.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/09-What-the-World-Is-Waiting-For.mp3|titles=What the World Is Waiting For]“In general this is an interesting idea. But let’s get it straight. It’s about getting those patients who really have the option of going somewhere else. This is not about getting patients who have true emergencies,” says Sandra Schneider, an emergency medicine physician and president of the American College of Emergency Physicians. “This is their way of competing with urgent care. Emergency departments see a lot of patients that urgent care could see.”

While advertising may help with a hospital’s bottom line, education may still be the most powerful tool in this particular battle to save the nation’s health care system. Should a medical emergency occur, the way in which an individual reacts may save lives. Similarly, the ways in which a community interacts with its local hospitals over time may save the emergency health care system. If communities can be taught to reduce the number of “non-emergency” hospital visits, while at the same time encouraging very sick individuals to seek immediate medical attention, their hospitals will be better prepared to provide more efficient, higher-quality service in the long run.

This is the goal of Not So Much Foundation‘s Local Hospital project. Local Hospital is a free resource designed to teach communities about their nearby health care services and identify the hospitals in their community and the medical services they provide. Local Hospital also provides information about the health care system so individuals can be more prepared for the next hospital visit. Hospitals will probably continue to advertise their emergency department wait times in new and interesting ways. But nothing is wrong with a little education along the way.

Additional Sources: Modern Healthcare